Air Force pharmacist

[Jbuprepharm]

she has a private plan ( which of course has no materinity coverage) and I don't have insurance at the moment but will after swearing in (so says my recruiter)

Her due date is 1/21 and the January COT starts 1/11, so I would be gone and unable to leave around her due date. I would rather be there for the birth and miss month 1-2 than vice versa if I had to choose. Unfortunately there would be no way for me to have finished COT before the baby comes so her being covered is not really possible.

What it looks like will happen is she'll have the baby in january, I'll go to COT in March, and then in April after, I'm done, we'll move down to SA. But that's all sorta up in the air right now, and really it's ok because we get another 6 weeks of civilian pay which is kinda nice.

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[pharmwannebe2]

so i had a question about AF. Is it true that the higher you move in rank the more money you get (so you start out in AF on the low side but you can end up with 200,000/yr b4 retirement if you stay awhile. Also is it true AF pension is pretty good.

Also as you increase years with AF, does that decrease your likelihood of deployment. The one reason I don't want to do AF is the training and the moving.

 

[Caverject]

she has a private plan ( which of course has no materinity coverage) and I don't have insurance at the moment but will after swearing in (so says my recruiter)

Her due date is 1/21 and the January COT starts 1/11, so I would be gone and unable to leave around her due date. I would rather be there for the birth and miss month 1-2 than vice versa if I had to choose. Unfortunately there would be no way for me to have finished COT before the baby comes so her being covered is not really possible.

What it looks like will happen is she'll have the baby in january, I'll go to COT in March, and then in April after, I'm done, we'll move down to SA. But that's all sorta up in the air right now, and really it's ok because we get another 6 weeks of civilian pay which is kinda nice.

Your recruiter is correct but let me clarify what that means. You will be elgible to receive TRICARE benefits when you become Active Duty. Typically you do an oath right after you received your contract but that doesn't make you active duty. It will be the second oath that you take days before you start COT that will make you active duty.

Good luck!

 

[Caverject]

so i had a question about AF. Is it true that the higher you move in rank the more money you get (so you start out in AF on the low side but you can end up with 200,000/yr b4 retirement if you stay awhile. Also is it true AF pension is pretty good.

Also as you increase years with AF, does that decrease your likelihood of deployment. The one reason I don't want to do AF is the training and the moving.

The higher your rank and time in service, the more money you make. Highly doubtful you will ever make 200k in the AF unless you become a general, which there are no pharmacy officers that are generals.

If training and moving are issues for you, the military is not the right career for you. You may want to look at the public health service.

 

[Trankuil]

Thanks for the information on Air force pharmacy. I was going through the air force scholarship application process. It was very enticing with them paying for my last two years of school and a 2,000$ stipend to live off of a month...but I dont think a career in the military is what I want in the long run.

 

[Jbuprepharm]

Your recruiter is correct but let me clarify what that means. You will be elgible to receive TRICARE benefits when you become Active Duty. Typically you do an oath right after you received your contract but that doesn't make you active duty. It will be the second oath that you take days before you start COT that will make you active duty.

Good luck!

ok, he's saying that once I swear in, and am effectively in the reserves, that I will be tricare eligable, I'll have to double-check that.

 

[kchero]

Thanks to everyone for the great information. I am currently in the process for applying for a 2 year scholarship and if I get it I feel that I will be doing the Air Force program as well after graduation.
I am curious though, as far as I am told by my recruiter I will become an O-3 (Captain) after graduation and COT. Can anyone indeed verify if this is indeed true.
I am also curious about base location. I know that they will work with you in regards to what base you wish to serve at, but being from the midwest I was planning on staying within the midwest due to family reasons so I was curious if they typically move you every so often or do you have the option to stay put (obviously depending on if there is not inflammed international issues, etc.)?
Thanks everyone once again.

 

[theunderminer]

Thanks to everyone for the great information. I am currently in the process for applying for a 2 year scholarship and if I get it I feel that I will be doing the Air Force program as well after graduation.
I am curious though, as far as I am told by my recruiter I will become an O-3 (Captain) after graduation and COT. Can anyone indeed verify if this is indeed true.
I am also curious about base location. I know that they will work with you in regards to what base you wish to serve at, but being from the midwest I was planning on staying within the midwest due to family reasons so I was curious if they typically move you every so often or do you have the option to stay put (obviously depending on if there is not inflammed international issues, etc.)?
Thanks everyone once again.

