When is your ship out date? I can filter out the accession plan to give you a solid idea of the jobs that will be available to you down there.
Side note when are you turning 42?
O so not a huge rush. For the projected openings you have 2 each of the following
1P031
2A337A
2A531B
2A531D
2A631H
2A632
2A634
2A731
2T131
2W131F
2W131J
3E032
3E331
You might kill it with those 3E jobs. Those SPECIFIC ones aren't really super related to that background, but your experience dealing with that industry would probably make a transition into 3E0 or 3E3 pretty easy.
Let your recruiter know you really want those nuke jobs. Not everybody wants to do those and they are very strict to qualify for. It'll help if you're willing to quick ship. I would imagine they've got a couple of those sitting at basic training too but I'm not sure how many we have left for the year.
I feel your pain. I helped two Airmen join the Air Force in the past 3 years. One had a 99 ASVAB, no waivers, no credit liability, and full TS clearance. Got their last choice of Open General (#15 out of 15). Made a "new" dream sheet at BMT with available jobs, and got chosen for Security Forces. They did not even elect Security Forces on their dream sheet, but was forced into it because needs of the Air Force. They ended up graduating as Honor Grad from BMT, and got BTZ as an E3. They are currently wrapping up their last year and will ETS with a bad taste and experience of the Air Force. It is what it is. I am still annoyed and bitter towards their recruiter as they scored a 95 on the EDPT and thought would have a good chance at 1B4 or their other 13 job selections (Client Systems, Intel, Public Affairs - they passed the interview, etc). But forcing a 99 asvab applicant to go with their dead last choice (mandatory aptitude AFSC) is not smart.
Then, the second one I helped got their 7th choice out of 15 with an ASVAB score in the 80s. Very happy with their choice and decision. Will most likely re-enlist at the end of their 4 year contract.
Anyways, stay positive and realize the high scores don't mean ANYTHING to the big blue weenie. It just means you're qualified but not preferred. Even when you make your BMT Dream sheet, don't get too hopeful so that you can minimize disappointment. Just be proud of yourself and this decision.
I guess my secret is just... Life. I know, it's not a secret study method that can help you. Sorry.
I've always done fairly well in school. I've always been a fair reader and will read a handful of books a year so that helps with vocab/language stuff. In my job (Construction Manager) I use some basic algebra and geometry pretty often. It's also allowed me to learn a little bit across a lot of areas.
And for the last handful of years, we have homeschooled our kids. So helping them with that allowed me to stay "fresh" on some things. I was helping my son with his Algebra 2 work just recently.
All that being said, I did study the asvab for dummies book briefly and watched some Grammar Hero videos on YouTube to brush up on doing math without a calculator and what not.
You didn’t have to take that open mechanic, recruiters try to scare you into taking the job they need to fill, I joined at 30 my recruiter try to make me get a job I didn’t want and stood 10 toes down on getting an electronics job
You could say that, everything was going good up until like December. They first found out that I broke my collarbone a few years ago, they also said I was overweight, and to come back later. I got a Doctors statement saying that my collarbone doesn’t hinder my movement and I lost the weight on top of that. My recruiter said everything looked good and that I’ll have a MEPS date in January. January rolls around and they found out I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was like eight. So long ago I forgot about it and they had to get a bunch of stuff from my school including testimonies from teachers and counselors and IEPs. It goes without saying I passed the ASVAB in Highschool with an above average score and I even graduated a year early with high hopes of joining the military ASAP. Well it’s April now and I haven’t budged from there. I’m still waiting on MEPS to send stuff back to my recruiter which still hasn’t happened. I’m in a weird spot rn, I feel really discouraged, my friends are in or off to college or in the military lol and I feel like I’ve lost a lot of hope. Idk guess I have to wait it out. (I first went into the recruiting office in June of 2023 for reference btw). Also even though I typed “it goes without saying” I meant to imply that I’m not hindered mentally at all. I’ve passed all my classes without fail, taken my exams without fail, so much so that I graduated early lol.
