Air Force Officer Career Opportunities—Decent Pay Plus Perks

by Alex A. Kecskes

If you’re a college graduate from an accredited college or university, you won’t have to worry about sending out job resumes or standing in unemployment lines if you join the Air Force as an officer candidate. You also won’t have to worry about medical/dental/vision insurance. What's more, your on-going education will be heavily subsidized, and even after you leave the service, you’ll have a huge nest egg to cover the cost of more education if you need it.

As an officer, you’ll have a number of opportunities open to you, not the least of which is fighter pilot. Other rewarding, high profile careers you can pursue after you graduate from officer training include bomber and stealth pilot, in-flight refueling pilot, transport pilot, civil engineer, weather officer, JAG officer, logistics officer, aircraft maintenance officer, and PA (public affairs) officer.

And while you won’t be raking in the coins like a hedge fund manager, you’ll still start out making a decent living. New and inexperienced officers start out at pay grade O-1, which gets you $2,745 per month—about $33K a year. If you move up to 04 in three years, you could be taking in up to $5,213 per month—about $62.5K a year.

Not bad when you add in some of the other perks—things like housing, food and special privileges for riding military aircraft to or from a scheduled and approved vacation destination. As an officer, you’ll also get the best use of military base amenities that include food courts, gyms, sports fields and swimming pools, just to name a few.

For an additional perspective, check out this video:

Got any thoughts on Air Force career opportunities? Feel free to share them in the comments section.