Military Audiology anyone??

[AUDball2012]

Hello all!

I am currently a 3rd year AuD, I am pretty confident I have secured my externship and now I am looking at what I want to do when I get out. My husband in being medically retired from the Army within the next 6 months, so my options are really open.

I am planning on talking to an AF recruiter once I get to my externship site. But I was wondering if anyone else is going to be pursuing a Audiology in the military?

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[Dustbug10]

AuDball, welcome to the forum!

My preceptor is practically beginning me to join the AF when I finish in '13. I have many questions to ask, as the benefits he claims may be slightly inflated. . I do know that your initial commitment is only 3 years, rather than 20 right off the bat. My fiance wants know part of it, but I plan to contact a recruiter for information just to cover all bases. I believe you can finish out as a Lt. Col?

 

[AUDball2012]

AuDball, welcome to the forum!

My preceptor is practically beginning me to join the AF when I finish in '13. I have many questions to ask, as the benefits he claims may be slightly inflated. . I do know that your initial commitment is only 3 years, rather than 20 right off the bat. My fiance wants know part of it, but I plan to contact a recruiter for information just to cover all bases. I believe you can finish out as a Lt. Col?

You are so lucky to have someone to talk --even if there is a slight inflation hehe--I dont have anyone other than a recruiter to ask

Yes, you go in as a Capt (O-2) and there is a mandatory promotion to Major after 5 or 6 yrs and I have heard of many Lt Col AuDs so that is how that goes.

I also know about the Active Duty Health Professions Loan Repayment Program (ADHPLRP) which can provide up to 40000 dollars in loan repayment.

As for all the other stuff dealing with the military--like the day to day things, that I already know about from dealing with the Army and I have experience with the AF as well.

 

[Dustbug10]

You are so lucky to have someone to talk --even if there is a slight inflation hehe--I dont have anyone other than a recruiter to ask

Yes, you go in as a Capt (O-2) and there is a mandatory promotion to Major after 5 or 6 yrs and I have heard of many Lt Col AuDs so that is how that goes.

I also know about the Active Duty Health Professions Loan Repayment Program (ADHPLRP) which can provide up to 40000 dollars in loan repayment.

As for all the other stuff dealing with the military--like the day to day things, that I already know about from dealing with the Army and I have experience with the AF as well.

How about retirement? 50% of peak salary after 20 year enlistment?

He is knowledgeable, but I think it would be more beneficial to make contact with an acting military audiologist. I'm not entirely sure how to go about finding one. What are your thoughts on housing? Around AR base, I have been told that living arrangements can be shady.

 

[AUDball2012]

How about retirement? 50% of peak salary after 20 year enlistment?

He is knowledgeable, but I think it would be more beneficial to make contact with an acting military audiologist. I'm not entirely sure how to go about finding one. What are your thoughts on housing? Around AR base, I have been told that living arrangements can be shady.

The retirement benefits are really nice--because in addition to collecting military retirement you can still work. Also, there is healthcare at the VA, you can shop on base still (no taxes), you can stay at military base hotels (much cheaper than most hotels and pretty nice), and there are some benefits with flying as well.

As for housing it depends on a few things. 1--I will say this, for the AF the housing is nicer than the Army (this is not hard and fast but I would say the grand majority) 2--Officer housing is nicer than enlisted for the most part 3--with BAH/BAS (basic allowance for housing and basic allowance for sustenance) you may be better getting a house off base--here is the reasoning: BAH depends on the cost of housing in the area, so if you add BAH and BAS together and you can find a place that you want to live in the area for less than that amount then you can pocket the amount (for example: BAH=1200, BAS=300-->1500...you find a place for 1000/month, you pocket 500 dollars each month) If you choose to live on base--sometimes the area is shady and living off base seems unsafe or the prices of the places you like are sky high--they will take all of your BAH, and you still need to pay for electricity I believe. The size of the house on base depends on your rank, your family size, and the number of people who need housing. So because AuDs start out as O-3's and you are getting married I believe that is at least a 2 bedroom house. Some of the housing is older, some is newer, it really is just luck of the draw.

*sorry that was so long*

I have been trying to find an AuD to talk to--what I think I am going to do is ask the recruiter to put me in contact with an AF and Army AuD
--I am really shooting for AF, but I am going to look into Army as well (I wont do Navy because of family reasons, but I have heard good things about them as well)

 

[cmc271]

How about retirement? 50% of peak salary after 20 year enlistment?

He is knowledgeable, but I think it would be more beneficial to make contact with an acting military audiologist. I'm not entirely sure how to go about finding one. What are your thoughts on housing? Around AR base, I have been told that living arrangements can be shady.

http://militaryaudiology.org/site/

This is the Military Audiology Association's website. They have a "contact us" link which I'm sure could put you in touch with someone.

It too is a career area in which I also have some interest. In the past the Navy and AF have had 4th placements after which you have a three year commitment. I've done a little research, but nothing to the point where I've made contact with anyone yet. I was under the impression you came in as lieutenant not captain but I could easily be mistaken. There is a limited number of audiologist positions available from what I understand, so depending on timing there may not be any requisitions available.

Edit: Search US Naval Audiology on Facebook They have a group page with some info. In the pictures there is a flyer for the externship program with a contact person. On discussions page they list duty stations as California, Washington, Florida, Virginia, Hawaii, Japan, North Carolina, Spain, Guam, and Italy.

 

[AUDball2012]

http://militaryaudiology.org/site/

This is the Military Audiology Association's website. They have a "contact us" link which I'm sure could put you in touch with someone.

It too is a career area in which I also have some interest. In the past the Navy and AF have had 4th placements after which you have a three year commitment. I've done a little research, but nothing to the point where I've made contact with anyone yet. I was under the impression you came in as lieutenant not captain but I could easily be mistaken. There is a limited number of audiologist positions available from what I understand, so depending on timing there may not be any requisitions available.

Edit: Search US Naval Audiology on Facebook They have a group page with some info. In the pictures there is a flyer for the externship program with a contact person. On discussions page they list duty stations as California, Washington, Florida, Virginia, Hawaii, Japan, North Carolina, Spain, Guam, and Italy.

It was a 2Lt (O-1) when it was a MS program but because it is now a Doctorate you go in as a Cpt (O-3)--for AF and Army. The Navy has a different ranking system where an O-1 is Ensign and O-3 is a Lt. A Cpt in the Navy is the same as a Col. in the Army and AF (O-6).

I have looked at that website, however, I do not trust a lot of the information about the AF because it was last updated on March 28th 2001. As an aside, I have used their website a lot for information for my occupational audiology class. I am most likely going to wait until I get to my externship site to contact a Health Professions Recruiter and have them put me in touch with the local audiologists (if they have them) and see if they would be willing to get together for coffee and talk about the whole process and how audiology in the military works.

 

[AUDball2012]

Im bringing this one back now that we have a few more experienced AuD's floating around Anyone new have any take on commissioning for the military as an audiologist??

 

[TheEarDoc]

I have a former student who works as an Audiologist for the Air Force. If anyone wants to talk directly to the student PM me and I'll see what I can arrange for you.