I'm currently in a very small town at a very small college taking an Associate of Arts in Missions Aviation. When I finish I'll have my commercial pilot's license with various ratings. I haven't decided what kind of pilot I want to be, but from what I understand my education wouldn't help me much getting into the Air Force as a pilot since I'm only getting an associate of arts, not a bachelor of science.
Either way I'm interested in at least spending some time serving in a the reserve force. Since pilot would require more education, right now I'm looking at field engineer, it seems really interesting. I have a few questions...
-How long does the application take for the reserves? I'm in school until August and I'm a long ways from the nearest CF Base, so I can't go there during the week. I also have been off depression meds for 5 months now, so I'm not sure if that's long enough, I'm also in the middle of getting into better shape, I'm not quite there yet. Should I wait to apply?
-Is reserve field engineer a competitive job? I'm worried I don't have enough leadership experience (other than a part time job I have none) and I can't seem to find any place to get leadership experience in town (school leadership positions are filled, there's very few places to volunteer, and I'm not allowed to get a job in this program).
-In the reserves are you forced to go on deployment? I'm not saying I wouldn't want to, but it's something good to know.
-I'm looking at 41 Combat Engineer Regiment, it says they train Wednesday nights; would I still be able to work other days? What do field...er I guess now it's combat engineers do during the day when not on deployment?
-In the reserves do you still go to basic training in in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec followed by all the trade-specific training?
-What I'd like to do is take the next year (Sept.-Aug.) off to work but then finish my commercial license the following year. However, when I'm at school that year I probably won't be able to serve except maybe on the weekends. Is this a problem?