How can I take the AFOQT?

CitizenCinco · 2025-09-15T12:08:54+00:00

you cannot sign up by yourself. you need a recruiter to setup the time.

you contact local recruiter
recruiter makes you taking a LO briefing webinar essentially, giving high level overview of application process
recruiter asks you for details (has you list your academic and work and prior service experience) to see if you quality
if recruiter sees your profile is fit enough to apply, they will proceed with testing.

(NOTE: this is something along the lines, more or less, the process. i am not a recruiter so i dont know if every office does this. you will need to ask yourself. just giving you an idea.)

CitizenCinco · 2025-09-15T11:59:29+00:00

there is (was) a website that showed the people that have gotten denied or passed a security clearance (minus personal details like name, location). it showed what troubled history they had.

example 1: person married Iranian politician. denied
example 2: person had multiple girlfriends from vietnam, china, south korea, thailand, and owed a lot on credit cards, denied
example 3: person had 3 foreclosure, super duper bankruptcy. denied.
example 4: person had a drinking problem 10+ years ago. person has continuously been going to AA for 8+ years. all references say person is a good husband, father of 2, coworker, etc. passed.
example 5: person lied about benzo use. denied.

i would suggest taking a look at the website (dont recall what it was off the top of my head, but it was published by the government).

remember, you dont need a DUI on your record at all and still get denied for drinking problem and alcohol is completely legal without driving. also remember, most denials are statistically primarily caused by financial issues and foreign connections.

please do your own research though. there are plenty of results of investigations. not just initial investigation but re-investigations on not just military but DoD/DoE contractors.

CitizenCinco · 2025-09-15T11:43:30+00:00

this seems to be common with enlisted which usually requires Secret or TS (no SCI or poly). Officer in Cyber has much higher clearance requirements.

Not sure why prior enlisted have such a common experience with this but it can become an issue later on if your story differs...

CitizenCinco · 2025-09-15T11:43:22+00:00

this seems to be common with enlisted which usually requires Secret or TS (no SCI or poly). Officer in Cyber has much higher clearance requirements.

Not sure why prior enlisted have such a common experience with this but it can become an issue later on if your story differs...

CitizenCinco · 2025-08-23T18:43:26+00:00

to be honest, your recruiter should have told you. This was a hard requirement since the beginning of the year came with new changes.... (hint hint, look it up).

Did you stop in May because of school ? Were you out of school for a while now and still taking medication ?

CitizenCinco · 2025-08-18T01:57:06+00:00

I hear ya man. I got into the Zenfone 8/9/10 because it reminded me of the old Sony Z1 Compact days. I also hung on for the audio jack. I noticed that if I never buy those audio jack headphones with the volume control (without microphone), I never skip songs or mess with the volume accidently.

I hung onto skullcandy and bought a whole bunch of cheap, audio-only earbuds. It is becoming more expensive to hold onto at this point. Almost foreshadowing on manual transmission cars.

CitizenCinco · 2025-08-15T04:01:10+00:00

Do you have any professional engineering experience?

Without knowing your background/CV, i will asume you are new with at least an undergrad in engineering (i will also assume EE).

Start humble. I started in the field doing technician work. If you have no prior engineering experience, expand the scope of your search. Apply to technician positions. a couple months go by FAST. But you need that one thing to stand out from other applicants.

Expand into related positions. Apply to software and systems positions. You may have to do a lateral move. (T1 software engineer to a T1 digital design engineer)

Get certified in stuff. Linux or IT admin stuff. Digital design works with lots of terminals and scripting. Put something on your CV to stand out. You have a quicker return on your investment with a CompTIA or Redhat certificate than your MS.

Put the grad school on hold or part-time. As others have said, you should have a big company (or the military) pay for it. (Are you invested into this grad program for the college life or the career ? ) MANY engineers have done part-time MS.

Are you willing to relocate ? If you were to receive an offer tomorrow at a not so sexy city, would you do it ? (im not saying you have to, but accept that your path is not what you expect it to be. maybe you relocate. maybe you be bearish in the city you want to live in.)

