What to do until EAD? AFROTC

Iwannagofast13

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I'm a senior in Air Force ROTC, and I'm commissioning this upcoming May 2019. I got a pilot slot which is very exciting of course, but my EAD isn't until March 2020, so I have 10 months to fill, and I have no idea what to do until that date. I've been applying for jobs and all that, but it's not easy to find someone who wants to hire you for 9 months and then say fare-thee-well. It's hard enough as it is for college graduates to find a good job, but I have a hard date when I'll have to quit by, so most companies aren't willing to waste their time with me.

Plenty of people have told me "oh you gotta just use that time to travel and see the world, it's the last time in your life you'll be totally free." But what people somehow forget is that you need money in order to travel, and I am nowhere near having enough money to do that.

Does anyone have any advice on what to do until I start active duty? I need to make enough to get by for 10 months, and if I have the opportunity, I'd like to travel a bit at the end if I have enough money saved. Any and all advice would be appreciated.
 
Commisioned this past June and was in your case. Didn't EAD until Feb of 2019. I applied for a White House Internship and was accepted and that filled my time from early August until Mid February. It is a great opportunity if you get accepted to get a joint view of military operations supporting the president. Plus you are a conversation starter as seeing a fresh 2nd lieutenant in the White House is extremely rare. Just another option to consider.
 
I commissioned in May 2018 and EAD’d Sept 30th...I used my secret clearance to get a job as a security guard at a DOD facility. Had excellent pay and I was able to work 60+ hours a week so I saved a ton. I would say try and leverage your clearance to your advantage.
 
Commisioned this past June and was in your case. Didn't EAD until Feb of 2019. I applied for a White House Internship and was accepted and that filled my time from early August until Mid February. It is a great opportunity if you get accepted to get a joint view of military operations supporting the president. Plus you are a conversation starter as seeing a fresh 2nd lieutenant in the White House is extremely rare. Just another option to consider.
When did you apply for that? That sounds amazing.
 
Either
  • Paid internship, or
  • Get a job in the industry covered by your major and don't tell the company you intend to leave in 9 months
    • This is key--you are currently IRR, right? So USERRA applies here-- they cannot punish/penalize you once hired for any active duty service, and...
    • They technically have to keep your job available for you for up to five years-- great backup plan in the event you get medically separated
Turnover is ridiculous in the private sector right now among recent college grads. Most companies will not expect you to last a year any way.
 
Also look into pulling days at a reserve base. Just because you are waiting on your EAD doesn't mean you can't be put on Title 10 orders to do paperwork and answer the phone. It never hurts to ask and you are already in reserve status.
 
Commisioned this past June and was in your case. Didn't EAD until Feb of 2019. I applied for a White House Internship and was accepted and that filled my time from early August until Mid February. It is a great opportunity if you get accepted to get a joint view of military operations supporting the president. Plus you are a conversation starter as seeing a fresh 2nd lieutenant in the White House is extremely rare. Just another option to consider.
When did you apply for that? That sounds amazing.

Started the application process in February of last year. Pretty hefty process to include essays, short answers, and interviews. They also make you fill out another SF 86 to clear you into the job. Would start looking into it now if you are interested.
 
They also make you fill out another SF 86 to clear you into the job.
I assume that was for Yankee White clearance. That would be potentially more useful to have as a young CGO than even the WH experience. A "hefty process" is putting it mildly-- it's more like a giant pain, but once you have it-- pretty valuable.

Did you get a PSB out of that?
 
Commisioned this past June and was in your case. Didn't EAD until Feb of 2019. I applied for a White House Internship and was accepted and that filled my time from early August until Mid February. It is a great opportunity if you get accepted to get a joint view of military operations supporting the president. Plus you are a conversation starter as seeing a fresh 2nd lieutenant in the White House is extremely rare. Just another option to consider.
Did you get paid for that job? How did you handle housing?
 
Commisioned this past June and was in your case. Didn't EAD until Feb of 2019. I applied for a White House Internship and was accepted and that filled my time from early August until Mid February. It is a great opportunity if you get accepted to get a joint view of military operations supporting the president. Plus you are a conversation starter as seeing a fresh 2nd lieutenant in the White House is extremely rare. Just another option to consider.
Did you get paid for that job? How did you handle housing?

Did not get paid but I applied for a grant type thing through the American Legion and it covered essentially all my costs for the time I was there. I did hear from somebody there though that you can ask to get put on "casual" status and they are usually pretty lenient on giving that to you.
 
I commissioned in May 2018 and EAD’d Sept 30th...I used my secret clearance to get a job as a security guard at a DOD facility. Had excellent pay and I was able to work 60+ hours a week so I saved a ton. I would say try and leverage your clearance to your advantage.
Was this on a military base or for a government contractor? And how did you find this job? This sounds pretty intriguing honestly so I would look into this for sure.
 
