I am completely ignorant when it comes to the US military, so excuse me if I sound confused.
My brother, after getting his AA, has recently decided he wants to join the US army. He went in and took some kind of test that he scored an 80-something on. Apparently this puts him in the top 10% of people who take that test which means he is eligible for a number of army positions. The recruiter told him that his best choice would be to become a longbow apache helicopter … repair person? Apparently this is a well paid position that would allow him to make a career out of it if he chose.
I guess I’m curious. What does it mean to be a helicopter repair person in the US army? And is it true that working as one for several years will give you advantages even if you leave the army?
(I know that “helicopter repair person” is not the correct term, but that’s how my brother explained it to me.)
He took the ASVAB test and scoring 80s is pretty good.
As far as becoming a helicopter mechanic and future civilian employment after the military, the Army trains a LOT of helicopter mechanics and there aren’t all that many helicopters in the civilian world. Especially Apache helicopters. In other words, the supply of helicopter mechanics may outstrip the demand for them.
Also remember that the recruiter is trying first and foremost to fill the needs of the Army. Your brother has the aptitude to become a helicopter mechanic; the Army needs some; so the recruiter will nudge your brother in that direction.
I joined the Air Force as an aircraft mechanic a few decades ago. I wanted to be an aircraft mechanic. In fact the recruiter wanted me to become an interpreter; however, I wanted to be an aircraft mechanic and stuck to my guns. By the way, there’s a lot more aircraft in the civilian world then helicopters.
I stayed in the USAF for 24 years and decided that I wanted to teach high school instead of being an A&P mechanic when I got out. So I used the education benefits in the military to get a BS degree in Education. Then in 1990 I started to use a computer as part of my job and found I had an aptitude for it. I changed my mind yet again and got a Master’s degree in Computers.
What I’m trying to say is that your brother should look for a job that he wants to do. He should consider if it might help him find future employment. Also consider that his plans today may change in the future and he should take advantage of opportunities as they happen.
Also about any job in the military is going to prepare someone for the future. Military people know things like showing up to work on time; following directions; and putting in some effort while there. I’ve found that sadly lacking in many of my civilian counterparts.
One other thought: Your brother has an AA degree. If he keeps going to school and gets a BS degree, he could become an officer. Officers make better money than enlisted soldiers.
I hope you guys won’t mind if I sneak in another question about the ASVAB test. Do you get a single score, or several scores on different subjects? I played around with some practice tests linked from another thread and there seemed to be several very-different fields, including some which in other countries wouldn’t even be taught in the same kind of high school or within the same high school track. Getting a series of values for different proficiencies seems more informative than just pulling everything together, but I always hear people give a single number.
Thanks for the advice. Part of the reason he wants to go to the Army is to help pay off the debt he incurred getting his AA. It was a culinary school so was quite expensive.
I will definitely advise him to consider more options other than what the recruiter suggests.
Why doesn’t he join the Army as a cook? And if the Army doesn’t want him as a cook, there’s the Air Force and Navy. The days of the chow hall cook slinging plates of SOS at soldiers is pretty much over. During my last few years in the military, the food was really good and the people preparing it were very professional.
As far as getting out of the army with an expertise in helicopter maintenance not being applicable to airplane maintenance, with a little work he can get his A&P mechanics licence. This certifies him to work on ALL aircraft helicopters, balloons, airships, and airplanes.
As an A&P in a lead position, I prefer to hire exmilitary personel. If they worked on any aircraft in the service, they can be trained to work on whatever I need them to work on.
Exmilitary means many things. I know that they can and WILL learn. I know that they WILL show up for work. I know that they understand what a priority is.
I can work with them to get them their A&P licence. There are more then a few exmilitary personel that I have helped get their A&P licences.
I concur that he should enlist to do what he wants to do. I have made it a priority in my life to work at something that I love to do. I want to come to work. My job is a joy, not drugery.
