Air Force Technical Degree Sponsorship Program

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Hello everyone,
I am new here, so I will introduce myself. I am a 3rd year undergraduate student studying electrical engineering at UC Davis. Recently I was approached by a recruiter from the Air Force about a program they have for EE's. If I get in, I would get around 35k in room and board next year until I graduate, then I would get officer training for 12 weeks and get paid 6k. After this I would work as an engineer for the Air Force for 4 years. The place I would go to is likely Ohio if I wanted to do research, but it can vary depending on what the demand is and what I want to do of course. I would start at
$2,784 a month and by year 4 will be roughly $5,000 a month plus Rent, Food, Medical, Dental, and Retirement plus a security clearance. I would apparently working on cutting edge technology many years ahead of the private sector.</p>

<p>The problem I have with the program is the 4 year commitment. I am pretty sure I can get into a Master's program based on my GPA and research experience. I heard that there are options to do the graduate program at the Air Force Base there part time, but I would have to work 40 hours a week as part of the 4 year commitment, and even then there is no guarantee that I would get into the graduate program at all there. I could always just go to graduate school right after college and then start out in the business world with my own control. I do not like the idea of having my path decided for 4 years for a program that sounds interesting, but something I would not be able to get out of if I do not like it. </p>

<p>All I want to do is do engineering, whether that be in the public or private sector. So, I wanted to ask, is this a good deal? Or, should I just go straight to graduate school and go in the workforce after that?</p>

<p>I appreciate your comments and questions. :)</p>

2

<p>I’ll give you a bit of non-recruiter spin. As a disclaimer, I spent 4 years in the Air Force and loved it.</p>

<p>I’ve never seen cutting edge technology designed by the Air Force, it was usually contracted out. The graduate school options on base probably won’t meet your personal standards, I was at a huge AFB and I can’t remember any sort technical degree. Most of the degrees were online and from schools like AMU. You won’t get any retirement for 4 years, and when I was in, officers don’t get any money for food.</p>

<p>If you love engineering, I’d imagine you are going to want full control over what you work on. You won’t get that in the Air Force. The needs of the military come first. If they need an officer to overlook a supply squadron for 1 year, you could get pulled to do that. I would suggest, without a doubt, don’t go into the Air Force if all you want to be is an engineer. Go into the Air Force if you want to be in the military. Go into engineering if you want to be an engineer.</p>

3

<p>noleguy33 is spot on, but to add a few comments:</p>

<p>4 years is the minimum active, but do not forget that you will also have a reserve obligation afterwards and that many “elective” opportunities or positions will add to your active duty commitment - including going off to grad school full time.</p>

<p>Life in the military is a lot more of a commitment than any civilian job - do not think in terms of “40 hours a week”, think in terms of your limited time off. The military is a serious commitment, and while you CAN do a part-time masters it will be much harder than it would be in the civilian world.</p>

<p>Even in the USAF (traditionally the LEAST mobile service) overseas deployments and trips to combat zones are not out of the question. nole noted that you could be a supply officer, well you could also draw a deployment to an air base in Afghanistan.</p>

<p>Retirement requires at least 20 years of service between active and reserves (reserve time gets tricky!).</p>

<p>Engineering in the military (or government in general) is not usually design work - it is mostly maintenance or operations management or overseeing civilians. However, it IS true that you would have a crack at a very useful security clearance that might open some nice doors after your term is up - if you like the whole defense contracting world.</p>

<p>Anyway, nole is 100% right about this: </p>

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4

<p>I got the same email over the weekend (different school). It’s just a recruiting tactic.</p>

5

<p>What they tell you: You’ll work on cutting-edge technology.</p>

<p>What happens: You manage electricians, in Afghanistan.</p>

6

<p>Hahaha I got the same email too from my department and I’m an EE as well. </p>

<p>Sent from my HTC HD2 using CC App</p>

7

<p>I’m considering this program, and I’ve been been searching all possible aspects of it. Bottom line: if you have any desire to be in the Air Force for a while and you want to be an electrical engineer, this program is extraordinarily sweet!</p>

<p>Firstly, being in the military, esp. an officer, can help you out when loser cops pull you over. </p>

<p>More importantly, addressing what your concerns might be, as a developmental engineer, you will work on very new technologies that will be implemented (by Boeing, etc.) in the next generation of aircraft, comm. systems, tracking, and so on. Your work will be classified for decades.</p>

<p>Or as a sustainment engineer, you will figure out what the problems are with current systems and how to make improvements. -more appealing to me.</p>

<p>In both routes, you can get around a lot (not just Ohio), and your preferences are significant.</p>

<p>For graduate studies, you are not at all limited to Air University, but will have any school paid for whether it’s a nearby university or something online. You can find very good, reputable, worthwhile routes.</p>

<p>If you want to get out after the four years, That much time in Air Force engineering is enough to make you very marketable in private industry, especially having top secret clearance.</p>

<p>What I worry about is being stuck as an electrical engineer. I’ve studied a lot of different fields for several years, at four different universities, and although that’s where I am now, I don’t enjoy electrical engineering so much. After the four years, if you want to stay in but adamantly want to change fields. There is opportunity for that. They’d rather keep you for something else than lose you altogether. For me, however, four years is too much. I want to be in the air force and have particular, time (age) sensitive ambitions.</p>

<p>I am applying for the TDSP, but I expect to enlist instead, like any simple high school grad, and go to OTS in a couple of years. I can be an engineer when I’m old.</p>

<p>Another thought: as an air force engineer, you will not deploy unless you find some opportunity to volunteer for it.</p>

<p>The military is pretty mediocre at bringing in real talent, but we need it. The benefits of this program are way cool, and if you’re bright, you can do a lot of good as an officer.</p>