Well ive been presented to take an opportunity i cant pass up from my friends cousin. To joing the Air Natiional Gaurd as a mechanic for blackhawks, and other air vehicles. And im really considering this being the option to being able to achieve my dream of being a mechanic.. My family never supported..they wanted engineer.. but now that the time draws closer and closer.. i really started to think about "what do i want?" my friend has said good things about them and their Tech school and how much you make and the benifits. So just wanted to know what you guys think and i know theirs alot of you Military people on here. Overall i wanted to see how things go for you. My mom doesnt want me to get shipped out to fight in Iraq and die. But i heard going for the Air Gaurd lets you pretty much stay on base and fix vehicles (depending on wat u went to school for). I was thinking about going this Augest or so for basic training and getting things under way.

-PLus side is the money i saved for college will go to me to do with watever i want sense the military will pay for everything. So i smell possibilities. So yeah just tell me what you guys think. You all are older and have been through more than i have, i mean hell im the youngest AKIC member here so all of you should have some couple of cents to drop on the subject i would think. Thanks guys..

-Brian

(and yes Sam it is Danny that im talking about that convinced me)

Buwahahahaha.


Sorry, I'll post a response when i'm not drunk tomorrow. I'll prolly be more supportive then...


Brandon

how about the coast guard? :D
turbine engine-pave hawk/piston engine-car :confused:

granted aircraft mechanics make bank. ;)

Do it. Chair force is the way to go. One weekend two weeks a year. If you do get deployed overseas its only a 6 month tour.Plus think of civilian side, military looks awesome on a resume and its actually a useful skill. Of i've heard also heard that Chair Force Basic is Cake.
Anyways those guys on Kulis are pretty cool. I work with them for 18 months while us Army guys were picking up their slack. j/k

Yeah my mom is trying to get me not to do it as much as possible... because i heard army national gaurd is deployed more than the Air national gaurd and she confuses both up.. but yeah the aircraft mechanics make bank. Just im curious to know if Air Gaurd is deployed are they sent on the feild or do they stay at base?

Picking up our slack... LMFAO! Show me another Guard unit that has a 24/7 alert commitment and a Detachment at another location AND deploys on a regular basis...

Brian_i,
Kulis, especially the 210RQS, is not a normal Air Guard unit. We have a full time commitment to Search and Rescue around the state just like the Coasties out at Kodiak. To think we work two weeks out of the year and one weekend a month is, well silly. Mom's worry, that's their job... Will you deploy with as a helicopter mechanic with the 210th? Yes... however, your chances at direct contact with the enemy is VERY low. That's not to say we haven't been rocketed at some of the locations we've been;) The military is an inherently dangerous profession, but some jobs safer then others.

ANYWAY, if you dig wrenching on stuff and are interested in being an aircraft mechanic, specifically a helo mechanic, come check us out. Our operation is top notch. Visit Crystal Garris down at the Diamond mall. I think that's her name anyway, she'll steer you right. She did all my paperwork when I came over from active duty.

~Turk
Aerial Gunner
210RQS

Picking up our slack... LMFAO! Show me another Guard unit that has a 24/7 alert commitment and a Detachment at another location AND deploys on a regular basis...

Brian_i,
Kulis, especially the 210RQS, is not a normal Air Guard unit. We have a full time commitment to Search and Rescue around the state just like the Coasties out at Kodiak. To think we work two weeks out of the year and one weekend a month is, well silly. Mom's worry, that's their job... Will you deploy with as a helicopter mechanic with the 210th? Yes... however, your chances at direct contact with the enemy is VERY low. That's not to say we haven't been rocketed at some of the locations we've been;) The military is an inherently dangerous profession, but some jobs safer then others.

ANYWAY, if you dig wrenching on stuff and are interested in being an aircraft mechanic, specifically a helo mechanic, come check us out. Our operation is top notch. Visit Crystal Garris down at the Diamond mall. I think that's her name anyway, she'll steer you right. She did all my paperwork when I came over from active duty.