I also suggest the USAF, the US navy, the USCG, and last but not least, the USMC. He should check with all of them to see whitch one will be a better fit for him and which one will give him the skills he wants for his vocation. I imagine he would be a good fit to be a chef in any of the afore mentioned services.
The “B” in ASVAB stands for “Battery.” As in “battery of tests” (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, in fact). Each test gets a different score.
To tell you the truth, I don’t specifically recall any “overall” score*; just a bunch of different scores that suggested where my areas of strength and weakness were.
*On reflection, this could have to do with the fact that my lowest score was “Attention to Detail”…
The ASVAB has many score sections (including one that is supposed to be equivalent to IQ), plus an overall score which is, I believe, in percentile. So a score of 80 means 20% of the test takers scored higher than you overall.
I can’t speak for aircraft maintenance, but I’ve heard a lucrative track to take in the military is medical technician. Like an X-ray tech, or lab tech, or similar. I’ve heard almost half the civilian workforce in these careers got their training in the military, and they make pretty good money too. Not to mention the six months (or more) spent training for these jobs is time not spent in Afghanistan or other unpleasant locations.
Yeah, I don’t know why he hasn’t chosen the chef route. Maybe because it would pay less than being a mechanic? I’ll have to talk to him again soon (time differences make it a bit difficult to talk regularly). Again, thanks for the input everyone.
The recruiters aren’t in it to lie to the recruits. And, contrary to popular belief, not all jobs (MOS) in the Army have the same advancement opportunity. There are a number of factors that go into what MOS a person gets. One factor is qualification. Yes, not everyone is qualified to enlist and, of those qualified to enlist, not everyone is qualified for every MOS the Army has. Next up is the current and projected manning level of that MOS. If it’s an overmanned MOS and likely to stay overmanned with people who are already in the Army, then it’s unlikely that a new recruit will be able to get that MOS. And, of course, there are MOS which carry a bonus and those that do not.
Regarding the pay: Everyone in the military with the same rank and the same time in service gets the same base pay (except O1 through O3 who have more than 4 years of enlisted service get higher pay than O1 through O3 who don’t have more than 4 years of enlisted service). The rest of the money people get in the military comes from special pay (depends on qualifications), bonuses (enlistment/re-enlistment, other bonus programs), and allowances (dependents, cost of living, station).
The OP’s brother might consider transferring to a four year university and participating in ROTC if he wants to be an officer. The military does participate in an apprenticeship program, but that’s not for all MOS/Ratings/AFSC. And, of course, there’s also the current GI Bill. He could use that to pay for the remainder of his degree after he completes his enlistment.
Not in the military. An E-1 cook gets paid the same as an E-1 helicopter mechanic. E-1 is the lowest enlisted pay grade. Some fields do get extra incentive pay, Explosive Ordnance Disposal comes to mind, but the basic pay is the same. Also some fields have quicker promotions, but that usually doesn’t come into play until the middle and higher ranks and not in the first few years.
A thought: He has an AA degree. He should check with the various services to see if an AA degree might start him as a higher pay grade such as E-2 or E-3.
He’d start as an E-3 in the Army, although this isn’t as much of an incentive as you might imagine: by the time he finishes basic training and AIT, he’d be well on his way to PFC anyways. If he had a bachelor degree, he would start as an E-4, which would actually enable him to progress significantly faster than his peers, although the remuneration is significantly less than what he’d get if he got commissioned.
He’s not really cut out for academics. For years he muddled around in regular community colleges, flunking out of all of his classes. He almost never made it to any of his morning classes because he was so lazy. Then he finally decided he wanted to study cooking, and he suddenly became a different person. He would get up at 4am to get to his classes and he applied himself like nobody’s business. He got excellent marks in all of his courses.
My point is, he probably wouldn’t do well in a four year university program.
He did say the recruiter told him that he wouldn’t be starting at the very bottom, since he does have an AA.