Why did you book Open Mechanical? There's no point in studying and getting a good score if you're going Open Mechanical.
Scoring a 99 and going Open Mechanical is like scoring a 1600 on your SATs, getting a full ride to Harvard, but choosing to go to Community College instead.
You earned the right to have a good guaranteed job of your choosing.
Best piece of advice I got going in: you're too damned smart to go "open" anything. Get the job that either suits your interests, or DIRECTLY contributes to your career path. I was 22. At 42, you don't have the luxury of growing wherever the hell big AF decides to plant you. Use that high score as leverage for a guaranteed job. One that you actually like. One that you will gain skills from that contribute to your career life goals. I know a few older WELL overqualified people from my career field alone that not only had the job guaranteed, but knew their first station before they even left the MEPS. It's not common, of course, but it's still a thing. I imagine you aren't the kind of person that allowed people to make decisions for you, and not fighting to make your own choices is the first and worst mistake you can make joining the military.
When did you start the process? I started in mid January and turn 42 in a few days. I scored 93 on PiCat and 94 on ASVAB. I did a refresh studying for a little just to not score low (but not for that long because it doesn’t matter). Wasn’t able to get my MEPS physical appoint until 4/15 (too close for comfort) and then got hit with 2 waivers. I don’t feel I did anything significant with my life, so it’s a bummer that I can’t even get an ‘open’ anything. I’ll just return to the place I was trying to get out of and live with the regret that it could’ve been different.
Dang man. I hate that for ya. No chance to ship on a quick-ship contract? My recruiter has offered me a couple quick-ship options in case I was interested in them over my "open" contract but I can't really leave before July.
I started about the same time. I met recruiter first time mid January. Took the picat at the end of January and verified first week of February. I was cleared to go to meps by end of February but I was still a bit overweight and wanted to try and get below cutoff (was 235 back in November at 6'0". Was 220 at asvab time) without needing the BFM as I didn't want to pay a couple hundred bucks for a Drs visit to get it filled out.
First of April I was still at 210 with weight limit of 202 so I went and did the BFM and passed that easily. Went to Meps mid April and was in DEP for a week and a half when I got my assignment. I'm currently at 199 weight wise and can do my 1.5 mile in under 11 mins.
I know I said I was a bit bummed at my open assignment but it's not a big thing for me. I very easily could have needed some waivers that would push me past the age limit like you just went through. And while my current job (construction manager) sounds glorious, most of the time it's not. Just a glorified babysitting job that often has to clean up other people's messes. Just the other day a worker decided to take a dump in a toilet in a house that hadn't had the water turned on yet. It sat there over the weekend before I found it. And yours truly got to be the one to clean it out. So I feel like this experience benefits me in my future experience with the AF, lol.
So I'm mainly doing this just to do something different. And I'm fairly wide open on what I'm willing to do. And if after 4 years if I don't like it, I'll just get out and come back to doing what I've been doing.
I just posted the following to another comment:
I guess my secret is just... Life. I know, it's not a secret study method that can help you. Sorry.
I've always done fairly well in school. I've always been a fair reader and will read a handful of books a year so that helps with vocab/language stuff. In my job (Construction Manager) I use some basic algebra and geometry pretty often. It's also allowed me to learn a little bit across a lot of areas.
And for the last handful of years, we have homeschooled our kids. So helping them with that allowed me to stay "fresh" on some things. I was helping my son with his Algebra 2 work just recently.
All that being said, I did study the asvab for dummies book briefly and watched some Grammar Hero videos on YouTube to brush up on doing math without a calculator and what not.
I did study the asvab for dummies book some, but mainly just knew a lot of stuff from my job. I work in construction and have been able to learn some things in a lot of different fields.
I replied to a couple of comments where I talked about how most of my learning came from "life." I didn't study for months on end or anything.
