I was wondering which would be the better way to go? I mean, I'm 15 and I've wanted to fly for the Air Force for as long as I can remember, but I heard somewhere that it's becoming increasingly hard. My plan was to join the Air Force, and after my time there, fly commercialy. Now I'm starting to kinda look at colleges and I'm pretty much preparing my career as a commercial pilot.

Do you think one could still fly for the Air Force? Or what major should I study in college to get my Bachelor's of Science?
I've heard you don't really need a degree, but I'm going to get one either way. Would a class like "Aerospace Engineering" be hepful? (As a backup option as well)

You and I are in the same boat, almost. I thought about the military for a good while but eventually decided to get my Bachelor's Degree in Aeronautical Science at Embry-Riddle, since at least some degree is required to be hired by one of the major airlines, then go to some regional airline and build up 2500 hours then apply for a company called NetJets which flies business jets. As for the Aeronautical Engineering, in my opinion that wouldn't be that class to take if you wanted to actually fly because that class is more centered towards those going into designing and creating aircraft.

True, it's competitive, but it's not impossible. If you really want it and work for it, you can get a slot...assuming you qualify for it and all.
To fly for the Air Force, you need to be a commissioned officer, which means you do need a bach degree regardless. Your area of major really doesn't matter, so an aeronautical related major won't really give you an edge on other applicants. I'm not sure how pilot slots work out of the Academy, but in AFROTC, what matters most is passing your physicals and being eligible to fly first, then your rating. This is based on your standing as ranked by your commander, AFOQT (qualification test) results, GPA and other things all thrown in to give you a selection ranking. The better your score, the better your chance of getting a pilot slot.

So, say I go to a school such as UT and join their AFROTC program. Is their a commitment tied into that? Or if I learn I will without a doubt be unable to fly for them, could I walk away when it's over, with my degree, and pursue a commercial career?

And I wouldn't need any kinda aviation degree? Could I get my degree in something that has nothing to do with aviation like business management and take a few aviation courses on the side, and still be equally capable of getting a position at a larger airline farther down the road?

Sorry, I know I have a lot of questions.

No, your degree doesn't have to be in anything directly aviation related. Mine is a business degree. I have flown with only a handfull of people who have degrees in fields directly related to aviation. I don't count the ERAU degrees in that statement. Unless things have changed, you can go through AFROTC and not accept a commission at the end of your college years as long as you don't take any money from them, i.e., tuition, books, board, etc. Once you accept financial support you have a commitment. One way or another. You could even end up in the air force as an enlisted person.

Alright thank you.

After someone gets their degree, is going to a 2-year trade school the only option?

I mean to get their certifications and ratings if you don't get them in college?

It's a little different now. After field training (during the summer after your second year), you have to decide if you're gunna stay with the program or not. If you do stay, that is when you have to contract into a commitment with the Air Force (6 years). If you accept a scholarship, you only have up to your first year to decide, and if you decide to drop the program, you have to pay it back.

So you have two years to decide whether or not you want to stick with the AF, because after you contract, it's pretty difficult to get out of it. Like Ranger said, you can even end up enlisting.

I guess I’m more than a little bit prejudiced on this, as I’m a product of Air Force pilot training… but, given the option, I think I’d still opt for that route. Of course there are a lot of things that are different now than back in “the stone age” when I actually made that decision. The information provided by AName is very much worth considering – and I’d suggest finding out if you can opt for pilot training after college graduation and getting your commission - before you choose that route. There for a while, the only UPT entrants (sorry, Undergraduate Pilot Training) came from the Air Force Academy; and getting into ZoomSchool is a far cry from getting into college and then into AF ROTC.

The reason I’d still opt for military flight training - and I include training by the Navy (for either the Navy or Marines) – is that you wind up spending an entire year immersed in learning to fly. Of course there are some things that are related strictly to the military, but most of it is related to aviation – wherever you practice that art. Also, you get a chance to fly a couple of different aircraft types and, today, you’ll get a reasonable exposure to flight training in a simulator.

There may be an alternative to the “military route” in the future. But, the overall concept would be essentially preserved, and is the singular reason that I think that the MPL (multi-crew pilot license - newly developed by ICAO and beginning to take hold in Europe and Australia) is likely to become an accepted method for meeting the demands to fill pilot vacancies. At this time there isn’t much press – good or bad – about MPL in the US, but I think that it’s just a matter of time before the airlines (at least those that are left) are going to have to go this route themselves … or find their pilots from graduates of such programs in the US. For those of you who don’t know about this program, it’s a program that looks and functions very much like the military programs in the US. However, it’s not military oriented (obviously) and it’s much shorter in duration; military is usually just over a year … the MPL programs will likely take between 6 and 9 months … but they will cost … and I suspect that the cost will be substantial. The question is whether or not the airlines will fund some (perhaps more than “some”) of those costs. MPL will take you from “zero” to a commercial pilot certificate with a multi-engine and an instrument rating (including an increased dependence on the use of flight simulation) in preparation for you to occupy the right seat in a commercial airline operation. The use of simulation at the basic levels will likely be more of an introduction to piloting tasks, where you will complete your training on those tasks and complete your check/test on those tasks in an aircraft. As you move on up the ranks, the amount of simulation will increase – and the quality of simulation will commensurately increase as well. The idea will be to provide a combination of simulation and aircraft training that be something like 160 –190 hours of flight training. Of course, on top of that, there will be some additional academic/ground school – and the jury is still out on the specifics of what, when, and how much. There are what I call “precursors” to this type of program in operation in the US at the moment. Many of you have seen advertisements for “XYZ Aviation Training Academy,” or something similar. The difference is that the MPL approach will focus a lot on the use of dedicated, specifically designed, simulation.

