USAF Enlisted vs. Officer! Pros & cons explained

Disclaimer: Discussions and opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of the United States Space Force or Air Force.

Sharing an open platform to answer questions about my experiences in the Air Force, transition to the Space Force, and my passion for space!

As commissioning boards are getting more and more competitive, becoming a USAF officer can be challenging!
I have had people reach out to me asking if they should apply on the civilian vs. enlisted side for officer training school (OTS).
Here is some great information comparing enlisted vs. officer!

Just to clarify, I surveyed 50 officers higher ranking than me and I’m sharing their experiences and opinions through my platform. As explained in my video!

Please comment with your questions!!

For all of my videos, I really want to have an open forum with my viewers and subscribers. Obviously, I have a passion for space and I want to share my experiences in the Air Force and in the new branch as we transition into the United States Space Force. Through my videos, I will also provide the latest space news updates and bring in interviews with space professionals, enlisted and officer personnel, recruiters, etc.


Future video topics will entail information on:
United States Air Force Academy (USAFA),
Air Force training,

Air Force jobs in demand 2020
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Air Force jobs that translate into civilian life,
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Space Force,
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I hope you enjoy my videos and comment with your questions, look forward to hearing from you all!


Video reference links:

Social media:

[mdmarko]

Enlisted many years ago, commissioned later. Actually served in the same unit, first enlisted, got out, commissioned through ROTC, came right back as a second lieutenant. The enlisted time definitely made me a much better officer. Been retired many years now.

[TicklerDude]

E-1 = $1650/month. O-1 = $3385/month. Nuff said.

[nickarnold]

I 100% agree that it is beneficial to enlist first before applying to OTS, even if you already have a degree. I enlisted with my Bachelor's, used tuition assistance to pay for my Master's, and was able to get accepted through the Medical Service Corps commissioning program thanks to my prior experience and degrees. Also, prior-service officers tend to get more respect as they can relate to the enlisted members they are leading.

[IronDisulfide]

My favorite argument for enlisting first:

If you enlist first, you can join an Air National Guard unit while going to college, or you can do college while Active Enlisted. This would give you a chance to start racking up years-of-service toward retirement while also working toward becoming an officer.

Also, you're getting paid for those years as Enlisted. So, as long as someone buckles down on college during their 4 year enlisted contract, I believe an enlisted-first officer can make more money in the long run compared to a college-first officer. And then there's the benefit of being a 4-years-in-service O1 with possible job qualifications that result in bonus pay.

[taylorgerrish]

This is exactly what I was looking for! I am just graduating with my cyber security degree and I felt like I needed to go officer or it would be wasted. But I'm totally ok going in a as a noobie after watching this! It's true. You need to see if the airforce is for you and the best place to start is at the bottom! Thanks so much for this. Now I just have to lose some weight to get in hahaha

[TheSpearPoint]

Great channel, as an A1C this is great content that would be hard to find without you!

[Tatsuya.O_hkt]

The most important thing here is that OTS candidates don’t have to go to basic training. Sure, they have their own bootcamp but it’s way easier and you get treated better.

[stutter_studios]

About to graduate from college with a bachelors. My father is a retired officer (Air Force), but I’d rather go the enlisted route as of now. Your video is incredibly helpful! Thanks and God Bless 🙏🏼💙

[themoose]

Something else to think about when getting your commission is that an officer can be released from duty if they have a poor OER or they need to trim the ranks. This can be anything from poor performance, poor PT Scores, not getting a qualification or school, or any other problem or concern your superiors have about you. I have seen this not only with officers but enlisted as well but officers are told to get out enlisted are asked to get out.

