u/BuffaloNo8789

I am in financial hardship. My car's transmission is toast. My unemployment is exhausted. The problem isn't getting interviews. For my line of work I have to go to the state capital hours away for the interview. Can't do that right now. I've signed up with a temp agency, but there's no work locally. It's a somewhat rural area. I went to some local fast food spots and not hired.

My recruiter only let me know a few days before I swore in that I would have UTA days BEFORE BMT. I was very transparent about my financial situation the whole enlistment process.

The Master Sargeant on the base excused me for Sept UTA under financial hardship. But for October he said he would need to let leadership know on Monday. The UTA date is on Oct 16th. As soon as I was connected to the Master Sargeant in August, I have let him know my current situation.

I live less than 150 miles away but still two hours away. So a car rental won't be refunded (you have to be 150+ miles away). Nor do I have the cash to even put down a deposit for one. It would be a little over $500.

I'm on my last few hundred dollars of savings. Not sure what to do.

In a perfect world I could find a civilian job on base and they could offer temp housing while I wait for BMT. Not sure if that's a possibility.

I already got my CAC card done. My friend could offer me a ride but they would need to stay in the hotel with me bc they can't afford gas to leave the two hours back on Friday and then come get me on Sunday. They're going through a messy custody battle and have a lot of legal fees. My recruiter let me know that's not allowed. Only I'm supposed to be in the hotel room.

What do you think leadership will say?

What are my options?

Are there any employment/housing services I qualify for pre-BMT?

I tested really high overall 77 but my Air Force reserves Recruiter is saying he only has crew chief available at the reserve unit closest to my home for me. I had national guard reach out to me on the low and said they could get me intelligence. I’ve never been a mechanic before. I’m joining in my 40s and have largely been a writer in marketing for about 20 years. I was really pumped up about the crew chief position because of top gun lol. I scored really high on the Mechanic because I could figure some stuff out and I have a lot of people in my family that are gearheads. Plus my dad was a crew chief active duty for 20 years in the Air Force and showed us how to check the oil and simple stuff growing up. Before the air National Guard reached out to me, I was kind of pumped about crew chief and did a lot of research. How hard is it for a newbie to learn. Do I get to work on jets? Is crew chief the same person that escorts the jet off the strip and salutes them for takeoff? I heard that there’s competitions for different kinds of ways to salute and escort the aircraft off the strip. I mean, I see that on TikTok. There’s just not enough information for crew chief for newbies. Also, do I get to pick whether I could work on jets? Cause that seems really exciting. Marketing is a fast paced environment so I am able to fall instructions pretty quickly. Just wanting to make sure I can grasp the actual material. The intelligence position the National Guard offered me was geospatial 1n1x1.

I know it’s only one weekend a month, but I really want to leverage this for a civilian job because I am partially joining reserves since the economy is so hard. It’s been the toughest year of my life getting back to work after a short-term contract with the state to do an analyst role where I largely did pre-counseling assessing the public needs.

At this point of my life, I really don’t think anything is too hard for me to learn, but I do want to hear from some seasoned Crew Chiefs. Also, my Recruiter said there’s a potential to travel to some really cool bases as a crew chief. But what’s the point of traveling if I don’t know if I’m going to understand the material. Obviously there’s challenges within any career so maybe I’m overthinking?

When do I get to ride in the jet? I’ve seen some people say that they’ve been able to go out on test runs as a passenger in the second seat.

I did see on Reddit one person did complain about the intelligence position because you could be stuck in a dark room on third shift looking at a screen for 12 hours. That really doesn’t appeal to me but the National Guard Recruiter said at Beale base I would just work from 7 to 4 PM. With the potential of rubbing elbows with commanders, which also sounds exciting as far as creating a referral, pool and network

The air National Guard Recruiter did let me know that crew chiefs have way more mechanical work than I was anticipating. My Air Force reserve Recruiter made it sound like I would be more in a role that does logistics and inspections, like looking after the work of others and checking it off to make sure that it’s completed.