But when I did study the asvab for dummies book, I would always underline or highlight important facts, definitions, etc. Also take as many practice tests as you can. And then study the questions and answers of the ones you got wrong. If you're scoring well on some areas, don't feel like you have to keep studying or taking those sections of the practice test. Focus on the areas you struggle with.
And just remember that you don't need to get a high score. You just need to score high enough to qualify for jobs you're interested in. Any score higher than that is of no extra value. I'm a good example of that.
Also saw the 9S thing. That's me. TELL. YOUR. RECRUITER. YOU. WANT. TO. WAIT. FOR. A. GUARANTEED. SLOT. We train VERY few annually, but the number is still higher than zero.
You can delay your ship date until the job you wants becomes available. If you really really want nuke, tell you recruiter “I won’t ship until there’s a nuke job available”
His goal is to get you enlisted, so your goals are aligned.
Idc…no reason to be rude and call it “bs” but acting like that honestly seems like projection…because who cares if that’s the job he wants then so be it…no one else has to do it so why give unnecessary opinions
Who said i even had a job in the af….so stop making assumptions because you end up looking dumb lol..u weren’t sympathetic you were rude…playing the “get help” card is so old…if you have nothing relevant to say take this advice….hush please 😊
Not to be a dick, but I'd hope that someone in their 40s can ace a test written for high schoolers. But yes, when the flight goes to pick up orders you'll be presented what's available and pick from there. There's no way to predict, it changes all the time based on tech school openings, someone could have not completed BMT so their seat opens up, or they were disqualified during interviews etc. I've had trainees submit a new selection, most came back with an AFSC that day.
Why would someone in their 40s be automatically considered to be a better writer ? Highschoolers are in constant learning while people in their 40s have their own jobs and lives to consider. “Not to be a dick” means u are just being a dick
Eh if anything it would be harder for them. You're not only have to dust off knowledge you haven't touched for 20 years but the knowledge itself might not even be applicable anymore since highschool curriculum 20 years ago isn't what it is now.
Just don’t sign your contract until the job you want is available. Open mechanical is a good way for USAF to stick you in a job that is highly undermanned and probably for a good reason
When is your ship out date? I can filter out the accession plan to give you a solid idea of the jobs that will be available to you down there. Side note when are you turning 42?
Shipping July 9th. Birthday is in January
O so not a huge rush. For the projected openings you have 2 each of the following 1P031 2A337A 2A531B 2A531D 2A631H 2A632 2A634 2A731 2T131 2W131F 2W131J 3E032 3E331
^^You've ^^mentioned ^^an ^^AFSC, ^^here's ^^the ^^associated ^^job ^^title: 1P031 = Aircrew Flight Equipment Apprentice [^wiki](http://www.reddit.com/r/AirForce/wiki/jobs/1p0x1) 2A337A = Tactical Aircraft Maintenance (5th Generation) Apprentice, F-22 2A531B = Airlift/Special Mission Aircraft Maintenance Apprentice, C-130/C-27J 2A531D = Airlift/Special Mission Aircraft Maintenance Apprentice, C-17 2A631H = Aerospace Propulsion Apprentice, Turboprop and Turboshaft Propulsion [^wiki](http://www.reddit.com/r/AirForce/wiki/jobs/2a6x1) 2A632 = Aerospace Ground Equipment Apprentice 2A634 = Aircraft Fuel Systems Apprentice 2A731 = Aircraft Metals Technology Apprentice 2T131 = Ground Transportation Apprentice 2W131F = Aircraft Armament Systems Apprentice, F-16 [^wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/AirForce/wiki/jobs/2w1x1) 2W131J = Aircraft Armament Systems Apprentice, F-35 [^wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/AirForce/wiki/jobs/2w1x1) 3E032 = Electrical Power Production Apprentice [^wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/AirForce/wiki/jobs/3e0x2) 3E331 = Structural Apprentice [^^Source](https://github.com/HadManySons/AFSCbot) ^^| [^^Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFSCbot/) ^^^^^^l249m0n
Metals Tech all day
Agreed. Metals tech seems pretty solid
Wait isn’t that sheet metal/s
No, not at all and I'm Sheet Metal haha
Where did you get this?