Yes, as a pharmacist, you would go in as a Captain (O-3). And yes, they will move you every couple of years, and it can be anywhere. Moving around is simply a part of military/AF life. If staying in one place is very important to you, the Public Health Service (PHS) would be something to look into instead, they give you a choice of where you want to go, etc.

 

[amartins02]

I'm trying to find figures for air force reserves (pay and sign on). I want to see if its worth it. I would call the recruiter but had a bad experience years ago when I joined the Army (I was lied to) as well as they kept calling and calling.

Basically I want to calculate out if reserves and working retail is an option for me. It seems like AF is at about $30,000 less per year than retail if you go full time. I know there are other factors like contribution free retirement but straight pay seems to hover around 75-80k correct?

Also, bonuses....are they taxed highly? I thought that sign on bonuses with retail was really high (like 50%). Is the AF in the same boat?

Thanks

 

[adma826]

In my experience (hubs is active duty and gets reenlistment bonuses) they are taxed as income. Up front for him they take out 25% and then when we file taxes, if any is due back (depending on which income bracket you fall into) then you get it back or perhaps owe more.

 

[beachsaki101]

Hi everyone!

I have a couple questions for those who went through the application process.
What kind of information should I ask the recruiter?
How long does it take to complete the application, i.e. get the offer letter?
Your experience at the interview and how to prepare for it. How big is the interview panel? How long? Is the interview at the Air Force base?
What is COT?
In terms of the salary and compensation, are they in the contract?

For those who are married and have family, does your spouse work for the Air Force too? If not, does the Air Force help your spouse find work? My husband wouldn't like it if I work and he has to tag along having nothing to do.

Thanks in advance.

 

[adma826]

For those who are married and have family, does your spouse work for the Air Force too? If not, does the Air Force help your spouse find work? My husband wouldn't like it if I work and he has to tag along having nothing to do.

Thanks in advance.

I am an AF spouse and the AF does not really help the spouse find work. There are resume workshops, and seminars on how to obtain civilian federal employment, etc.... and there is spouse preference for some jobs, but not a whole lot of help. And if you go to a small overseas base, your husband might have a harder time finding a job than say, if you were sent to Luke AFB in Phoenix. It just comes with the territory.

 

[Pacchin55]

So what are the odds of being forced to go over seas? Only if there is a war?

There are two wars going on right now. There are also bases in Germany, Italy, and Korea just to name a few. So going overseas is always a possibility, wars or not.

 

[BanBidil]

The higher your rank and time in service, the more money you make. Highly doubtful you will ever make 200k in the AF unless you become a general, which there are no pharmacy officers that are generals.

If training and moving are issues for you, the military is not the right career for you. You may want to look at the public health service.

I have two questions:
AS long as you are talking about pensions:
1. A pharmacist told me that you get a pension after 7 years of active duty for life....I found that to be hard to believe....is this true or am I just gullible?

2. I had this conversation with the recruiter:
Her: You don't qualify because you are eight lbs overweight and you use an albuterol inhaler....
Me: Isn't this a non-combat unit
Her: Well its a requirement for all personnel...what if we can't provide you with an inhaler and you die.....
Me: How would I not have access to the inhalder.... I am IN the Pharmacy and this is a top 20 drug!
Her: Sorry.....SOprocedures.....
Me: Ok thks....click.

 

[pharm B]

I have two questions:
AS long as you are talking about pensions:
1. A pharmacist told me that you get a pension after 7 years of active duty for life....I found that to be hard to believe....is this true or am I just gullible?

2. I had this conversation with the recruiter:
Her: You don't qualify because you are eight lbs overweight and you use an albuterol inhaler....
Me: Isn't this a non-combat unit
Her: Well its a requirement for all personnel...what if we can't provide you with an inhaler and you die.....
Me: How would I not have access to the inhalder.... I am IN the Pharmacy and this is a top 20 drug!
Her: Sorry.....SOprocedures.....
Me: Ok thks....click.

Regarding the pension: I've been out of the service for a little while now, but I thought the minimum number of years for retirement (and thus, a pension) was 20. Of course, I've heard rumors about an early-out program, but I don't know specifics so I won't try.

