Military pilot or Civilian

I am in a weird pickle and I would like some advice. Right now I have 3 options to choose from in order to start flying. My overall goal is to become a pilot. I am enlisted with 4 years of service and still currently in the military. I am pursuing my undergraduate degree online and will be done by the end of 2018. My three options right now are completing my degree and applying for a pilot slot in the Air Force (branch I’m currently in), separate from the service (palace chase: leave active duty and join an Air National Guard until) and attend a school with a flying program, or stay enlisted, finish my degree then try to get as many cert’s as I can until my enlistment is over in 2022. Any insight would help me out a lot. Thanks!

Jesus,

You say your “overall goal is to become a pilot”. The question is do you want to be an airline pilot or a military pilot? If you choose to remain in the Air Force I believe the minimum commitment is 8 years for a pilot slot. Great aircraft, great training IF you want to be a military pilot. If however you want to be an airline pilot than I wouldn’t wait another 8yrs to do it.

Adam

Jesus,

If you can get a pilot training slot in either the Air Force or the ANG, I would absolutely recommend doing that. Beyond that, if you really want to be a pilot, the best thing you can do is get yourself into the cockpit as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the less time you have to fly for the airlines.

Chris