Promotion and PRF Information

[FLEA]

13 hours ago, Pooter said:

I don't dispute legit masters degrees are important once you get to a certain level and are working on strategy/policy/doctrine type things. 
 

But we already have an IDE/SDE pipeline specifically designed to get people masters degrees and prep them for high level policy making so why the fuck do we need people to have a miscellaneous masters beforehand??  

A degree mill masters doesn't do anything for anyone.  It doesn't make you a better leader, tactician, or strategist. And it robs time from your primary duty and family life. 

But it does give the Air Force one invaluable data point. It helps big AF identify the individuals willing to jump through their ass for a better chance of promotion. And that's their favorite kind of person because they're more likely to stick around no matter how bad the treatment. 

So I agree and disagree with you. 

I agree in the sense you are 100% right. I got established in the higher ed space after separating and learned a few hard lessons along the way, such as 1.) Degree matters and 2.) School matters. 

I disagree in the sense that there is a very active and very strong DEI initiative to overturn that, especially in the veteran space, because veterans by nature are non-traditional students. There are some problematic issues with the current hierarchy of schools and degrees, specifically to how veterans can utilize VA benefits on education following separation, etc... So its in our interest to attempt to upend those status quos. 

What I have found in my recent relationship with an elite university (and I don't refer to it that way self-gratifyingly, rather that's how the top 20 schools or so refer to themselves) is that my BS degrees did distinguish me from other candidates in-so-much as they saw it as preparatory for my current program. So while the private sector didn't particularly value those degrees, the higher education sector did. 

I also agree that the Air Force needs to do this better by actually curating education experiences for talent by 1.) identifying individuals interested in a "warrior scholar" pathway, 2.) providing more opportunities to pursue those programs and 3.) actually providing values to individuals that pursue that path. 

In regards to #3, IDE/SDE are not the only opportunities to earn AAD in the Air Force. There is also AFIT, several fellowship programs, etc... the problem is, often those people fall out of their career field for 2-3 years and they get totally railroaded on stratifications and career development. If the current guidance is meant to address this very problematic facet of the current system, I would support that. 

Edited January 4 by FLEA

[StoleIt]

Interestingly, a buddy of mine ended up getting selected for the program to get a Master's right out of ROTC. He regrets doing the program because all it did was put him 2 years behind his peers. I guess if he wanted to go to TPS it would help immensely but, otherwise someone would really have to dig into his records to see he got selected for that program in the first place, unlike Phoenix. It didn't help him at all professionally.

So, even when the Air Force claims to value advanced degrees...they really don't.

[pbar]

1 hour ago, StoleIt said:

So, even when the Air Force claims to value advanced degrees...they really don't.

I've always thought that the entire Air Force personnel system is pretty much designed to fill one job-Chief of Staff Air Force.  The personnel system doesn't seem to place enough importance on building senior leaders (colonels/generals) who are experts at strategy, acquisition, foreign cultures, EW, cyber, etc., expertise (for which AADs are useful) that complements and force multiples Ops.

[the g-man]

Interestingly, a buddy of mine ended up getting selected for the program to get a Master's right out of ROTC. He regrets doing the program because all it did was put him 2 years behind his peers. I guess if he wanted to go to TPS it would help immensely but, otherwise someone would really have to dig into his records to see he got selected for that program in the first place, unlike Phoenix. It didn't help him at all professionally.
So, even when the Air Force claims to value advanced degrees...they really don't.

I went to UPT with someone who did an AFIT masters… they are an astronaut now


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[Swizzle]

4 hours ago, the g-man said:

I went to UPT with someone who did an AFIT masters… they are an astronaut now


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But did they make Major? /s 

 

(It is a promotion thread)

[Biff_T]

41 minutes ago, Swizzle said:

But did they make Major? /s 

 

(It is a promotion thread)

Major Tom

[disgruntledemployee]

5 hours ago, the g-man said:

I went to UPT with someone who did an AFIT masters… they are an astronaut now

A former Sq mate went to AFIT as a Maj.  He's now at United Airlines.

[ClearedHot]

[nsplayr]

Quick point for you meme makers out there:

American Military University based in West Virginia, founded in 1991, and a for-profit, is the online “you get out what you put in” military degree factory. Not terrible but not amazing. It is what it is.

Whereas American University is a nice, private, non-profit traditional brick-and-mortar university in Washington, DC, founded in 1893, and known for students studying international relations and public administration.

I have degrees from both so I’m highly qualified and educated to speak on this specific topic 😅

Edited January 5 by nsplayr