~Turk
Aerial Gunner
210RQS
Thanks turk.. i needed some info and that helped.. i know little about military things so im hoping to learn alot.. sounds like you really recommend it. Are you ever gone for a long period of time? And what exactly do you do? my friend Danny is a blackhawk tech and makes 70k a year so i wanted to know how are the jobs their and such.. the more information the better.. i know my mom will worry and hate me but its not her future... plus it keeps hitting as you know, someone has to do it...

exactly my friend, someone's got to do it...

I don't know that you'll make 70K a year right off the bat. The pay charts can be found on-line. That said, the money isn't bad either. There's people in the world working harder for less. My average trip away is between two weeks and a month. But, that's as an aircrew member. Our maintainers travel A LOT less. For somebody new coming in... AF basic is now 8 weeks long I think. I'm not sure how long the school for a Helo maintainer would be. But travel should be viewed as one of the perks to being in the military. I grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania, I've been all over the world. There's still guys that I graduated high school with sitting in bars talking about football games they played in 13 years ago.

The cool thing about the Guard vise Active Duty is you can pretty much be as active and involved as you want. We've got Full-time maintainers and maintainers that you only see a few weeks a year and once a month. You can still pursue your college degree and be in the Guard. I honestly can only see the Guard as a win-win situation.

Look bro, I'm not a recruiter. Every job has it's good and bad no matter if it's in the government or private sector... there are days were the Guard REALLY sucks. You can ask questions from here to kingdom come on message boards all over the the internet. What you need to do is stop by and listen to the a recruiter, get the info, ask questions, and make up your own mind. Feel free to I.M. or post any question you come up with...

Good luck,
~Turk

exactly my friend, someone's got to do it......
~Turk
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you and all the others who have been doing it. You guys and gals are heroes. Stay safe.

exactly my friend, someone's got to do it...

I don't know that you'll make 70K a year right off the bat. The pay charts can be found on-line. That said, the money isn't bad either. There's people in the world working harder for less. My average trip away is between two weeks and a month. But, that's as an aircrew member. Our maintainers travel A LOT less. For somebody new coming in... AF basic is now 8 weeks long I think. I'm not sure how long the school for a Helo maintainer would be. But travel should be viewed as one of the perks to being in the military. I grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania, I've been all over the world. There's still guys that I graduated high school with sitting in bars talking about football games they played in 13 years ago.

The cool thing about the Guard vise Active Duty is you can pretty much be as active and involved as you want. We've got Full-time maintainers and maintainers that you only see a few weeks a year and once a month. You can still pursue your college degree and be in the Guard. I honestly can only see the Guard as a win-win situation.

Look bro, I'm not a recruiter. Every job has it's good and bad no matter if it's in the government or private sector... there are days were the Guard REALLY sucks. You can ask questions from here to kingdom come on message boards all over the the internet. What you need to do is stop by and listen to the a recruiter, get the info, ask questions, and make up your own mind. Feel free to I.M. or post any question you come up with...

Good luck,
~Turk
Yeah you make alot of good points.. BTW do u have a link to the site where i can find the pay charts. I went on the Air National Guard site and they dont really seem to indicate anywhere their pay status. A job is not always about the money, it is alot about you passion and what you like. But honestly as much as i want to be an engineer, im great at Computer Drafting Designs but i suck at higher math. Algebra 2 gives me tough times and seems like college Calc. will really toss me around. With that said i wanted to be a mechanic in something because i like working with my hands but my family never supported me doing so. But as many came to tell me who are they to tell me what my future should be? That should be my based desicion because i should do what i love. However, money is always a key play so I surely wanted to see of how pay goes around or where that pay chart is that you speak of. Im going this Saturday with a friend to the recruiter at the Dimond Mall to get more info, and overall specifics but more information from people in the field would be great especially from you Turk. Not saying recruiters will lie but to a point they wont exactly give you full openess due to them wanting to get you in. So if you could give me more info on pay wise that would be great as well.

