 So after I graduated high school, I went to college for two years in Idaho and while I was in college I kind of decided that I wasn't really the college type. I didn't really like the college environment the whole Just classroom setting. I wasn't a big fan of it. So I Just ended up joining the Air Force. I wasn't really something that I had planned from the start I was interested in the Air Force or in the military in general I should say I knew about it from recruiters coming to the school and stuff And I had some friends who went straight into different different branches after high school But it wasn't necessarily something I had planned from the start. I just needed something to do and I needed a job So I have been in about five years. I came in in 2014 and I am an E5 staff sergeant So the official title for my job is mission generation vehicular equipment maintenance a little bit of a mouthful and the AFSC is 2T3X1. I did not get this job in depth I did sign an open mechanical contract and went to basic training open mechanical No, it wasn't necessarily something I wanted to do when I came in the job title was something different They actually just changed it recently what it was originally name didn't give a very good description of the actual job It sounded like you would be working on things that mechanics use So it sounded like you would be fixing Like car lifts and generators and things like that and that wasn't really something that appealed to me and I didn't Really think about I didn't really think that it would transfer well to the civilian world I'm sure it would honestly working on generators and AC's and things like that I'm sure it would but it wasn't necessarily something that I wanted to do So when I joined the Air Force, I just wanted to do whatever job would get me to basic training the fastest I don't remember my entire list at depth I do remember my number one choice at depth with security forces And I remember when I was in basic training the job I have now was the last job on my list for my open mechanical contract I ended up signing a six-year contract it wasn't necessarily for anything specific Well I guess it was something for something specific but it wasn't because of more money or ranking up faster It was just because I knew that if I signed a six-year contract I would have a job and a paycheck for the next six years And I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with my life at that point I wasn't sure what direction I wanted to go or what field I wanted to go into for a career I had no idea so I signed a six-year contract The tech school for my job is in Port Wainimi, California It's on a naval base it's in like the Ventura-Oxnard area of California And we have a joint tech school with the Navy So tech school for me was about four months I want to say Sometimes it's a little hard to remember because I was held back in tech school for like two months Because they messed up my order so I graduated and then I was there for like an extra two months But I believe it was about four four and a half months for the actual class So I did enjoy tech school the thing that I liked about tech school And I guess I didn't necessarily think about it at the time But now being in the Air Force a little bit longer I appreciate it is that our tech school is like I said joint with the Navy So we have our classes are half Air Force half Navy And we also have Navy instructors and Air Force instructors And the benefit of that is that early on in your career you learn how to Basically mesh with other cultures with other branches and kind of learn How they function I think it brings a lot more cohesion through the branches Because for instance like my first duty station was an army base So I kind of had the advantage of learning different cultures And adapting to different branches being in that setting And as far as the schoolwork and classwork goes It's going to vary from person to person based on your previous mechanical knowledge Because they basically just teach you the basics of mechanics They basically teach you how an engine works The difference between a gas engine, a diesel engine, a transmission Things like that because there's so many different vehicles in the Air Force And so many different manufacturers of vehicles They can't go through every single one of them and talk about the different systems And you also have to remember that every two or three years Manufacturers are updating their vehicles coming out with new things New systems, new technologies So generally what you learn in tech school If they were to teach you specifics in tech school What you learn there would probably be outdated within two years So it's just not really viable for them to teach you that much information You do get specific training on certain vehicles Like Humvees, MRAPs, Deisers, Sweepers Things that are pretty much constant throughout the Air Force But as far as normal vehicles You don't really get specific training You just get the basics of mechanical understanding So it's going to kind of depend on your previous mechanical knowledge How much you get out of it Yeah, so that's the good thing about vehicle maintenance Is that the Air Force has vehicles everywhere So you can go to any base you want Some bases are restricted by your rank and your skill level So for instance, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii You have to be, I believe, either a master sergeant or a chief master sergeant For the most part, you can pretty much go anywhere you want Because the Air Force has vehicles everywhere You can go to pretty much any overseas base Any stateside base Yeah, there's probably not any restrictions other than your rank Yeah, so the easiest way to explain our job is basically we're mechanics We fix vehicles We take care of vehicles We do all the maintenance on all of the Air Force assets The biggest difference, I would say, between my job And the civilian sector and other branches Is that you're not limited to an engine And you're not limited to an engine type And you're not limited to a vehicle type So generally in the civilian sector you have regular mechanics And then you have diesel mechanics I know in the Army they have like wheeled mechanics And track mechanics because they have different vehicles In the Air Force, you are just a mechanic You work on everything You work on anywhere from like a Chevy Impala To like a Ford pickup truck to an excavator To a dump truck to a de-icer You work on everything And I think that's probably a benefit that we have Because we can kind of transfer that into the civilian world a lot easier Generally the civilian world diesel mechanics get paid more But with our job you can apply to be a diesel mechanic You can apply to be a mechanic at a dealership You can apply to be a mechanic at a regular mechanic shop UPS has their own mechanics I believe Amazon has their own maintenance team I'm not entirely sure about that But I think that they do There's a lot of options for the civilian sector for this job That's a good question So for my job specifically I would say be prepared to fail I know that sounds bad But my job is kind of dependent on I don't want to say dependent But it kind of requires you to do things wrong So you learn from your mistakes This job has a lot to do with troubleshooting A lot to do with critical thinking Because when you're trying to figure out what's wrong It's not always going to be the first thing that you see So a lot of the times you're going to have to think about How the entire piece of machinery works together And that whole entire system that's having problems And you're going to have to think about You're going to have to kind of critically think about that system And where the fault could be It's not always going to be in front of you It's definitely a demanding job Physically demanding and mentally demanding But it is also It also can be a very rewarding job Depending on your attitude and how you look at it And I would say it's definitely a good skill to have Even if you don't transfer it into civilian world Even if you don't get out and go be a mechanic Just a skill to be able to work on cars I mean the amount of money you save doing maintenance on your own car And having that knowledge is big And then for the Air Force in general The biggest thing I would say is just keep an open mind A lot of times I see people come in They come in from tech school and they get to our base To their first base And within the year they've already decided That they want to get out And I don't think that that's good Because generally your first year is kind of the hardest You're adapting You're the lowest on the totem pole You kind of have to do all the additional duties Like cleaning and stuff like that And it's not You're not really getting the whole Air Force experience You know, you haven't really You haven't seen multiple bases You probably haven't deployed There's a lot more that the Air Force has to offer And I don't even And even the opposite People who come in within a year They already decided that They want to make it a career They want to re-enlist I don't think that's necessarily good either I mean it's good to have I guess dedication to your job And dedication to the Air Force But I don't think you should walk yourself Into a decision so early on in your career There's a lot of options that the Air Force has And there's also a lot of options That the military brings To help you outside of the military And get civilian jobs So I don't I would say just keep an open mind And try to take things slower For instance for me I have to My contract is up next year I either have to re-enlist and get out And I still don't know what I'm going to do And that's not because I I don't care I mean I've definitely thought about it But I just I don't want to lock myself into I don't want to lock myself into a decision Because I may get orders In a couple months I may go on another deployment next year And you know, there's a lot of things That could happen I could get hurt And not even have the option I could get a really good civilian job offer And decide that's what I want to do So there's a lot of different things That you can do And I don't think that you should Lock yourself into a decision So early on in your career I think that's the biggest problem That I see with people