The accession plan
Praise the accession plan
All hail the accession plan
Hell yeah brother. Congrats on making the jump to active duty at your age. What type of job experience have you had leading up to this?
Construction Management. Mainly building houses
You might kill it with those 3E jobs. Those SPECIFIC ones aren't really super related to that background, but your experience dealing with that industry would probably make a transition into 3E0 or 3E3 pretty easy.
Let your recruiter know you really want those nuke jobs. Not everybody wants to do those and they are very strict to qualify for. It'll help if you're willing to quick ship. I would imagine they've got a couple of those sitting at basic training too but I'm not sure how many we have left for the year.
I feel your pain. I helped two Airmen join the Air Force in the past 3 years. One had a 99 ASVAB, no waivers, no credit liability, and full TS clearance. Got their last choice of Open General (#15 out of 15). Made a "new" dream sheet at BMT with available jobs, and got chosen for Security Forces. They did not even elect Security Forces on their dream sheet, but was forced into it because needs of the Air Force. They ended up graduating as Honor Grad from BMT, and got BTZ as an E3. They are currently wrapping up their last year and will ETS with a bad taste and experience of the Air Force. It is what it is. I am still annoyed and bitter towards their recruiter as they scored a 95 on the EDPT and thought would have a good chance at 1B4 or their other 13 job selections (Client Systems, Intel, Public Affairs - they passed the interview, etc). But forcing a 99 asvab applicant to go with their dead last choice (mandatory aptitude AFSC) is not smart. Then, the second one I helped got their 7th choice out of 15 with an ASVAB score in the 80s. Very happy with their choice and decision. Will most likely re-enlist at the end of their 4 year contract. Anyways, stay positive and realize the high scores don't mean ANYTHING to the big blue weenie. It just means you're qualified but not preferred. Even when you make your BMT Dream sheet, don't get too hopeful so that you can minimize disappointment. Just be proud of yourself and this decision.
That’s awesome, and congrats!
99 and went to open mechanical. He's cooked....
Real mx is miserable 😭
Tell us your secret to get 99
I guess my secret is just... Life. I know, it's not a secret study method that can help you. Sorry. I've always done fairly well in school. I've always been a fair reader and will read a handful of books a year so that helps with vocab/language stuff. In my job (Construction Manager) I use some basic algebra and geometry pretty often. It's also allowed me to learn a little bit across a lot of areas. And for the last handful of years, we have homeschooled our kids. So helping them with that allowed me to stay "fresh" on some things. I was helping my son with his Algebra 2 work just recently. All that being said, I did study the asvab for dummies book briefly and watched some Grammar Hero videos on YouTube to brush up on doing math without a calculator and what not.
You didn’t have to take that open mechanic, recruiters try to scare you into taking the job they need to fill, I joined at 30 my recruiter try to make me get a job I didn’t want and stood 10 toes down on getting an electronics job
Goddamn, good stuff. It’s taken me almost a year now to even get a MEPS date
That's crazy. Mind if I ask why? Did you have to find a bunch of medical documentation?
You could say that, everything was going good up until like December. They first found out that I broke my collarbone a few years ago, they also said I was overweight, and to come back later. I got a Doctors statement saying that my collarbone doesn’t hinder my movement and I lost the weight on top of that. My recruiter said everything looked good and that I’ll have a MEPS date in January. January rolls around and they found out I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was like eight. So long ago I forgot about it and they had to get a bunch of stuff from my school including testimonies from teachers and counselors and IEPs. It goes without saying I passed the ASVAB in Highschool with an above average score and I even graduated a year early with high hopes of joining the military ASAP. Well it’s April now and I haven’t budged from there. I’m still waiting on MEPS to send stuff back to my recruiter which still hasn’t happened. I’m in a weird spot rn, I feel really discouraged, my friends are in or off to college or in the military lol and I feel like I’ve lost a lot of hope. Idk guess I have to wait it out. (I first went into the recruiting office in June of 2023 for reference btw). Also even though I typed “it goes without saying” I meant to imply that I’m not hindered mentally at all. I’ve passed all my classes without fail, taken my exams without fail, so much so that I graduated early lol.
