WHY I'M JOINING THE AIR FORCE 2020 | ENLISTING WITH A BACHELORS DEGREE? | ENLISTMENT VS COMMISSION

[@laurenanderson6466]

I’ve been in for over 2 years and have my bachelor’s in Spanish & my masters in social work. I chose to enlist because I knew that being an officer was a huge responsibility & I wanted to get experience under my belt so that I can be a more well rounded LT. Plus I need to obtain my clinical license to continue to work as a social worker in the Air Force. The Air Force will allow my do to get my clinical supervision hours for free. That would’ve been very hard to get clinical supervision for free if I was still civilian. Also, I know my limits & know that retiring as a captain would be the best option for me.

[@krystall5516]

I’m enlisting with a degree for the same reason...time!! I needed a financial waiver which took a minute. Currently at the hotel going to MEPS tomorrow

[@AlisaNicole]

Yes girl because it takes so much time for them to get approved. Congratulations on it going through successfully, and good luck at MEPS tomorrow!!

[@krystall5516]

@@AlisaNicole thank you!!

[@Slifer8521]

How did it go?

[@ts4426]

What a beautiful, gentle voice you have😁

[@TicklerDude]

Apply for OTS, and I mean ASAP. Nuff said.

[@mikloridden8276]

OTS is back logged for 1-2 years and wont talk to you unless you have a 3.6 and Stem degree

[@jasminmarino1475]

same, the more I stay in my degree, the more I feel like I am burning out on whatever interest or passion I had for it at the beginning of college. I am debating between enlisting or commissioning after finishing my bachelor's degree.

[@AlisaNicole]

You definitely should shoot for commissioning! That’s still in my plans as well! & I’ve grown to see that I’m slowly gravitating back to what I went to school for. I know you can really get burnt out during, especially when you’re in your major classes. Just think of the long game. I’m sure you won’t regret it.

[@wl6279]

I'm glad to see somebody recognizes the real lol The best officers who transition from enlisted to officer status makes the best officers.

[@courtneyrae9222]

Laughing so hard at the not being broke after college, hence why I’m watching this video hahahaha

[@sciencebae]

Me too 😂 Y’all are hilarious!

[@Imstillgeorge]

for me I’m 22 and about to get my bachelors in Marketing, I took my AFOQT and failed the English section but passed everything else fine. I have no ROTC experience and now in this bubble of thinking to join the military maybe in an enlister route or try to be an officer in another branch or use my marketing degree and find a job.

[@JG20204]

What are you thinking about doing? I’m in the exact same route. Do ROTC and get a masters? ( don’t wanna do school) Air Force, I think I’d say we can learn as enlisted and then put in some packages as officers

[@JaeGabrielle.]

Hey Alisa! Thank you for your time and insight on joint the Air Force. I have a question, can you opt out of vaccines and if so are religious exemptions accepted?

[@rppuddy]

I enlisted in the AF in 2016 as a Pharmacy Technician with a Bachelor’s in biology (immigrant from Jamaica, wasn’t a citizen at the time), took the AFOQT in 2017 (failed it terribly. Ahahah!). Deployed to Afghanistan in 2020, then got off active duty in 2021 and switch to reserves. Got accepted to Pharmacy school in 2021, commissioned through HPSP and going back to active duty as a pharmacist in 2024. Nothing wrong with enlisting with a Bachelors (I learnt so much that propelled me to go to pharmacy school). Just always have a goal and stick with it. The AF (military in general) has various opportunities, so work with what works for you.

[@sciencebae]

🎉🎉🎉 Congratulations! You did good! I am almost done with my Biology degree and am continuing on to graduate school for a PhD. I want to commission into the Public Health Service Commission but we’ll see I’m exhausting all my options to secure my way into government healthcare. What was difficult about the officer test?

[@rppuddy]

I didn’t adequately prepare😂still, I have friends who passed but weren’t selected. The uniformed services university of the health sciences (military medical school) offers a public health degree I think. You can check that out.

[@kenzw7570]

So you may or may not see this but i am a junior in college and I’m wanting to join the USAF and i had a question. If you were to go the officer route would you still do basic training? I know things have changed over the years.

[@hairqween7242]

Hi! Just in case she doesn’t respond my partner and I recently met with a recruiter going on 2 weeks ago. I plan to go in as enlisted and my partner has about a year left on his degree and was thinking of going commission route . Enlisted and officer route have different recruiters. But the enlisted recruiter did tell us that instead of regular BMT (basic training) they have their own officer training which is their own type of BMT.