And thanks for your posts, your helping me decide my final decision alot.
(also i was shooting for the full-time thing, not the part time. I do know you'll do part time until a full time slot opens. But just to let you know i was interested in being a full time tec.)

what job do you want working on aircraft?

Do it. Chair force is the way to go. One weekend two weeks a year. If you do get deployed overseas its only a 6 month tour.Plus think of civilian side, military looks awesome on a resume and its actually a useful skill. Of i've heard also heard that Chair Force Basic is Cake.
Anyways those guys on Kulis are pretty cool. I work with them for 18 months while us Army guys were picking up their slack. j/k



What? I got ripped.. we go for 8-9 months + training.....



If you don't want to goto the sand box .. don't sign up. Everyone goes.. some go multiple times...

http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/pay/bl06enlbasepay.htm

Here's the base enlisted pay for FY06.

I know what you're saying about recruiters. Remember this when you go talk to the Air Guard recruiter on Saturday. Plain and simple, they are salesman. They are trying to sell you a product. Although very nice, they are NOT your friends. Keep that in the back of your mind but be respectful and soak up the information they have to give. Our recruiters are good and usually shoot it to you straight. And for god sakes before you sign anything READ the document.

Don't make the same mistake I did and screw yourself out of a bonus. LOL
~turk

my friend Danny is a blackhawk tech and makes 70k a year so i wanted to know how are the jobs their and such

That's pretty good but I really doubt it. Is he in the military?

Here's the link for military pay charts...

http://www.dod.mil/dfas/militarypay/newinformation/WebPayTableVersion2006updated.pdf

If you're just joining as an enlisted person and depending on your education and bonuses, you'll be looking between E-1 and E-3. The numbers you see are your monthly base pay before taxes and before any other entitlements. Trying to explain guard pay can get tricky.

But i heard going for the Air Gaurd lets you pretty much stay on base and fix vehicles

Do you mean you get to stay in Alaska and work "on base" or do you mean you get deployed and get to stay "on base" instead of the field?

I wouldn't say that anyone isn't exempt from being deployed because if you're in the military most likely you will be deployed in any job at some point. The few that never get deployed are far and few between even in the guard. The military is getting smaller and that means more people are getting deployed for longer periods. With that said, it really depends on where you go in the Air National Guard(ANG). Turk is attached to the 210th rescue squadron which plike he mentioned primarily has an Alaskan mission but could be deployed. Some of those rescue guys have been recently deployed to Djibouti, Africa. I'm in the 144th Airlift Squadron. We are currently being deployed to Afghanistan for 60 day rotations. Some of the other people in other jobs are getting deployed to back fill active duty short falls. Get the picture. You could be deployed but I won't say that it is always far from the action. We're fighting terrorists and like you've seen in the news they launch IEDs into the base, infiltrate dining facilities, explode roadside bombs, etc. I'm just letting you know you have to be educated on all aspects.

If I had to enlist again, I'd recommend being aircrew. But that's because I like to travel and love to fly. Everything else was just icing on the cake.

Winslow

It seems that paywise thats somewhat low for a month. He told me something about civilian pay and than military pay that he receives. And with rank how do you achieve higher? Are their more courses to take and such with be a tech that helped you have an increase?

I would like to try and stay here at home more and not travel as much im overall willing to learn to be any kind of tech..What kind are most needed here in our state? Im good at soaking up information on how to work on things so im not exactly picking for what kind of planes and such...

-On top of that my mom just came downstairs and just yelled at me that she will abosolutly not allow me to join the military in any kind of way shape or form. That she only has one son and doesnt want to lose me. :rolleyes: thats moms for you but as much as she may get mad. Its my future to decide.

What? I got ripped.. we go for 8-9 months + training.....



If you don't want to goto the sand box .. don't sign up. Everyone goes.. some go multiple times...
i've been trying to go but they won't let me. i opted to go do TCN duty, but they denied me.

brian_i,

Did you go check out the recruiters this weekend? Just wondering how you made out.
~Turk

Over the years, I've met many people in the military and applaud your desire to get a career. What does your girlfriend think about you joining the military?