I tested really high overall 77 but my Air Force reserves Recruiter is saying he only has crew chief available at the reserve unit for me. I had national guard reach out to me on the low and said they could get me intelligence. I’ve never been a mechanic before. I’m joining in my 40s and have largely been a writer in marketing for about 20 years. I was really pumped up about the crew chief position because of top gun lol. I scored really high on the Mechanic because I could figure some stuff out and I have a lot of people in my family that are gearheads. Plus my dad was a crew chief and showed us how to check her oil and simple stuff growing up. Before the air National Guard reached out to me. I was kind of pumped about crew chief and did a lot of research. How hard is it for a newbie to learn. Do I get to work on jets? Is crew chief the same person that escorts the jet on the strip and salutes them for takeoff? I heard that there’s competitions for a different kinds of ways to salute and escort the aircraft off the strip. I mean, I see that on TikTok. There’s just not enough information for crew cheese for newbies. Also, do I get to pick whether I could work on jets? Cause that seems really exciting. Marketing is a fast paced environment so I am able to fall instructions pretty quickly. Just wanting to make sure I can grasp the actual material. The intelligence position the National Guard offered me was geospatial 1n1x1.

I know it’s only one weekend a month, but I really want to leverage this for a civilian job because I am partially joining reserves since the economy is so hard. It’s been the toughest year of my life getting back to work after a short-term contract with the state to do an analyst role where I largely did pre-counseling assessing the public needs.

At this point of my life, I really don’t think anything is too hard for me to learn, but I do want to hear from some season crew Chiefs. Also, my Recruiter said there’s a potential to travel to some really cool bases as a crew chief. But what’s the point of traveling if I don’t know if I’m going to understand the material. Obviously there’s challenges within any career so maybe I’m overthinking?

I did see Reddit one person did complain about the intelligence position because you could be stuck in a dark room on third shift looking at a screen for 12 hours. That really doesn’t appeal to me but the National Guard Recruiter said at Beale base I would just work from 7 to 4 PM. With the potential of rubbing elbows with commanders, which also sounds really good as far as creating a referral pool and network goes. But there is pressure from the National Guard to make my decision today because of time, constraints and age cut off. I turn 42 pretty soon.

Travis Air Force Base is where the Air Force reserve wants to send me for my assignment

Public affairs was what I really wanted, but there’s Zero in the state of California. I do plan on finishing my bachelors and getting my masters in journalism.

It might seem like a no-brainer to choose intelligence, but honestly both career paths appeal to me.

1n1x1 Air National Guard or Reserves

Someone who works in this job tell me if you’re stuck in a dark room for 12 hours a day working third shift? I also understand that there may be some new technology that does much of the calculating for you so you’re really just doing detailed reports. Like 12 airplanes were in this area Tuesday, now on Wednesday there’s 15 which indicates an upcoming deployment.

What are the chances of being activated for full-time hours?

The ANG recruiter says I could go work at Beale.

I’m currently working with the Air Force reserves recruiter for Travis. The only thing he could get me is crew chief as that is the only thing open.

ANG recruiter said the crew chief role is actually a mechanic-heavy role. My AF reserve recruiter was kind of vague and made it seem like more logistics, checking lists off on completed work, paperwork, and escorting the jet off the strip with the final sendoff salute. I mean that sounds pretty exciting but the air National Guard Recruiter said no, I would actually be working on the jet. Hands on. Mechanical.

Is it super complicated? I did figure out how to change the air sensor on my car last spring… From YouTube videos.

My background is a writer in digital marketing for 16 years. Not sure what my career expectations are in the civilian world once I complete BMT and school. I’m currently unemployed from a contract that ended. And the job market has been really tough. I do plan on finishing my last year in journalism and then get my masters in journalism as well.

The intelligence pay is really great if I get activated. But after school, I could easily go make $100,000 a year in a civilian job based on my research. I do see some analyst/logistics roles that might pay as much that align with crew chief skill set.

My dad spent 20 years as a crew chief in the Air Force so I’m kind of familiar with the lifestyle. But again I would be joining Air Force reserves. I do understand that there may be some fun opportunities to travel more with this job to some really cool bases like Italy, Japan.

Also, the only point I am joining is to get education benefits, as well as use on my résumé as leverage to getting a high paying civilian job. Does anybody have a similar experience where you leverage your reservist or guard job to get a sibling job?

