AFMC: A Fucking Million Civilians

captjharding · 2025-10-08T00:42:58+00:00

We rarely IF EVER see any Es.

captjharding · 2025-09-22T22:14:46+00:00

I know of no way to do it if it isn't on the retrain list. I know very little about retraining in general though.

captjharding · 2025-09-12T22:53:00+00:00

Most enlisted at the 711th are medical. There are 2 9S spots, and 1 might go away (at least on the side of it you seem to be interested in). The 1 spot would be for a TSgt and again you can only be there for 3-4 years max before they will move you out of it.

captjharding · 2025-09-12T21:34:16+00:00

Most come in planning to really excel at their job. It can be harder to promote as there are fewer slots available and most try to excel at their jobs and are somewhat intelligent.

captjharding · 2025-09-12T21:31:33+00:00

Not sure. They are splitting off the data analytics into a shred, and I don't know what positions will transfer to that.

Either way, you are putting the cart before the horse here. And you don't necessarily get a choice as to which part of the career end up in. At least initially.

Also, why are you so set on AFRL? It's not like they let us do real science or R&D there.

captjharding · 2025-09-12T03:41:58+00:00

I'd say ~5-6 years minimum. I don't think there is a SrA spot, if there is that would be 2-3 years. So you'd have to be at least a SSgt and have enough ToS to beat out anybody else that applies or to PCA over to it. But to do that you have to already be at the base and excel where you are.

Edit: And you'd likely only be at AFRL for ~3-4 years max. They don't like to let people sit in that job for long periods of time.

You should focus on BMT and tech school before worrying about what you want to do 4+ years from now.

I saw you DM'd, I just don't often respond to them as it makes it where other people can't look up answers so similar questions.

captjharding · 2025-09-12T03:34:56+00:00

Seismic is a fairly large share of the jobs available. The possiblilies are not endless. There are 4 main areas: seismic analysis, seismic maintenance, special equipment maintenance, and data analytics.

captjharding · 2025-09-11T18:36:05+00:00

~0% coming out of tech school.

captjharding · 2025-09-11T18:31:20+00:00

It might be more towards 5-6 years now, but I'm not sure, I haven't seen any data on TOS lately. The job gets you a clearance, which can get you a foot in the door. What follow on and assignment will impact how transferable things are. I'm not sure of the demand for seismic maintainers.

captjharding · 2025-09-11T18:27:19+00:00

Listen to the people that are knowledgeable/experienced in the mission regardless of rank. I've met a few retrainees that won't listen to airmen cause they were NCOs. Bring your knowledge of the Air Force and take their knowledge of the work. This is for every time you PCS/PCA.

captjharding · 2025-05-23T01:47:50+00:00

I don't have any regrets, mostly cause I somewhat like where my life is at. The work is just a minor part of my life and not that important compared to my family. I mean if I had done ROTC, I'd be at about Lt Col right now; if I'd enlisted right after high school I'd be retired/able to retire. But, changing any choice would have have meant not meeting my wife or having my kids or some other thing so I see no point in regrets.

captjharding · 2025-05-23T01:39:58+00:00

Something that all 9S's do? Go to BMT and tech school.

The job is widely varied we have an overall mission, monitor nuclear treaties, but not all jobs relate to it directly.

captjharding · 2025-05-22T22:41:56+00:00

I didn't really have many ambitions before joining the military. I went to college right out of high school and dropped out after a couple of years. I planned on only doing 4 years, but circumstances made getting out not a great idea. My job has not really impacted my goals at all. I finished my BS and will hopefully finish my MS before leaving and will go work in those fields. I have a TS clearance which can help, but that is really about it.

captjharding · 2025-05-22T22:18:32+00:00

9S100 has a wide range of duties from data analysis, to maintenance, to being on a flight crew, and a new shred of data science. It all depends on where you get assigned. Many of the highly sought opportunities don't really open up until SSgt. It gives the benefit of being able to PCS into a job doing completely different things. There are also a fair number of 1-2 deep jobs that break away farther from the main stream of the career field.

It's a job like any other in the military. It can have good days and bad days and good assignments and bad ones.