They also make you fill out another SF 86 to clear you into the job.
I assume that was for Yankee White clearance. That would be potentially more useful to have as a young CGO than even the WH experience. A "hefty process" is putting it mildly-- it's more like a giant pain, but once you have it-- pretty valuable.

Did you get a PSB out of that?

Unfortunately I did not. PSB's require a little more than a year of service in support of the president to get. I am sure my time did count towards it though.
 
Regardless I would encourage all LT's with the time to explore the opportunity. The experience is truly once in a lifetime.
 
Commisioned this past June and was in your case. Didn't EAD until Feb of 2019. I applied for a White House Internship and was accepted and that filled my time from early August until Mid February. It is a great opportunity if you get accepted to get a joint view of military operations supporting the president. Plus you are a conversation starter as seeing a fresh 2nd lieutenant in the White House is extremely rare. Just another option to consider.
Did you get paid for that job? How did you handle housing?

Did not get paid but I applied for a grant type thing through the American Legion and it covered essentially all my costs for the time I was there. I did hear from somebody there though that you can ask to get put on "casual" status and they are usually pretty lenient on giving that to you.
If you don't mind my asking, how did you find the American Legion grants? Is it on there website?
 
DS got a job at a craft brewery between commissioning and reporting for AD. There is also the food service industry which should be fairly easy to get a job in. I know they may not be much but you only need to do it to tie you over.
 
Some amazing ideas above. Hope the following help someone:
- look into your college’s grants and prizes for recent graduates. My alma mater had amazing travel/ study opportunities.
- is there one particular place you want to travel? If you can’t find a study abroad program (state dept has some but no idea what timelines there are), consider work/travel abroad programs. Can be a great way to add to your language skills or even do service here in the US. You can always teach English but they may not be able to accommodate your availability time frame... but never hurts to ask!
-i assume you’ve tapped out ideas from officers in your ROTC unit... have you tried the alum/job placement office to see if other ROTC grads are offering to mentor job placement? They might be thinking long term placement but will understand your situation and be willing to help.
 
DS got a job at a craft brewery between commissioning and reporting for AD. There is also the food service industry which should be fairly easy to get a job in. I know they may not be much but you only need to do it to tie you over.
Do jobs at brewery's pay well? I bartend now in college and I make pretty good money doing that, so I would consider working at one of the local brewery's near me.
 
Do jobs at brewery's pay well? I bartend now in college and I make pretty good money doing that, so I would consider working at one of the local brewery's near me.

Sorry, but I am LMAO with that question.
My husband (aka Bullet here) worked in the restaurant business after he commissioned for 9 months. He lived at home. He purchased a new car within weeks of commissioning. He proposed to me @12 weeks later. We are from NJ/NY area originally. 1 carat diamond was common, not that I cared what size, but his Mom did.

I would say for us, those were some of our best memories when it came to that summer before his EAD in Feb.

For him he would say the same thing. He loved those months. He made a small fortune. He was able to decompress and just have fun.

JMPO, unless the job/internship will assist you at UPT why not just take a job where you can have fun?
~ I am talking if you have a rated slot.

Honestly, think about it. That internship probably will have no correlation to what UPT will be like. If it does, great.

FWIW, DS worked retail 8-4. He used graduation money to fly on weekends when not visiting his GF. He commissioned 5/26. Reported for casual 9/30. Squirreled away every penny and had @4K from work savings.

Just my tip/advice. Search here regarding the option nobody has broached yet. Career starter loan.
~ Our DS only took 10K (5 K IRA and 5K placed in savings). He purchased a new car at 0% int., but it was not a splashy car. In the end between the 10K starter loan and the 0% car he spent 28K.

Just saying that in the next few months you really need to think about the big picture when it comes to all of your finance options.
 
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I guess my son got lucky. He graduated in May and was supposed to go to UPT in September. We were happy as he was going to spend the summer with us. If he worked, that would have been great and if he didnt I really didnt mind. No differnet than any other summer. However, for whatever reason, he was moved to another UPT and had to go in around mid June which was disappointing for us but it made the transition easier for him. Even with him reporting in JUne, he really didnt do anything until late July and he was paid.
 
Here's a question for those in the know (asking for my son who will be in the same boat while waiting for Intel School). What do you put in a resume's "Objective" that's being sent to contractors? Something along the lines of "Searching for a temporary position utilizing my language and Int Relations background (he's majoring in Russian and IR) as well as my security clearance?"
Does one put that he/she has been selected for Intel? Do contractors look to fill positions with a cadet who is waiting?
Though I know the bartending position will require more creative wording. :) That's the job I hope he goes for - maybe in the Caribean.
 
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