I've had friends that joined the military right out of high school. I think they are doing all right. With 20 years in the military, they'll have some nice retirement benefits.

If you look at the pay scale, officers get paid more than the enlisted. If the military is what you want, why not have them pay for training that results in higher pay (aka a professional career e.g. doctor, pilot, engineer, etc.). I've met a lot of officers with various degrees (so you wouldn't necessarily have to get an engineering degree). Some have gone to the military academie(s), or were enrollled in the ROTC programs at the universities. After school, some went to flight academy, medical school, law school, etc. More training = more commitment but they all seem to like their jobs and look forward to more training, experience, etc. I bet their pay is more than the highest enlisted pay at this point. I never hear them saying, I wish I could be turning wrenches; however, many of them have hobbies (working on cars, wood crafts, etc) to fill that niche.

If I was faced with graduating from high school again, I would wait a couple of years before signing up for the military.

brian_i,

Did you go check out the recruiters this weekend? Just wondering how you made out.
~Turk
No sadly after the hang out nite we all had at the strip i way over slept .. so ii will try and shoot for possibly the weekday.. ill probably drag Sam over with me so they dont give me a hard time .. plus he can watch out for things that i shouldnt sign as well.. but for sure this week.. i want as much info as possible..

[QUOTE=brian_i]PLus side is the money i saved for college will go to me to do with watever i want sense the military will pay for everythingQUOTE]

It probably doesn't matter, but: which colleges did you apply to? And you have a slush fund to do this?

As you sign up, I'll be thinking about the 12 million illegal aliens that would sell their first born for an opportunity for their second born to go to college.
You probably don't like my advice but I can't resist sharing more of it:
http://www.wrxfanatics.com/index.php?showtopic=43309&st=30

Just remember that tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life. :)

Good luck!

[QUOTE=brian_i]PLus side is the money i saved for college will go to me to do with watever i want sense the military will pay for everythingQUOTE]

It probably doesn't matter, but: which colleges did you apply to? And you have a slush fund to do this?

As you sign up, I'll be thinking about the 12 million illegal aliens that would sell their first born for an opportunity for their second born to go to college.
You probably don't like my advice but I can't resist sharing more of it:
http://www.wrxfanatics.com/index.php?showtopic=43309&st=30

Just remember that tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life. :)

Good luck!

I was going to go to UAA for engineering.. but i wanted to go to UTI for auto mechanics but my family didnt support it and said it was a waste of money to pay for it.. so by having the military possibly fullfill my dream i can become some kind of mechanic.. i dont even need to be one for cars in perticular.. i just always liked working with my hands and getting some oil spilled ...i lost that after i left auto class for high school of my junior year. i want to get back to it... the money i saved is years of saving all my dividents and not spending one along with more money my family pitched in.. this is a way i can achieve my dream and passion.. i dont want to live my life thinking.. Wat if? .. even if it costs me my life.. ill die knowing one thing bro..... I died...doing wat i love.. and i feel that their is no better way to go than that.... We have to live life everyday at its best and ive been doing that the best i can when i can. :disco:

not worth it? lame they feel that way, i think my career is pretty worth it, ton of fun too.

not worth it? lame they feel that way, i think my career is pretty worth it, ton of fun too.
My family is all about the name Jerry.. they rather say my Son the Engineer.. rather than my son the mechanic.. i dont care.. u do wat u love u know?

say f*** it and join the army and go airborne with the rest of us idiots. right benny

say f*** it and join the army and go airborne with the rest of us idiots. right benny
I got to say one thing though.. i thank you guys for all your support.. dont know what id do without everyones imput on here...it helps more than you all know..

I would take a hard long look at ALL information given to you. Both from our current enlisted men and women here on the board to the recruiters whom are salesman.