[OFFICIALSTEVENYANG]

Based on my research and experiences I gathered with other military guys, It's VERY HARD to go from Enlisted to OTS officer. Some of them go through 20 years of military and could never make it to Officer level. So if you do plan to join the AF as officer, come in as an officer first (even if it takes you 12-18 months to apply), It's worth it and this is probably your only chance to come in as a higher rank than everyone else. Your chance to become an officer is less than 3% when you go in as enlisted rounte. It's even harder if you're a minority. The military is mostly White male dominted ranks too, so it's harder for others race to go from enlisted to officer. This is all based on talking to several recruiters, military friends and current AF enlisted.

[icxc]

One thing to consider as well is the age of commissioning. The Air Force and Space Force allow you to commission up to age 39 as opposed to the Army and other branches which is 32 or 34.

[jamesdoe]

Great video. You might also mention my scenerio of graduating from ROTC, I was commissioned and served 8 years active duty, transfered to the AF Reserves while taking a GS12 Federal Air Force Civilian Flight Chief. This way you can get a AF Pension from the Reserves and a Air Force Civil Service Pension...plus I also get VA Disability Pension at 100% due to medical conditions that occured while I was a active duty officer. BtW whats the tattoo on your right arm? Lots of great Air Force Civilian careers that you can get being prior Air Force military and if you don't do 20 years active duty, you can buy back your military time to add to your AF civil service time for retirement so you wont lose that 6yrs or 12yrs you may have done already either as a officer or enlisted member. Good luck Superstar!

[sharifp]

If you already have a 4 year degree DO NOT ENLIST. Take yo behind to OCS/OTS. Trust me you’ll think me later.

[preis]

Shipping out October 3rd for Dental Assistant. 🎉

[madgun]

That is a very interesting insight, E05 AF here, our structures and CoS are very similar, after 15 years I'm struggling to promote due to availabilities, I am definitely looking towards OTS as now the only logical progression in my career. Great video! 😊

[cliffmashburn]

I was enlisted for 3 years, then officer. Problem with being an officer is if you don't make Major at 12 years you're let go, and I knew several good men that it happened to. Stupid rule. Also, little things that as an enlisted man will get you a letter of reprimand or even just a chewing out will ruin your career as an officer. Enlisted people can get an Article 15 and continue on without a problem, get an Article 15 as an officer and you're through, you will not promote after that so you may as well get out.

[MikeMiasuki-vyxx]

I would add this. I do not know about the "free education". People with inside day jobs can take advantage of off duty education better than people who work on the flight line or in the missile field. It is not easy. Congrats on your success. The AF has changed a lot. I wish you luck in the Space Force. Make sure you can move around if needed to enhance promotion opportunity. My advice is to take an OPR (front and back) place it under the plexiglass of your desk. Each day try to satisfy as many of the blocks as you can. Keep track of what you do. Make bullets and other similar statements suitable to insert on an OPR. Hand in (to your rater) this information around three to four months before your OPR is due. Keep a copy. Remember, you must take care of yourself before you can take care of other things.

[miguelgumulak]

There are many way to get into the military, enlisted is the Barney style way with very little responsibility and consequences. Officer side is the adult at the officer side with high standards, responsibility and sacrifices. Officer was for me, but then again that was after doing enlisted Marine Corps then going Officer through the ROTC commissioning program while doing school, if you’re prior service you only need 2 years ROTC in college to get commissioned

[jameyteng]

As a former enlisted Air Force exactly why I left the Air Force when the officers ruled the military and the segregation between the two ranks that was enough for me

[angiepatterson]

I enlisted in the Navy and was an ATC. I wanted to have the Navy pay for college so I didn’t have debt over my head for the rest of my life but found that I just wouldn’t be able to deal with all the politics that surround rising in the ranks as an officer once you pass O-3 and liked doing things the way that I was. I just wanted to say that not seeking the officer ranks doesn’t mean that you’re lazy or unmotivated.

The pay doesn’t matter (which always makes me laugh) because the military has never been the road to riches and even the officers don’t make as much as their civilian counterparts. You just need to make sure that you pick a MOS that has real world applications. I did, but if you’re an ordie or something else that’s similar you won’t find to many jobs that need it in the civilian world.