41 yo female, ASVAB 77, physically active and love life. Birthday is 7/16 so the

My initial incentives for going reserves is to broaden my skill set. Hoping that listing reserves on resume will give me a leg up in competitive job field.

I've been in marketing for 16 years as a writer/editor and I've been a freelance writer since I was 18 submitting to local news outlets. I have an AS in Sociology/73 credits (mostly done online 2008-2010) and want to finish BA and MS in Journalism (probably go online?). I also have a cyber security AA paid for by the state, just have to complete core classes since I already have an Associates. Also have project management certification and USC extension program completion of Digital Court Reporter with Transcription. All of this free as part of unemployment incentives. Paralegal program may be free as well in next coming months or next year.

After a huge lay off from a major marketing firm in 2017, I went into social services/pre-counsel and utilized my data skills for data management and data risk management broadly speaking. I've worked with special needs adults for IPs and children IEPs. (Making detailed assessments on behavior and other observations to keep track records/goals aligned with what a psychiatrist felt the individual was capable of.)

Most recent work is AI Annotations for META last summer and a few contracts last spring for same. Also an Analyst for the state last summer on contract. The state role was a lot of data management and equally as much pre-counsel for individuals leaving rehab and being placed in either vocational or educational training programs.

A lot of the work in both verticals requires compliance knowledge for many regulated industries I either work in or write/edit for.

Marketing is highly competitive and a lot is being offloaded to AI, hence why I crossed over to more analytical roles that need human eyes. Overall, hoping the reserves will give me a competitive edge in this economy.

My recruiter said the only jobs available at Travis AFB are:

• Hydraulics
• Propulsion

I have to decide rather quickly as my recruiter has stressed the birthday/cut off timeline. He did say AGE has potential to go full time/activated within reserves. Maybe for Crew Chief as well. I don't know if AGE necessarily appeals to me. The most salary I've made is about $4,200/month so I'm wanting to get closer to $100k a year and am thinking I could do that as a federal employee or private sector at Google/SpaceX/etc in an analytical role (NOT electrician, HVAC, etc but I'm open to suggestions...).

My dad was stationed in Germany, Turkey, and South Carolina. I have fond memories of traveling and also didn't hate SC lol. I'm pretty much used to humidity. Being outdoors doesn't bother me, active jobs don't bother me,. I've worked a ton in social services which has helped me keep my head on straight as far as disgruntled coworkers, corporate burnout, and constantly shifting objectives/goals.

Crew Chief seems to align more with my self-lead/team lead/leadership roles I've had. I'm really good about keeping records straight and staying on top of paperwork. I also have a high retention level for information, which makes me pretty decent at taking tests. I remember my dad taking a lot of tests, but he was AD. I scored higher on the ASVAB than I though I would due to study time. I basically decided to join the reserves 2 months ago due to ongoing unemployment and education goals.

Recruiter also said Crew Chief has higher chances of traveling abroad, which honestly appeals to me A LOT.

My recruiter did say there is a chance for cross-training into public affairs or intelligence. He did stress that the spots are competitive and interview based.

Which job should I pick? I believe I could learn HVAC and electrical for AGE with no prior experience, but I just don't know if the constant movement/tinkering around with heavy machinery appeals to me. Will I be bent over equipment all day in all kinds of weather? I am aware the Crew Chiefs are on their feet a lot as well, inspecting aircraft, which doesn't bother me.

He wasn't sure when I'd be sent off to BMT. He said it could be up to 6 months. I'm go

EDIT

I did have an ANG recruiter reach out to me on Facebook in a recruiting group. She said she could get me 1n1x1 position at Beale base. I think we’re speaking on 7/13 Monday to make sure she can get the paperwork in on time.

I’m going to ask what activation looks like for this position. Because some people were saying you might be stuck in a dark room on third shift looking at a screen for 12 hours. I’m curious about full-time with the guard and if this particular base is first shift, swing, or third shift. I imagine my one weekend though is first shift.

KDP emailed a warning that they removed my ebook because it’s too interactive. Books containing puzzles or journaling are not allowed on Kindle. If I continue to break this role, I will be banned or blocked or something.