My personal $.02: Do what YOU want. I commend everyone that is in the armed forces, and love to hear the good stories from them, however it is not for everyone. Winslow, Kapa, Turk, and many others have found it to be a great place and career for them, others have tried it and have gotten out after finding it wasnt quite for them. It sounds your drive to be in the military is more for the possibility of money and being a mechanic rather than seeing distant lands and helping others. (as well as serving our country) If that is the case I woudl almost say the military is not for you.

Your parents sound rather... well unwilling to back your desires. Mechanics DO unfortunately have a second rate conotation than an engineer, however there are many that have engineering abilities. Many require continued education and pay for schooling to become a master Audi/Porsche/Bimmer technician. Would your parents feel different if they knew you were the lead Porsche mechanic at EERO? (just an example for S&G's)

Also, your parents dont want you to become a mechanic, how do they feel about you joining the military?

Engineering isn't all bad. However, I would like to think I’ve developed some pretty good skills and have great opportunities (because of the degree and professional registration). I’ve worked on too many projects to really list on this thread. I’ve done surveying work, designed docks, retaining walls, structural improvements for buildings, cost estimates, construction management, roads, drainages, water systems, etc. The long years in school have paid off. At our firm, the turnover is quite low and the compensation is fair.

But as a civil engineer, I'll admit that I'm less than a novice when it comes to turning wrenches. I know others that turn wrenches well. The best lesson has been that Jerry does a great job. It would take a lot of training to try to duplicate his skills. My time is best spent working as a civil engineer.

Yeah, engineering isn’t for everyone. Why not go to business school? And then become a mechanic and own your own shop? The math wouldn't be as difficult.

If you want a tour of our office, let me know. We work on some pretty cool projects.
www.pnd-anc.com

true true, eatwrx I had a girlfriend who's dad owned a civil engineering firm and he was definitely not that mechanically inclined. But I also dont know anybody as good with programming Linux as he is.

Money is definatly a thing that i will always look at...why? because it can be almost everything, as much as people say money doesnt buy happiness.. to an extent its true and not true. If you dont have money many times ur miserable and unhappy for a secure and well lived life. However, your family means everything and having them and your friends just their is fullfilling as well. Many people havent even considered military in their prior years but heard that they could achieve alot by going through them. After starting many came to love it which i think in perspective could be the same scenario in my case. I could really adapt to it and really like traveling around and helping the people of this country. I've come to love many things after having a hands on experience. Engineering seems great however, the classes are horrific and has a very low graduation rate. So in consideratioin to that i keep thinking on if i can achieve this or is it even for me. How much in life do i really like it and do i prefer mechanics more. I keep going over and over to see what i like the most in life. And it seems i really had a much more enjoyable time in mechanics than i do in my computer drafting and desgining classes here at school. Both are interesting and i did quite well in both. But im thinking in terms of if im going to do this for the years to come, what will i love to do more?

Eatwrx your a civil engineer right? how was your time in school ? and yeah i wouldnt mind a tour anytime if you had time on your hands as well..

Eatwrx your a civil engineer right? how was your time in school ? and yeah i wouldnt mind a tour anytime if you had time on your hands as well..

Give me a call me at the office (561-1011; ask for Carl) when you want to visit. The normal office hours are 8am to 5 pm). I'm sure some of our other engineers would also share some light on whether it was worth it.

Give me a call me at the office (561-1011; ask for Carl) when you want to visit. The normal office hours are 8am to 5 pm). I'm sure some of our other engineers would also share some light on whether it was worth it.
OKay that would work for me ...cause school is out at 2pm and i dont currently have a job right now after getting sick and had to leave on medical. Where is the office located?

From my dealings with Engineers in my profession, most all have said it is worth it. I myself have been contemplating returning to school to get an Engineering degree. (probably structural) While my schooling tract was a bit different, I shared much the same courses as an engineer for the first couple years. And like ALL schools, you get the "good" or cool classes and professors, then you get the "required" courses which arent as fun.

IMHO Engineering and the schooling required is worth it.

OKay that would work for me ...cause school is out at 2pm and i dont currently have a job right now after getting sick and had to leave on medical. Where is the office located?