The person you spoke to might not have explained it clearly enough, but the reality is that, as a military pharmacist, you aren't guaranteed to be working in a nice bright box pharmacy. On the ship, they told us we needed to be in shape so that in the event of a casualty, no one became a secondary casualty for no other reason than poor health. If someone was knocked unconscious on the 5th deck of the ship, it was up to us (and only us) on the watch to be able to carry him up to medical on the 1st deck.

Obviously, you won't be on a ship, but the point remains.

 

[theunderminer]

I have two questions:
AS long as you are talking about pensions:
1. A pharmacist told me that you get a pension after 7 years of active duty for life....I found that to be hard to believe....is this true or am I just gullible?

2. I had this conversation with the recruiter:
Her: You don't qualify because you are eight lbs overweight and you use an albuterol inhaler....
Me: Isn't this a non-combat unit
Her: Well its a requirement for all personnel...what if we can't provide you with an inhaler and you die.....
Me: How would I not have access to the inhalder.... I am IN the Pharmacy and this is a top 20 drug!
Her: Sorry.....SOprocedures.....
Me: Ok thks....click.

Pharm B is right, it is 20 years before you get a pension.

Most of the military will not allow you in if you are currently using inhalers. Its pretty hard to get in if you have even ever used it in the past (history of asthma, etc) and waivers are tough to get even when people have shown that they do not suffer from it currently (after normal pfts, etc).

Another option you may want to consider if you are considering government service is in the FDA or in the Public Health Service.

 

[Caverject]

I have two questions:
AS long as you are talking about pensions:
1. A pharmacist told me that you get a pension after 7 years of active duty for life....I found that to be hard to believe....is this true or am I just gullible?

2. I had this conversation with the recruiter:
Her: You don't qualify because you are eight lbs overweight and you use an albuterol inhaler....
Me: Isn't this a non-combat unit
Her: Well its a requirement for all personnel...what if we can't provide you with an inhaler and you die.....
Me: How would I not have access to the inhalder.... I am IN the Pharmacy and this is a top 20 drug!
Her: Sorry.....SOprocedures.....
Me: Ok thks....click.

1)As mentioned above, it takes 20 years.

2) The military wont take anyone that takes any type of inhaler for any reason and any type of psychotropic drug.

 

[museabuse]

1)As mentioned above, it takes 20 years.

2) The military wont take anyone that takes any type of inhaler for any reason and any type of psychotropic drug.

What about blood pressure meds(lisinopril)?

 

[Caverject]

What about blood pressure meds(lisinopril)?

I listed the ONLY two disqualifiers, so yeah, HPB meds are good to go

 

[nampa1]

i heard they have a waiver for adhd if one has not taken the drugs in several years? Any specifics on this?

 

[Naidim]

For those interested, all branches of the military have the same base pay based on rank and time in. http://www.militaryfactory.com/military_pay_scale.asp

This rate usually changes every year due to inflation (+3-5% if Republican in White House, +0-3% if Democrat)

The military has its drawbacks, but definitely has its benefits too. I served 8 years in the USMC and loved every minute of it.

 

[sharkfin]

Hi eveyone,
I am thinking about joining the air force but one thing that I am considering is the duration of the deployment. My fiance is also a pharmacy student and I am afraid that she won't be able to find a job where I got deployed. Does any of you have similar situation?

Thanks

 

[Jbuprepharm]

I wanted to correct something from the first page, something that was told to me incorrectly at the time but has been made clear since.

The 15K health professional bonus USED to be something that you would sign up for and would pay you 15k a year for a year of service. The thing was, you would serve is concurrently with whatever your current committment was. So if you were signed up for 4 years, you could take 4 years of the HP bonus and serve it with the time you already were serving (make sense?. It did not extend your committment.

That has change, since 08 apparently, to being served CONSECUTIVELY. Now, if you take a 4 year committment for {incentive X} and you take 4 years of the HP bonus, your committment will be 8 years. And you won't be getting any extra pay/bonuses during the latter 4 years.

I head to COT on monday, good luck to anyone else heading that way soon

 

[Jbuprepharm]

Hi eveyone,
I am thinking about joining the air force but one thing that I am considering is the duration of the deployment. My fiance is also a pharmacy student and I am afraid that she won't be able to find a job where I got deployed. Does any of you have similar situation?