My book is mostly writing with a few fill in the blank lines after questions. It’s not really a journaling book. It has a few worksheets. That’s it. I thought the whole purpose of Kindle scribe was to be able to write in books. Am I wrong? Sucks that I can’t do this as an e-book. Is Amazon in the wrong for this? It’s a 36 page workbook that I’m doing as part of a eight book series. The other books will probably be well over 70 pages. But this is an intro to the series.

Little confused by online information. I have an Associates of Sociology (AS). I want to get a paralegal certification. Do I need to get another AS? What do I do to get that? I see "Associates of Paralegal". I thought it was a certification... I would like to go online. I'm dealing with housing insecurity and am moving around a lot. Any recommendations for online programs that don't use ProctorU (so many problems with that service).

I'm debating on which to join and must decide fast as I turn 42 in a few months. I'm in great physical shape and enhancing my career path is optimal atm. I have an Associates of Science with Sociology major and have worked in digital marketing as a writer for the past 16 years. These past few years I've migrated to news journalism, compliance writing, and writing/editing in regulatory fields (legal, healthcare, etc). I've worked for the city, county (Los Angeles) and most recently state of CA (Dept of Rehabilitation) as an analyst which was a perfect fit for me assessing needs of the public leaving drug rehab and making networks for state-funded school/training/work on their behalf.

I haven't taken the ASVAB (studying atm) so not sure which job I'm qualified for. I have extra credits, adding up to 73 total, which means I have about 1.5 years left to finish my BA. I'll probably get BA in Journalism as I've seen in my job searches that it's good for investigative roles/fraud analyst roles/and writing if I want to keep doing that... I would like to also get Masters and PhD in Journalism or Mass Comss. I'm really good at investigative/analysis roles and know how to network well.

I want to get all of them done in at least 6 years, hence why I'm not going Active Duty. I grew up military brat with my father retiring full 20 years when I was 12 and my mother did 4 years, both AF and Vietnam Era veterans and father as Desert Storm vet too. I'm familiar with military life and living abroad. Military seems thrilling, though I know not every day is like that. Not even in Active Duty.

My recruiter told me Public Affairs has no openings right now and Paralegal office/dept is not taking non prior right now (not sure if that's the most up-to-date info). He suggested I cross train once out of tech school. So, I'll probably go for cyber or comms related as I am tech savvy. No IT background though, just working with large databases and intricate digital marketing software/programs.

What are thoughts on line of work chosen or what might be available to me and ANG or AF Reserves? Also, what will AFCC look like since I already have AS - Sociology?

I'm debating on which to join and must decide fast as I turn 42 in a few months. I'm in great physical shape and enhancing my career path is optimal atm. I have an Associates of Science with Sociology major and have worked in digital marketing as a writer for the past 16 years. These past few years I've migrated to news journalism, compliance writing, and writing/editing in regulatory fields (legal, healthcare, etc). I've worked for the city, county (Los Angeles) and most recently state of CA (Dept of Rehabilitation) as an analyst which was a perfect fit for me assessing needs of the public leaving drug rehab and making networks for state-funded school/training/work on their behalf.

I haven't taken the ASVAB (studying atm) so not sure which job I'm qualified for. I have extra credits, adding up to 73 total, which means I have about 1.5 years left to finish my BA. I'll probably get BA in Journalism as I've seen in my job searches that it's good for investigative roles/fraud analyst roles/and writing if I want to keep doing that... I would like to also get Masters and PhD in Journalism or Mass Comss. I'm really good at investigative/analysis roles and know how to network well.

I want to get all of them done in at least 6 years, hence why I'm not going Active Duty. I grew up military brat with my father retiring full 20 years when I was 12 and my mother did 4 years, both AF and Vietnam Era veterans and father as Desert Storm vet too. I'm familiar with military life and living abroad. Military seems thrilling, though I know not every day is like that. Not even in Active Duty.

My recruiter told me Public Affairs has no openings right now and Paralegal office/dept is not taking non prior right now (not sure if that's the most up-to-date info). He suggested I cross train once out of tech school. So, I'll probably go for cyber or comms related as I am tech savvy. No IT background though, just working with large databases and intricate digital marketing software/programs.

What are thoughts on line of work chosen or what might be available to me and ANG or AF Reserves? Also, what will AFCC look like since I already have AS - Sociology?