1506 W 36TH AVE

Located on the south side of 36th, between Spenard and Minnesota.

Just stop in, they'll ring me from the front desk.

1506 W 36TH AVE

Located on the south side of 36th, between Spenard and Minnesota.

Just stop in, they'll ring me from the front desk.
company name? btw ill stop in today.. expect around late 2pm or so ..maybe 3... Carl right? ill be their..

www.pnd-anc.com

PND Engineers

;)

AKSUBIE:

Thanks.

The air national guard are great people, a crew that ran mail from kuwait to iraq got me out of iraq a few days early for leave when there were no other flights going, worst flight ever but hell I got home on time for leave, BTW they were all from Alaska.

From my dealings with Engineers in my profession, most all have said it is worth it. I myself have been contemplating returning to school to get an Engineering degree. (probably structural) While my schooling tract was a bit different, I shared much the same courses as an engineer for the first couple years. And like ALL schools, you get the "good" or cool classes and professors, then you get the "required" courses which arent as fun.


I will go on record and say that being an engineer (graduated in 02 with degree in civil) and now having a verrrrry stroke job with the department of transportation where they pay me waaaaaaaay more than they should and have a ridiculous benefits/retirement plan that being an engineer is not worth it.

Max ceiling for making money is remarkably low for the amount of schooling and intelligence required to be a good engineer. Getting a degree in business/accounting/finance/etc offers comparable starting salaries with a much higher maximum salary ceiling and the schooling required is not even in the same ballpark as hard as engineering school. My wife got her degree in accounting and now has her CPA and pulls lots-o-munnies.

.....that being an engineer is not worth it.

Max ceiling for making money is remarkably low for the amount of schooling and intelligence required to be a good engineer. Getting a degree in business/accounting/finance/etc offers comparable starting salaries with a much higher maximum salary ceiling and the schooling required is not even in the same ballpark as hard as engineering school. My wife got her degree in accounting and now has her CPA and pulls lots-o-munnies.My .02 on this: the maximum salary on engineering careers is no more limited than business/acctng/etc, but it is true you that you may have to be willing to step away from hands-on engineering, and take on administrative & project management roles as you move up. However, I would guess that for every 20 business majors graduating, there is maybe 1 graduating engineer. Scarcity tends to make entry level wages for engineers quite a bit higher. It is true that the difficulty of the classes is higher in engineering, but you should do WHAT INTERESTS you, not what is easier or what pays more, IMO. I found it a lot easier to focus on differential equations than on that one accounting course I took, but that's just me. Good luck.

My .02 on this: the maximum salary on engineering careers is no more limited than business/acctng/etc, but it is true you that you may have to be willing to step away from hands-on engineering, and take on administrative & project management roles as you move up. However, I would guess that for every 20 business majors graduating, there is maybe 1 graduating engineer. Scarcity tends to make entry level wages for engineers quite a bit higher.

While working at DOWL Engineers for 5 years and with the state for the last 3 and having myself and lots of freinds/classmates go through engineering school, graduation, get offers from various firms, and become licensed your view in theory seems correct but in actuality it is not what I have seen or what my peers are seeing. Construction seems to be the only area where there is real money to be made in engineering unless you become owner/partner in a firm.

As of last year there were still many entry level engineers without an offer of over $50K a year when they were done with school with the average starting salary of $45-50K. This is nearly identical to what my wife sees from her peers in the accounting world. I believe that in order to make lots of money that you need to constantly deal with lots of money (accounting/finance/business)

It is true that the difficulty of the classes is higher in engineering, but you should do WHAT INTERESTS you, not what is easier or what pays more, IMO. I found it a lot easier to focus on differential equations than on that one accounting course I took, but that's just me. Good luck.

LOL, i am sorry to admit of all my math classes i felt the same way about dif-e-q. Yes you do need to do what interests you otherwise there is no way you will make it through school without burning out. It just still rubs me the wrong way how the difficulty of schooling/supply-demand/skill required compared to salary ratio of engineering seems to be off.