Hello All! I just joined this site and I think it looks great! It's the one I was looking for... My question is this: I am a major in History at the University of Houston in Houston, TX... I have wanted to fly in the navy since I saw Top Gun as a kid I am in the Phi Theta Kappa honor society and maintain a GPA between 3.7 and 4.0... If I go back and take the extra math and physics needed after I get my Bachelors degree, do I have ANY type of chance to get into OCS and go on to be a Naval Aviator? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! -TOPGUN1991
Show up to flight school, don't suck, and you'll get what you want. Needs of the Navy come first though, you graduate primary and all they need are helo pilots, guess what you're doing... And no, he doesn't fly jets, look at his handle.
READ MY LIPS...majors count for little...grades, test scores, fitness, flight school performance (airmanship & leadership} all mean a lot. BTW Navy "fighter pilots" no longer exist, VA (ATTACK) & VF (FIGHTER) are now combined as VFA (STRIKE FIGHTER). Stop sweating the college major! BzB, retired VA Pilot
When I was new to this site, I had some kind souls point me in the right direction. I’ll do my best to help you along. We ask that you use the search function your questions, and if you can’t find the answer in the wealth of information here, by all means post away. Now, in regards to your question…Yes. History majors can become pilots. I was just selected for pilot with an International Relations major. As BusyBee604 mentioned, there is much much more that goes into a competitive package besides major. Things like GPA, ASTB score, community service, letters of recommendation, interview scores, leadership positions, involvement in sports, etc…Make sure you are well rounded! The Navy looks for the “Total Person” concept in your application. Get in touch with an Officer Recruiter, and get the process started if you are truly interested in becoming a Naval Officer. The application process is LONG, get started NOW. I’ll leave you with some threads to get you pointed in the right direction. As I mentioned, you will need to take the ASTB. Here is a thread with loads of information on the subject: http://www.airwarriors.com/communit...st-your-scores-ask-your-questions-here.28348/ Since you asked about OCS, here is a thread on that subject: http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php/138577-sTUPID-qUESTIONS-aBOUT-ocs/page95 Best of luck!
Thank you, too, KingsburyK! It has always been my dream... And by the way, congrats on being accepted for flight training!
Hey! Wait a minute! I'm a fighter pilot. And I do exist! Yes? Still? I hope? But I must admit the gene pool has been severely tainted and diluted by the merging of the two, fighter and attack communities. The Fighter squadrons that I was in had every conceivable major represented. I was an Econ. major. We had forestry majors, aero. majors, and you-name-it majors. In fact in VF-1 (a true, pure and elite F-14 Fighter squadron) we had a guy who had majored in Classical (read "dead," like Greek and Latin) languages. Like others have said: Your major is minor. Other things are far more important. Good luck.
You are a 'former' (inactive) fighter pilot & yes, you do exist! Hmmmph, when I winged, having been selected for the revered 'fighter community', I received orders to VF-94 (FJ-3Ms), along with 5 fellow nuggets. Within 6 months, CNAP recognized the squadron's performance improvement following the new ENSs' arrival and redesignated the squadron VA-94. I was, at first, disappointed until I realized that bombing, firing rockets, strafing & low-level nav (legal flathatting), was much more fun than those boring A/A intercepts & dogfighting. BzB...There was "NO SLACK....IN LIGHT ATTACK"!
VF-1 (a true, pure and elite F-14 Fighter squadron) Makes me feel old when the youngens have to be reminded that the Wolfpack was a Tomcat squadron.
You can fly anything with a History degree, granted you do like everyone else and go through flight school, do well enough to get what you want, and have your wishes line up with the needs of the Navy. I am unaware of any aircraft in our inventory that requires a technical degree to operate. I know for a fact that flying the Hornet does not. I would also say that whatever you think flying a fighter is about, is probably wrong. It is very rarely accurately depicted in anything, and the reality is much different than the public's perception. It's a great job, and I love it, but not for any of the reasons that I thought I would when I was in your shoes. Just something to consider......if I were you, I'd be more worried about simply getting picked up for flight training in the service, rather than worrying about what you might end up flying.
As I mentioned before, I am a history major - and a HUGE NAVY AVIATION BUFF since I was 12 (particularly WWII)! Thank you for the info. And I AM very eager to be picked up for flight training once I apply.