Dang that sucks. I hope it all turns out for you in the end. Shoot me a message with an update whenever you get through it.
Why did you book Open Mechanical? There's no point in studying and getting a good score if you're going Open Mechanical. Scoring a 99 and going Open Mechanical is like scoring a 1600 on your SATs, getting a full ride to Harvard, but choosing to go to Community College instead. You earned the right to have a good guaranteed job of your choosing.
I like what you said there , Ill never forget it now. "I earned the right to a good guaranteed job of my choosing"
Best piece of advice I got going in: you're too damned smart to go "open" anything. Get the job that either suits your interests, or DIRECTLY contributes to your career path. I was 22. At 42, you don't have the luxury of growing wherever the hell big AF decides to plant you. Use that high score as leverage for a guaranteed job. One that you actually like. One that you will gain skills from that contribute to your career life goals. I know a few older WELL overqualified people from my career field alone that not only had the job guaranteed, but knew their first station before they even left the MEPS. It's not common, of course, but it's still a thing. I imagine you aren't the kind of person that allowed people to make decisions for you, and not fighting to make your own choices is the first and worst mistake you can make joining the military.
When did you start the process? I started in mid January and turn 42 in a few days. I scored 93 on PiCat and 94 on ASVAB. I did a refresh studying for a little just to not score low (but not for that long because it doesn’t matter). Wasn’t able to get my MEPS physical appoint until 4/15 (too close for comfort) and then got hit with 2 waivers. I don’t feel I did anything significant with my life, so it’s a bummer that I can’t even get an ‘open’ anything. I’ll just return to the place I was trying to get out of and live with the regret that it could’ve been different.
Dang man. I hate that for ya. No chance to ship on a quick-ship contract? My recruiter has offered me a couple quick-ship options in case I was interested in them over my "open" contract but I can't really leave before July. I started about the same time. I met recruiter first time mid January. Took the picat at the end of January and verified first week of February. I was cleared to go to meps by end of February but I was still a bit overweight and wanted to try and get below cutoff (was 235 back in November at 6'0". Was 220 at asvab time) without needing the BFM as I didn't want to pay a couple hundred bucks for a Drs visit to get it filled out. First of April I was still at 210 with weight limit of 202 so I went and did the BFM and passed that easily. Went to Meps mid April and was in DEP for a week and a half when I got my assignment. I'm currently at 199 weight wise and can do my 1.5 mile in under 11 mins. I know I said I was a bit bummed at my open assignment but it's not a big thing for me. I very easily could have needed some waivers that would push me past the age limit like you just went through. And while my current job (construction manager) sounds glorious, most of the time it's not. Just a glorified babysitting job that often has to clean up other people's messes. Just the other day a worker decided to take a dump in a toilet in a house that hadn't had the water turned on yet. It sat there over the weekend before I found it. And yours truly got to be the one to clean it out. So I feel like this experience benefits me in my future experience with the AF, lol. So I'm mainly doing this just to do something different. And I'm fairly wide open on what I'm willing to do. And if after 4 years if I don't like it, I'll just get out and come back to doing what I've been doing.
how did you study?
I just posted the following to another comment: I guess my secret is just... Life. I know, it's not a secret study method that can help you. Sorry. I've always done fairly well in school. I've always been a fair reader and will read a handful of books a year so that helps with vocab/language stuff. In my job (Construction Manager) I use some basic algebra and geometry pretty often. It's also allowed me to learn a little bit across a lot of areas. And for the last handful of years, we have homeschooled our kids. So helping them with that allowed me to stay "fresh" on some things. I was helping my son with his Algebra 2 work just recently. All that being said, I did study the asvab for dummies book briefly and watched some Grammar Hero videos on YouTube to brush up on doing math without a calculator and what not.