[@WodyCody]

Amazing vid

[@t-point7569]

What do I need to study for the air-force Asvab

[@bigsissenpai]

Will they accept people who have a non-STEM degree?? I have a BA and MFA in writing, but I really want to join the AF over the Army or Navy.

[@ikechukwunjoku5107]

Yes they will, enlisting is easier than commissioning because they prefer stem for commissioning

[@kalandicethomas9980]

Hey Alisa I am literally struggling with the same decision right now. I know this was made 2 years earlier but I’m going through the same process. I currently have my bachelors but my gpa is 2.9, I still have 30 lbs to loose and have been debating on enlist or officer… I also want to get my doctorate in PT but do not want to pay as I already have 25k to pay back for undergrad. I’m struggling girl, what advice do you have knowing what you know now?

[@samanthacontreras724]

Sis word for word I’m in the exact scenario 😭 from the gpa to the weight! Still struggling with what to do at the moment

[@Lexusfordd]

I’m enlisted and I have 2 degrees working on my BSN now. I’ll hit Staff before I commission as a LT! Cause I need all my coins 🤣 also for the people who keep saying go to OTS right off the bat. Ma’am don’t do that you’ll get experience as enlisted first. Then go officer cause these Rotc kids/civilians act like they bout to run stuff cause you’re an officer. Please 🙄

[@drewjoerger9476]

Can you pursue a second bachelors degree through the air force? Like could you take advantage of tuition assistance (TA) while on active duty and use the GI bill when your contract ends if you got a bachelors degree before enlisting in the air force?

[@JackandJ-La]

@Drew Joerger (Being a Retired 20-Year Air Force). It's True, The Military has a 100% FREE ""T.A.=Tuition Assistance"" Program were a Service Member can take Advantage by taking College Class(ie.Online or Classroom type) while on Active Duty. However, last time I checked is that Military only allows u to pursue a Masters Degree, once you've got your 1st Bachelors Degree. Good Luck 👍

[@laurynalece3721]

Update: I just got my date Jan 26th

[@AlisaNicole]

YAAAY CONGRATULATIONS girl!! 🎉 what job did you get?

[@krystall5516]

Bachelors** I know when you have all caps, it does autocorrect

[@AlisaNicole]

Thanks because I did not catch that

[@JohnWayne-xl4wu]

❤

[@gunndish]

You are aware that the U.S. Military pay scale is an unclassified document ... and if you took the time to look at "the numbers" it would become blatantly obvious that commissioned officers make a substantial amount more than enlisted personnel. Yes, with extra money comes added responsibility ... but we're talkin' "Chair Force" here. I hate to be pessimistic, but ... you sound somewhat fragile. You may possibly get drummed out of Chair Force enlisted training. I didn't want to bruise any egos by referring to as "boot camp" or "recruit training" ... I wish you all the luck in the world with your decision. However, I don't know many enlisted personnel who were ever able to pay off student debt from college on E-1 to E-5 pay. However, I could be wrong. Best of luck to you. USN (ret.)

[@rj5014]

Wouldn’t the “chair force” pay for the student debt? Also there are factors that could make a person say you know what - I’ll go the enlisted route . And I can smell the negativity in your tone. Calm down.

[@j.a.3138]

@@rj5014 that's not how it works. Some branches of the military will help you lose your student loan debt with special loan repayment programs for only qualified members. The Air Force has the College Loan Repayment Program (CLRP)..

[@tstone9151]

Takes too much time to become a commission officer unless you have a BSCS degree with letters to recommendations from the Dean of an Engineering program. I have both, as well as 7 years of experience in the tech industry as a software engineer, and I’m STILL enlisting instead of becoming a commissioned officer. If money is the end goal, enlisting is better because you have more free time to start a business (with your TS Clearance) and obtain multiple federal contracts which can add up to 7 figures a year. Also, being a low rank is more fun and less serious/political. Have fun while you’re young, travel with the homies and let loose. I’m 25 and I regret focusing on money too much, not worth it

[@gunndish]

@@tstone9151 All the best to you on your endeavor. Military service, Enlisted or Commissioned is something to be proud of. Thank you for your service and stay safe. Personally, I did 14 years enlisted, 16 years commissioned service. Wouldn't have changed a thing, I truly enjoyed my Navy career. Good luck!

[@tstone9151]

@@gunndish Thanks brother, I'm excited for the bmt experience and glad I'm enlisting at my age after experiencing the business world as well as the corporate world. Also appreciate you for your service in the Navy, I know your retirement must be exceptional and you probably have a plethora of stories/advice to share based on your experience. Cheers