Anyone here gone through OCS from the civilian side?

So heres the deal. I graduated ASU back in december of 2009 and have been working at USAA fulltime since. Im ready to join the military and make it a career. Im interested in flying but it would not be a dealbreaker if something came up and i didnt pass the flight physical .

That being said, Im looking into all of the branches both at flying careers and others. My father is a retired Lt. Col. and was a fighter pilot in the AF, so i have his help in that arena, however he made it through ROTC. I decided that I wanted to join after it was too late for me to go ROTC. That being said, I dont know anyone who has gone through college and submitted their packet for OCS/OTS, so i dont know how to go about it and what steps I need to take.

Another large hurtle I need to get over is finding out what i would like to do if flying does not work out..... The issue here is that I simply dont have the information to make a knowledgeable decision as to what i would like to do. Its like when you get out of highschool and they tell you "you should know what you want to do". Well the only experience I have as far as work goes is insurance.

Id like to find a source or multiple that could maybe explain some career fields in depth or put me through a "day in the life of.....".

Im also married with 1 two year old son, so im open to feedback as to which would be the better branch/job, ect.

Thanks guys for taking the time to read.

-kris

 

talk to a recruiter.

 

Yea, I have been in touch with a recruiter however the experience i have had with recruiters is that they only know so much.... they give me the same info that is listed on the military sites.... as far as the various careers go.

 

check this site out http://www.military.com/. here's a link to the forum http://forums.military.com/eve/forums.

lots of great info on there with people of all branches and career fields, im sure they can help you out. i got a ton of info from there when i was lookin to join. good luck and hope you find what your lookin for

 

I just did it in the Army about three years ago. So if you have any questions let me know.

 

I will have to look into Coast Guard.

Thanks for the helpful feedback guys, I really do appreciate it.....

and im open to more!

I will keep you guys posted on the info i collect as to get some unbiased opinions.

 

As far as getting the job you want will be hard through OCS since you will make a dream sheet and choose your prefernce of branches, then it will be based off of the Order of Merit List (OML). If you do great at OCS and are the top of your class you might get the branch that you want.

As far as being a pilot, you will definitely deploy alot, but I think it would be the greatest job in any branch. The choice is up to you! GL

 

Talk to an Army Recruiter about their Aviator Program. LINK.

You go to Basic and then to Warrant Officer Candidate School which is 6 weeks. When you graduate that you are a Warrant Officer. You then go down the street to Flight School (around 52 weeks long) which is considered a PCS move so you can move your family there with you. All Army Aviators start out with helicopters but after you get more time in service and experience you can apply for Fixed Wing.

The best thing about going this route is that you will know if you pass the Flight Physical before you are committed. You will take the Physical at MEPS. You must also be able to obtain a Secret Clearance and score at least a 110 GT score when you take your ASVAB.

By the way, I want to thank you for your service with USAA. It is by far the best customer friendly company I ever done business with.

 

I didn't read anything of this thread, but YES, I went through OIS (the Navy version) as a civilian medical student. My dad did OCS way back in the 70's, but was a staff sgt at the time.

If you have questions, PM me.

Edit: OK, now I read it. For deployment and "best" lifestyle, AF has it made. Coasties and Navy both have good time together, but CG deployes a LOT, and Navy deploys LONG. Plus the work-up's for the Navy are little 1 and 2 weeker's between the 9 month deployment. Marines and Army have long (7-15 month) deployments, but tend to be home when they're "home." And don't forget the Reserves and National Guard equivalents.

All branches have pilots! I'm not totally sure the physical requirements, but you could probably google them. As for other jobs, the recruiters will have all 120+ jobs available, or can get them. You'd have to figure out for yourself what you like. If you like the insurance business, I bet they can get you with some sort of admin job. After all, if you can't be a pilot, someone still has to keep them fuel'd, arm'd, maintained, etc...

Good luck!