Hey everyone. I was recently a final select for NFO. Recently, however, some opportunities fell into my lap career wise. I am looking into all options, because this is probably one of the most important decisions I will make.
Currently I have to choose between being an NFO, being an engineer, and graduate school. I have a lot of insight about work in the latter two options but the Navy is something that I dont know much about in the officer side. I have many contacts who have seen everything from the enlisted side of aviation. I was hoping some of you guys could give me some enlightenment on life as an officer.
First, I understand in addition to your fly job the navy gives you other work to do. Maybe a branch officer job to start. Can anyone explain what it is like doing the basic JO jobs? What kind of work experience will I gain? Will I lead individuals, or is the work simple and menial?
From a chief I was told that life in the Navy is very unpredictable. There will be many times I will find out friday night that I have to work saturday and sunday. This makes it difficult to make plans with family/friends etc. Is this a true statement? I also heard that 3-6 weeks before going to sea during workups there are no days off and everybody is expected to show up for work... and work 12 hour days. Is this true?
Furthermore, he also said that life at sea is work 7 days a week 12+ hours a day. I am not against hard work, but I am just trying to get a picture of what the reality is like being at sea. Is the work at sea different from on the beach? I understand with my first deployment I would be constantly studying (which is fine by me). What else would I be responsible for?
One thing I couldnt really find out through research and contacts is the way officers do sea/shore/disassociated tours. I believe the sea/shore is 2years each. The sea tour should be when I am attached to a squadron that goes out to sea. What would the shore tour be like. I read that a lot become instructors in the FRS. What other kind of things are there to do on this tour? Is it required that one becomes an instructor? I understand that Japan, for example, has no FRS there so are there any shore tour billets for aviation guys there?
I was told that for officers you get put up to a promotion board every X years. If you get passed over for promotion then you have 1 more shot at promotion. If you get passed over again then you are asked to leave. Is this true, and is it a common occurrence? Obviously, as long as you work hard, perform, and dont mess up then you wont have to worry as much.
Lastly, does anybody know much about the Aviation Engineering Duty Officer program? I read about it, but information is somewhat limited. I do know that it requires one to be a pilot or NFO to apply. Does anybody know how competitive this program is? This program is (currently) my goal after my initial commitment in the Navy. This would help bridge the gap between NFO and engineering and set me up for life outside.
I hope that these questions havent been asked repeatedly. I looked around but have not found too many threads regarding these topics and/or did not answer my questions. Although the "day in life of an NFO/pilot" was interesting. Thank you for any help you guys can give.
On a side note: hopefully if I go down to pcola I can get orders to Atsugi. Lived there when I was younger and hope to return in the near future on any platform.
Currently I have to choose between being an NFO, being an engineer, and graduate school. I have a lot of insight about work in the latter two options but the Navy is something that I dont know much about in the officer side. I have many contacts who have seen everything from the enlisted side of aviation. I was hoping some of you guys could give me some enlightenment on life as an officer.
First, I understand in addition to your fly job the navy gives you other work to do. Maybe a branch officer job to start. Can anyone explain what it is like doing the basic JO jobs? What kind of work experience will I gain? Will I lead individuals, or is the work simple and menial?
From a chief I was told that life in the Navy is very unpredictable. There will be many times I will find out friday night that I have to work saturday and sunday. This makes it difficult to make plans with family/friends etc. Is this a true statement? I also heard that 3-6 weeks before going to sea during workups there are no days off and everybody is expected to show up for work... and work 12 hour days. Is this true?
Furthermore, he also said that life at sea is work 7 days a week 12+ hours a day. I am not against hard work, but I am just trying to get a picture of what the reality is like being at sea. Is the work at sea different from on the beach? I understand with my first deployment I would be constantly studying (which is fine by me). What else would I be responsible for?
One thing I couldnt really find out through research and contacts is the way officers do sea/shore/disassociated tours. I believe the sea/shore is 2years each. The sea tour should be when I am attached to a squadron that goes out to sea. What would the shore tour be like. I read that a lot become instructors in the FRS. What other kind of things are there to do on this tour? Is it required that one becomes an instructor? I understand that Japan, for example, has no FRS there so are there any shore tour billets for aviation guys there?
I was told that for officers you get put up to a promotion board every X years. If you get passed over for promotion then you have 1 more shot at promotion. If you get passed over again then you are asked to leave. Is this true, and is it a common occurrence? Obviously, as long as you work hard, perform, and dont mess up then you wont have to worry as much.
Lastly, does anybody know much about the Aviation Engineering Duty Officer program? I read about it, but information is somewhat limited. I do know that it requires one to be a pilot or NFO to apply. Does anybody know how competitive this program is? This program is (currently) my goal after my initial commitment in the Navy. This would help bridge the gap between NFO and engineering and set me up for life outside.
I hope that these questions havent been asked repeatedly. I looked around but have not found too many threads regarding these topics and/or did not answer my questions. Although the "day in life of an NFO/pilot" was interesting. Thank you for any help you guys can give.
On a side note: hopefully if I go down to pcola I can get orders to Atsugi. Lived there when I was younger and hope to return in the near future on any platform.