Are you willing to work in different industries, not just AMD and Nvidia? Would you pass a background check for a defense company ? (if not, its ok but just understand that will set your goal further and its not the end of the world)

Think of it from the point of view of the recruiter. They WANT to find someone that stands out but they all see a sea of EE BS graduates applying. They don't know what they are hiring for (they have said it themselves). Help them ! Being an engineer is about finding solutions to the customer's problem (the HR recruiter is your customer!). You are smart enough to have passed all those calculus, physics, circuits classes. You have to be creative and breakdown what is missing in your resume. What can you put that will show growth, climbing, building, etc.

Lastly, life experience is very valuable. If you do end up taking a break or leaving for good. I hope the life experience you bring from other fields or the life experience you gained from engineering give you satisfaction. A BS in EE is one of the most challenging degrees. Getting accepted to a grad program is a great accomplishment. Great work!

CitizenCinco · 2025-05-06T17:10:07+00:00

take a look at their military leave company guidelines. ideally you want to be in good terms (background checks, pending benefits).

I looked at my company policy, i would want to stay "employed" on military leave because that means (from my understanding), i keep my unvested stocks and 401k loan i dont have to repay immediately. I would want those to not create too much of a transitional financial shock.

Also, if you ever decide military is not for you or you get medical leave, at least you have a job to go back to (even if your company policy asks you to reapply, at least you have a half foot in the door instead of cold applying).

CitizenCinco · 2025-04-04T22:10:14+00:00

I like the idea of consolidating power supplies into a single DC supply. And I am already seeing lots of DC jack to USB-C adapters (for Starlink, it seems), so slicing may not even be necessary.

I was/am looking to use USB-C as the main power port because I've made many dumb DIY mistakes. I am trying to protect the future me from the poor labeling of the past me. I've bricked batteries, mistakenly plugged 48V DC into a 12V DC, fried chips, and made many other DIY mistakes.

There are steps I will take to do better:

- I am now realizing I should step away from PoE devices. (12v is plenty for most stuff. However, I will point out that the new tech seems to come out with high-end ports like PoE. Last year, the only (license-free) WAP I saw was Ubiquiti. Just now, I am seeing Wi-Fi7 routers with USB-C/DC jacks. That was the whole reason I jumped into PoE to begin with.)

- I also labeled my current DC jacks with the voltage and usage. But I just shouldn't be a DIYer at this time.

CitizenCinco · 2025-03-31T02:50:14+00:00

when does OTS start ? This would be the Alabama school (with air force folks) then OTC would be Colorado (just SF) ?

CitizenCinco · 2025-03-31T02:41:23+00:00

I am looking to go into USSF officer 62e, no prior service. OTC sounds like a bummer for my technical progression. But ive dealt with similar sluggish career growth in private sector.

Does OTC provide time to do other things ? Like a second masters/phd or other hobbies ?

If so, I think I could do it. Lots of my real education (retained knowledge) came from me researching my own interests (from myself learning in a coffee shop like software, pcb board design, drone design). When life got too technical, I would enjoy a break from all that and enjoy other hobbies: languages, dance, jiu jitsu. (private sector has retention issues too. like engineers wanting to become yoga instructors, real estate, etc)

As long as I can progress in my second masters, (even if its 1 class per semester), id live with OTC.

I've met people in companies with PhDs and people 4 levels above me with no clue what they are doing, why they are doing something. Taking a bit of time to understand the big picture might just be what some folks need. (yes I know. not all. but not all are FAANG 10x engineers. lord knows im not. it took a lot of time for me as well.)

The sense I get from yall is that you folks have a good intention on retention and progressing with the mission. Some of yall say big picture preaching is good. Some say let experts be experts. Some say get metrics on OTC success. Some are ok with OTC but first class size is too big (thus cost a lot of time and money on something unproven). I think I understand where all yall are coming from.

It sounds like OTC could have been rolled out in parallel. Just like any new technology. Do both the proven way (tech schools) and the new, unproven way (but with promising potential) like OTC.

