BB,

I am not going to try to talk you out of letting the military teach you to fly. It was a great life for me. I just want you to know what you are in for and do it with your eyes open.

A Military Pilot is an Officer first. Even an Army Warrant Officer is still an Officer first. That is your official Job Description and what your annual Performance appraisal will be about. How good an Officer you are. If you have a job such as Maintenance Test Pilot or Instructor Pilot those will only be mentioned as a small part of your appraisal.

Your actual flying time will be measured in 2 or 4 hours a week. Unless you are in a Combat Zone and then there are other things to worry about. If in a Zone, and the chances right now are approaching 110% your stress level of trying to keep up with the flying schedule is enough to make anyone prematurely Gray. (See any photo of me, I'm actually only 28 but tell everyone I'm 56 because that's how old I look.)

But the Military will make you one of the best pilots in the world. You will have the opportunity to do things that the rest of the world will never believe.

In the Civilian world there are always jobs for a good, high time Pilot. You have to seek them out and be very competitive to get them though. I have friends who have racked up thousands of hours flying pipelines. Others who fly Medical Evacuation, Traffic control and TV and Radio traffic reporting. There is always the logging industry, Fire Fighting, Heli-tourism, and fish spotting.

True, there are a lot fewer Helicopters than their are fixed wing but there are also fewer good pilots.

One thing I have noticed about the good pilots and the ones that get all the good jobs is they are the ones who would be hanging out at the airport even if they didn't fly. They are the ones who flying is their whole life. What they do, what they dream about at night, what they breath in and out. If that is you them nothing will stop you. Not me, not advice, not lack of a job or even lack of food.

If you are not that sort of person then perhaps a rethink may be in order. Remember that in this day and age the average person will have between 5 and 15 careers in their lifetime. The days of working 30 years and getting the gold watch are gone. If you don't yet have an all consuming passion for something yet, don't worry, It will come.