While you can substitute very good training for some experience – I also believe you can make good training a basis from which the experience you DO get is a lot more likely to serve you well throughout your career. An organized training environment that you share with others on a continuing basis goes a long way toward your being able to accept the fact that you are likely to fail in some areas initially. People learn differently from one another – particularly psycho-motor skills. These are skills that use a combination of physical movements and actions in orchestrated coordination with a mental understanding of why it is you’re doing what you’re doing. Because we all learn differently and at different rates, and we use identical input stimuli differently, or at least in a differing hierarchy, different people reach levels of competency at different rates – and it has nothing at all to do with “how good” a pilot you are. Reaching those milestones at different times, and experiencing those failures, teach you about understanding and respecting the fact that you absolutely MUST understand your level of ability (all of the time) – and that you simply CANNOT exceed your ability (at ANY time). If you can see that others are struggling with certain areas, or reaching milestones of proficiency earlier or later than you, it makes it easier for you to accept the struggle you may be having, or have had or will have. The earlier in your career you meet, understand, and accept this fact, the better (and the safer) the pilot you will become.

So … ask the questions and make sure you find out all the answers you need to make a good decision. If you haven’t already learned, the aviation business isn’t growing at the rate it once was – although it is still growing. The significant factor is that within the next 3 to 10 years (strictly my opinion) there is going to be a rather significant number of current pilots that will meet the mandatory retirement age of 65 … the recent change in rules (from 60 to 65) only postponed this event a couple of years. Figures vary, of course, but the number of current pilots that may be retiring during that window range up to 35%. Certainly, some of those vacancies are going to be absorbed by the slowing of the industries’ expansion and the merging or combining of resources and services. But that still will mean a significant number of new pilots that will be necessary over the next 10-year period. Get your ducks lined up now. The best way to do that is to ask specific questions (but I’d recommend you doing some serious research on each question before you simply ask it – otherwise those of whom you ask the question will think you’re really not interested in anything but the end point) and ask them of specific people who you think are doing the type of job you are interested in doing. There are a lot of folks on this forum (and others) that will be very pleased to share their knowledge with you – you just have to make an effort to show your interest and your sincereity.

... and now you know why the name under my Avatar says "The Rant Master"

haha
Thank you very much, sir.

That also has changed a bit. For the past two years at my detachment, 100% of the cadets that had pilot or nav for their first choice and qualified for it got the slot. Just be weary that these numbers change to fit the need for pilots in the AF and can go from many slots one year to few the next. Things can be completely different by the time you get there.

Out of curiosity were some of the pilot candidates selected for unmanned vehicles? Or will they not find that out until later on?

I'm just a baby!!!!!!!!

so I'm just over 20 :D

and I want to fly the space shuttle one day :D any suggestions :D

They wont know until sometime into Undergraduate Pilot Training.

http://nasajobs.nasa.gov/astronauts/default.htm

Well, of course you could still fly for the Air Force...they still have planes don't they?

What you might want to sit a moment and think about what your ultimate goal is. Are you going to go into the AF because you want to be in the Air Force...or because you want to be in the Air Force and learn to fly so that you can have a career in the commercial industry. If you just want to fly an Airbus or Boeing, the AF might not necessarily be what you really need to fulfill your goal. And why would you want to go through that life when it's not what you really want?

I am also prejudiced like Rabbit....and also a product of the AF. There is nothing more noble, noteworthy, or just good like serving the country...even if you do get to wear pajamas and "goof off" with your buddies in airplanes. Seriously, military aviation is one of the great starting points for a career in aviation...but it has caveats that most people may not consider. Deployments, training, flying in combat zones, and balancing a family (you WILL most likely have one) with the reality of then getting out and "starting over" with an airline at crap pay are things that are intrinsic to flying and then transitioning from the military.

There are many, many pilots who served, got out to get the "paycheck", and then found themselves on furlough, losing pensions as airlines fell apart, or simply not making the money that they might have thought. Joining the Air Force means going through the struggle, the training, the separation, the hazards, the deserts, getting shot at, moving every 2 to 3 years, living in North Dakota or Wyoming, dealing with the crap in the military, missing birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, births, funerals, and all the little things in life that everyone else takes for granted. If that's what you want...join. Do it and don't look back.

If not, think about what Rabbit says...there are other ways to be airline. I'm just sayin'...