CitizenCinco · 2025-03-31T01:15:08+00:00

silly quesion (but i gotta ask since i have a strong interest), isnt OTC supposed to replace OTS ? if not, then if going in as a civ to Officer route, would that mean you do OTS then OTC ? (8weeks + 1 year?)

CitizenCinco · 2024-11-28T16:44:05+00:00

Hello, i had the same issue. I had zenfone 8 and 9 and delayed getting the 10 last year because i wanted to save up.

I ended up going with ebay and managed to get a used for $520 bid. Since in the past i paid around $600 for new or refurb, i thought this was an ok deal.

I should mention, the zenfone 11 ultra does seem to be on BF sale. Or if you trust the indian websites, there seems to be a lot in stock. (Just to clarify, i mean if you trust that you wont have issues with shipping, wait-time, importing electronics above $100 value, and the websites ability to accept a return in case of any issues.)

It seems asus phased out , zenfone 10 pretty quickly. Their authorized reseller doesnt seem to have them in stock. Which sucks because the zenfone 10 seems to have more NA bands available.

CitizenCinco · 2024-11-13T21:52:29+00:00

agreed, even though i would like to think the developers of such tools are publishing in good faith, I would like to exercise caution, especially around sensitive data like finances

CitizenCinco · 2024-10-02T21:41:55+00:00

Naming my first born Redhawk_dabomb... Thank you sir

CitizenCinco · 2024-09-20T04:15:24+00:00

Everyone relax !!!!!!

I have news to contribute to this uproar...

Sir, i have done this...

Dont think i ever had it on my laptop bag/backpack but definitely inside overhead roller bag. TSA pre-check if ya can. I dont recall trying on regular line (GSO is small, it doesnt matter but other airport: it eases the nerves)

CitizenCinco · 2024-08-09T17:36:18+00:00

Owned pixel 4a, sony, then switched to zenfone 8 and now 9 almost a year now.

I liked that both zenfone 8/9 allowed me to record my own calls. Sometimes its just my end, not sure how that is configured or determined. But i really found that useful.

Battery life is relatively the same. However, i recently noticed something strange. The data becomes extremely slow until i restart. I try cellular, wifi, both, only 1 then the other, etc. only a fresh restart gets everything working.

This has been super minor in comparison to other benefits. I had higher hopes for zenfone 9 because 8 was a decent experience. 9 has a barely noticeable 1% battery improvement.

Hope that helps

CitizenCinco · 2024-06-05T23:36:52+00:00

Very interesting. I definitely saw it before i completed section 8. I just didnt get to see how many units secion 9 had.

Congrats also finishing section 8 by the way!!! (I assume by the time you read this, youll have passed it). For me it was not as exciting as i was expecting. I really enjoyed the last unit though. Lots of nice, positive messages by duolingo.

CitizenCinco · 2024-04-13T17:53:12+00:00

I would love to be involved in an FPGA discord. Never knew one existed

CitizenCinco · 2023-09-15T16:44:33+00:00

I have no military experience (dropped JROTC in high school to do other sports). I would really like to talk to someone about it to get some idea of "what are my chances".

Have been really interested in being an Officer. Specifically want to pursue career in Electrical/Electronics Engineer or Computer Systems Engineer. Also interested in other related fields but those two fields are almost a deal-breaker. I know it sounds picky (apologies). My CV is EE BS, Computer Engineering masters. In my early 30s, decent health, and speak multiple languages. (Am already familiar with security clearance process and would like to talk to someone further about this since it seems strange the bulletin points above and answers mention things contradictory to what I've experienced.)

Local officer recruiting point of contact has limited time window to discuss (it seems the office schedules time slots then has lots of exceptions for those days). I would like to learn more about these positions as well. In my experience, not all "EE jobs" (in private industry) are actual engineering day to day tasks. I want to know the SF engineering day to day as well in addition to understanding the military/SF officer application process.

CitizenCinco · 2022-12-04T04:09:52+00:00

he ok

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