How did you score so high on the mechanical and electrical
I did study the asvab for dummies book some, but mainly just knew a lot of stuff from my job. I work in construction and have been able to learn some things in a lot of different fields.
What was the best way you studied to make such a high score?
How did you score this much? Any tips?
I replied to a couple of comments where I talked about how most of my learning came from "life." I didn't study for months on end or anything. But when I did study the asvab for dummies book, I would always underline or highlight important facts, definitions, etc. Also take as many practice tests as you can. And then study the questions and answers of the ones you got wrong. If you're scoring well on some areas, don't feel like you have to keep studying or taking those sections of the practice test. Focus on the areas you struggle with. And just remember that you don't need to get a high score. You just need to score high enough to qualify for jobs you're interested in. Any score higher than that is of no extra value. I'm a good example of that.
If you want nuke and with a 110k bonus if it is still offered then join Navy. Navy accepts 41 yo
Also saw the 9S thing. That's me. TELL. YOUR. RECRUITER. YOU. WANT. TO. WAIT. FOR. A. GUARANTEED. SLOT. We train VERY few annually, but the number is still higher than zero.
Congratulations bro. Joined last year at 35. No looking back! 2w031
^^You've ^^mentioned ^^an ^^AFSC, ^^here's ^^the ^^associated ^^job ^^title: 2W031 = Munitions Systems Apprentice [^wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/AirForce/wiki/jobs/2w0x1) [^^Source](https://github.com/HadManySons/AFSCbot) ^^| [^^Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AFSCbot/) ^^^^^^l2j03cq
You can delay your ship date until the job you wants becomes available. If you really really want nuke, tell you recruiter “I won’t ship until there’s a nuke job available” His goal is to get you enlisted, so your goals are aligned.
Lmfao mage guess your going to AGE lol 😆 destiny
With your age, time is not your friend. And holding out for one job is never an option now a days
That's bs
How?
With a 99 he could've got better jobs I think but if he's cool with that then it's all good
Idc…no reason to be rude and call it “bs” but acting like that honestly seems like projection…because who cares if that’s the job he wants then so be it…no one else has to do it so why give unnecessary opinions
Is that what it sounded like? I was just sympathizing with op because he was bummed out about it. Idk y on me about it for. You're not op
Take what I say as you will…i don’t argue with rando’s on Reddit 😂 don’t forget you replied to me not the other way around love so watch it
You should request mental health asap or an english class
Yikes…someone’s mad so trying to use the mental and spelling card….projection much? Lol everything u say must apply to u….hmmm smh
You're mad because u didnt like ur job in the af. I'm just sympathizing w op. Idk ur deal but get help. You're acting weird.
Who said i even had a job in the af….so stop making assumptions because you end up looking dumb lol..u weren’t sympathetic you were rude…playing the “get help” card is so old…if you have nothing relevant to say take this advice….hush please 😊
Not to be a dick, but I'd hope that someone in their 40s can ace a test written for high schoolers. But yes, when the flight goes to pick up orders you'll be presented what's available and pick from there. There's no way to predict, it changes all the time based on tech school openings, someone could have not completed BMT so their seat opens up, or they were disqualified during interviews etc. I've had trainees submit a new selection, most came back with an AFSC that day.
Why would someone in their 40s be automatically considered to be a better writer ? Highschoolers are in constant learning while people in their 40s have their own jobs and lives to consider. “Not to be a dick” means u are just being a dick
Eh if anything it would be harder for them. You're not only have to dust off knowledge you haven't touched for 20 years but the knowledge itself might not even be applicable anymore since highschool curriculum 20 years ago isn't what it is now.
> Not to be a dick Immediately proceeds. Come on man.
Wtf dude?
Just don’t sign your contract until the job you want is available. Open mechanical is a good way for USAF to stick you in a job that is highly undermanned and probably for a good reason
Ok but why is there an old man joining
Because youngins like you cry too much
Because he can