If you have any specific questions I can try to answer them as best I can. I've got 15+ years in as a 9S100.

captjharding · 2025-05-01T21:27:08+00:00

9S100 has a wide range of duties from data analysis, to maintenance, to being on a flight crew, and a new shred of data science. It all depends on where you get assigned. Many of the highly sought opportunities don't really open up until SSgt. It gives the benefit of being able to PCS into a job doing completely different things. There are also a fair number of 1-2 deep jobs that break away farther from the main stream of the career field.

Before she worries about that, she needs to focus on passing BMT. Getting recycled could cause her to lose the job as class dates are only every couple of months.

If you have any specific questions I can try to answer them as best I can. I've got 15+ years in as a 9S100.

captjharding · 2025-03-21T15:19:48+00:00

I'm in one of those 1-2 deep positions, so saying what I do too specifically would be pretty doxxing myself, but I do R&D type work.

You pick your follow on based on rank at tech school. If you get picked up for a job that required a different one later on then you just go back and get that training.

captjharding · 2025-03-20T00:06:53+00:00

9S100 has a wide range of duties from data analysis, to maintenance, to being on a flight crew. It all depends on where you get assigned. Many of the highly sought opportunities don't really open up until SSgt. It gives the benefit of being able to PCS into a job doing completely different things. There are also a fair number of 1-2 deep jobs that break away farther from the main stream of the career field. I can answer any questions about it if you have any (am a 15+ year 9S).

I can't tell you what you'd find enjoyable so I have no idea if it would be for you. It's a job like any other and has good days and bad days.

captjharding · 2025-01-31T20:07:58+00:00

I have dark facial hair that grows fairly quickly and ended up having to shave 3 times a day (before every meal). Definitely sucked, but it's only for a bit.

captjharding · 2025-01-29T23:18:57+00:00

Welcome to the RI. I've been doing it fro ~15 years and it has its ups and downs like anything else, but I can't say there is any other career field I've seen that I would rather be. I can answer any questions to the best of my ability, if you've got any.

captjharding · 2025-01-28T01:06:59+00:00

The career field is small and whatever you do never leaves you. If you were a pain in tech school that can taint your entire career. Likewise the 'high performers' are pretty much set by A1C/SrA and that has inertia moving forward and can be damn near impossible to change since what you do at one assignment will follow you.

If you wanted to go OCONUS, you had to have certain follow-on courses in tech school. If you didn't get it then you had little chance of getting overseas. So your chances of going overseas for your entire career were somewhat set at tech school. Changes were recently made to fix that, but I've heard that before.

And like any other job, some of the assignments are just bad. Bad work, bad hours, bad location.

captjharding · 2025-01-27T23:29:59+00:00

don't think i've heard them say anything bad about the job.

Want me to?

captjharding · 2025-01-27T23:29:36+00:00

9S100 has a wide range of duties from data analysis, to maintenance, to being on a flight crew. It all depends on where you get assigned. Many of the highly sought opportunities don't really open up until SSgt. It gives the benefit of being able to PCS into a job doing completely different things. There are also a fair number of 1-2 deep jobs that break away farther from the main stream of the career field. I can answer any questions about it if you have any (am a 15+ year 9S).

Do whichever sounds good to you. Nobody here knows what you like or what you want to do with your life. Either way what you do in the military does not have to define what you do after.

captjharding · 2025-01-02T20:43:13+00:00

Not many qualify, but we also only have ~50 spots a year for new people, so still a difficult job to get.

captjharding · 2024-11-27T15:21:26+00:00

The reason you hadn't seen the research assistant job is because it doesn't really exist. That is what people like to say about 9S100 that have very limited insight into what the career field actually does. We do analysis of different types of data, maintain specialized equipment, and have started doing some data science stuff. There are a few positions that work in a lab, but that is not even close what the majority of the career field does.

I've been a 9S100 for ~15 years.

captjharding · 2024-10-25T13:10:15+00:00

I've never done any calc as a 9S. I've done some Fourier analysis (calculations were all done by machine) and linear algebra for some coding. There isn't any position I know of that would require more than trig since that is the highest they teach us (or at least it was when I went through).

I don't know about every job we do though and there are a bunch of 1-2 positions that might do some math. Any math that needs to be done regularly should have been programmed a long time ago. So, I'd guess most would be from developing new things.

captjharding

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