Re: Is a technical major necessary for a chance at an AF pilot slot?

mike275 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:44:26 GMT

(Laughs) Solved my own post.
Got a very good answer from an AFROCT Instructor:

N O.

That's one of the biggest myths. Makes me crazy. 53% of AFROTC pilot selects last year did not have a technical degree. Did Not. The board never sees your major. They see your commander's recommendation, your GPA, your AFOQT score, your most recent PFA and your TBAS score.

Your GPA actually factors in 3 times, one its own, your CC will use it to rank you, and its also factored into the TBAS score.

So bottomline: pick a major that you will like and do well in.

Is a technical major necessary for a chance at an AF pilot slot?

mike275 — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:54:09 GMT

Hello, my names Mike and I’m a freshman in the AFROTC (currently non-scholarship). As of now, I’m declared as an accounting major, but time is ticking away and I need to make a decision within the next week for a certain path.

I have conflicting thoughts on the subject due to reasons I will state below, but I was curious if there was a general consensus, and if so could someone with experience please inform me?

My brother attends VMI, on a Navy ROTC scholarship. He is in his senior year, majoring in mechanical engineering. He struggled, but worked hard through it all, and recently received a pilot slot. I couldn’t be happier for him. I also heard that his friends with degrees such as history, English, etc; the Navy is having a hard time figuring out what to do with them.

Now, just today, in my leadership lab, we had an amazing guest speaker who volunteered on his break. An F-16 fighter pilot, a very cool guy all around. He gave a great presentation on the jet and how he got there. I asked him after the presentation what he majored in, and he finished college as a Political Science major, with a 2.8 gpa.

I really want to put up a fighting chance for a pilot slot, it’s a dream of mine, as of many others. I’m willing to work hard for it. So should I switch my major to something like mechanical engineering, in order for a better chance down the road for a slot?

Of course I’m aware of the extreme amount of factors that goes into pilot slot selection, I’m just wondering about the degree aspect as of now, so hold all other factors equal.

Thanks for any help/advice.

How to become a Military Pilot

Re: Is a technical major necessary for a chance at an AF pilot slot?

Is a technical major necessary for a chance at an AF pilot slot?