Thanks

Deployments last 6 months, but I think you're talking about being stationed somewhere. That is up to you, but they generally are 3-4 year commitments to start out with. If you get deployed, she won't be going with you

 

[nampa1]

your recruiter is an idiot...your chances of deploying are a little higher in the AF than the other service branches but its a 6 month deal.

Now think about this logically...after 2011, we will most likely no longer have a presence in Iraq. So that leaves Afghanistan, Qutar, UAE, and Kyrigistan (SP?) for AF deployment assignments.There is only 1 AF hospital in Afghanistan...you do the math.

I heard, please correct me if I'm wrong, that even if the government troops leave or are downsized in Iraq, we still take care of the mercenaries (e.g. Blackwater) which are very numerous with no plan to leave on the horizon. If this is so, staffing for pharm people could be quite high. Basically, when is this Iraq/Afghani stuff going to wind down?

 

[Caverject]

I wanted to correct something from the first page, something that was told to me incorrectly at the time but has been made clear since.

The 15K health professional bonus USED to be something that you would sign up for and would pay you 15k a year for a year of service. The thing was, you would serve is concurrently with whatever your current committment was. So if you were signed up for 4 years, you could take 4 years of the HP bonus and serve it with the time you already were serving (make sense?. It did not extend your committment.

That has change, since 08 apparently, to being served CONSECUTIVELY. Now, if you take a 4 year committment for {incentive X} and you take 4 years of the HP bonus, your committment will be 8 years. And you won't be getting any extra pay/bonuses during the latter 4 years.

I head to COT on monday, good luck to anyone else heading that way soon

This is new for the Army as well. I wonder if the Navy is going forward with this too?

 

[Caverject]

I heard, please correct me if I'm wrong, that even if the government troops leave or are downsized in Iraq, we still take care of the mercenaries (e.g. Blackwater) which are very numerous with no plan to leave on the horizon. If this is so, staffing for pharm people could be quite high. Basically, when is this Iraq/Afghani stuff going to wind down?

If I knew when things were going to wind down, I would be on CNN or Fox!

Just FYI- The military doesn't send medical people over there in support of blackwater operations. Contractors are on there own.

 

[mls1025]

Hey guys.
I am currently a P2 and my boyfriend is in the Air Force. After graduating, I want to do a residency and want to be close to him (assuming we are married by the time I graduate). I don't have any ambitions of joining to Air Force myself, but I was wondering if you could tell me about the possibilities of a civilian pharmacist (spouse to an active 2nd lieutenant) getting a residency/working on a base without joining the Air Force?

Thanks!

 

[CUninja]

Hey guys.
I am currently a P2 and my boyfriend is in the Air Force. After graduating, I want to do a residency and want to be close to him (assuming we are married by the time I graduate). I don't have any ambitions of joining to Air Force myself, but I was wondering if you could tell me about the possibilities of a civilian pharmacist (spouse to an active 2nd lieutenant) getting a residency/working on a base without joining the Air Force?

Thanks!

You only need to post it once, posting it in three different threads is not going to get you a faster answer.

That being said....very unlikely. Many bases don't have a civilian pharmacist, and the ones that do have very little turnover and many applications for the jobs that do open up. The number of bases where a residency would be useful is also on the smaller side.

 

[PromisedNeverland]

I just got my selection letter from the Air Force today, so congrats to you as well. The numbers I've seen are 3660 a month as base pay, plus housing and food.

a 6 year commitment gets you 40K/30K (both taxed). Additional loan repayment installments add 2 years a piece to your commitment. And yeah 15 K a year for being a pharmacist essentially. That sounds about right.

By any chance, do you know anything regarding the HPSP offered by the air force ? It seems that it is offered during P3-P4 and is apparently very competitive .

 

[Pistonrph]

I am about to sign with the air force and my recruiter says that I will get 40k for tuition repayment, 30k signing bonus, 900-2000 a month for housing depending where i live, 300/month food allowance, 3660/month base pay and 15k/year to be a licensed pharmacist. For a 6 year commitment.
The total is 73k-86k/year +40k tuition+ 30K bonus. Is this correct? With these numbers I know it is still a pay cut compared to being a civilian pharmacist but I think it is still acceptable. I just dont want to get different numbers after I get commissioned.

Hello
I'm a registered Pharmacist and recently moved to San Diego ca ,I'm interested in joining the Air Force can u please direct me or guide to the right recruiter
Thank you