Medical Career in the Air Force?

Air Force Career Jobs

• Answer:

  The United States Air Force offers a wide variety of career paths for both enlisted personnel and members of the officer corps. Most people are surprised by the many available specialties offered to airmen, but not all people qualify for every specialty. Additionally, some career paths are strictly for enlisted while others are strictly for officers. Within the Air Force, members are able to earn valuable career training while simultaneously serving their country. Benefits People choose to join the Air Force for a variety of reasons. Some join for the educational benefits, others join for the reliable employment while others join because they want to serve their country. One of the best benefits associated with joining the Air Force is the training provided for whatever career new recruits are assigned into. A person can join the Air Force with no experience whatsoever in a certain career field and receive extensive training comparable to training from an educational institution. The Air Force offers a variety of very specialized fields as well as fields that are more generalized in nature, but all enlisted members and officers receive extensive training. Types Air Force careers fall into one of eight groupings: Operations personnel include those people assigned to Intelligence and Command staff; Maintenance and Logistics personnel maintain equipment and do the jobs that keep things running; Support personnel do the administrative tasks associated with maintaining other Air Force members; Medical and Dental personnel staff the medical facilities on military installations; Finance and Contracting deal with the financial aspects of the Air Force; Special Investigations are elite members of the Security Forces; the Legal and Chaplain Corps are considered specialized fields and are grouped together; and Special Duty Assignments include recruiters, instructors and other professions that do not fall into the other categories. There are over 100 different careers available in the Air Force. Potential Although there are plenty of people who finish their first obligated term in the Air Force and then get discharged, many people decide to make the Air Force a career. There is potential to stay in the Air Force for 20 years or more, depending on the rank reached. Upon retirement, personnel retain similar benefits as well as a generous pension. A distinguished Air Force career has the potential to lead to a lucrative civilian job eventually because of the valuable experience earned. Misconceptions There are many misconceptions with regards to Air Force career jobs. For example, not all Air Force personnel are trained pilots. In fact, the majority of Air Force members never set foot in a plane other than to go from one place to another. Another misconception is that there are no jobs in the Air Force that are highly military, but there are indeed Special Forces in the Air Force just like in other branches of the military. Time Frame Although the length of time it takes to train for a certain Air Force job varies from one career to another, enlisted members can expect to follow a general time line of entering Basic Military Training and then moving on to Technical School. After their training is complete they will be assigned to a duty station where they will continue on-the-job training as well as other educational requirements. Officers go through a training course designed to familiarize them with military life, but the time line varies greatly depending on the career field as well as any prior military experience individual officer candidates have.