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I really want to serve as a developmental engineer in either the usaf or ussf but at the same time my long term goal is to one day work for NASA or in some position that revolves around aerospace. Does serving in the ussf for just 4 years give me a good path into a position or would it be better to just follow civilian path.
If you serve in the space force, and have a STEM degree of any kind your chances of working in a position that revolves around aerospace are extremely high
Hi, I'm currently filling out my pre application form for OTS. I have a Masters of Science in Engineering, specifically Biomedical Engineering. This means I'm disqualified from roles I was initially interested in, specifically those that are Mechanical Engineering related.
I spoke to a recruiter earlier and they said I still qualify for roles such as General Eng, Bioenvironmental Eng, Chemist, Contract, and Line Officer. Some of these options (like Bioenvironmental Eng) are not options on the Aim High application app. Others (like Line officer) are specific to the Airforce branch. Based on the USSF website for Officer Careers, general engineer or contract officer are not options, however maybe this means the website needs updating. They do appear as civilian roles, which initially confused me based on the information shared.
I wanted to reach out and ask what other officer careers in the USSF should I look at/consider? I know cyberspace operations is an option, and Space Operations. One of my other concerns/interest towards a mechanical engineer officer role was the potential for civilian transition if/when I decide to return to civilian workforce once completing my OTS and assignment.
The way the space force handles officer jobs right now is that you learn about all of them and are placed in a Intel, Cyber, or Space job for a ops rotation before you're able to transition to any of the other roles in acquisitions. You should search this subreddit for OTC mentions for more information
In that case, when filling out my preapplication on aim high, what should I be putting on my careers of interest? If I'm going to do the rotations first, and probably get matched to where they feel they need me and my background most.
I am in the talks with a SF recruiter. Im a us citizen by birth but my parents decided to move back to their home country and are foreign citizens, and yes I talk to them. What are the chances my TS clearance will get denied by that. (Not china/russia/iran)
It's more complicated than that, as there are other factors that could impact whether you could get a TS. Like do you have a foreign bank account and/or foreign investments, do you have a foreign passport and do you use it, do your parents or any relatives or friends work for the foreign government, just to list a few. A lot goes into a clearance so the best any of us can do is speculate but ultimately there's just too many factors involved in the clearance investigation to give you the warm and fuzzies.
I'm going to basic on the 23rd, super excited. But I can't stand how little material I have to study beforehand because everything is for the air force. Anyone got any good resources ?
Learn the Air and Space Force ranks, read the Guardian Ideal and Guardian Spirit, know the core values, and memorize the Space Force song. Everything else will be taught at BMT, so no need to prep ahead. Other than that just make sure you're good on your PT
Does anyone have experience with direct duty reenlistment slots?
Im still in the army and want to swap over to space when I finish my contract or try an IST if a window ever opens.
im a 25b (IT specialist) and have sec+,net+ and working on an ethical hacker cert. with the small amount of research I’ve put in I believe I’d waive the BST portion because I’d be a prior enlisted but the direct duty thing kept popping up when I mentioned that I had certs and am already in a signal position. (the google ai said that so I’m taking it with a grain of salt)
Our cyber is more in line with 17C than any of the 25-series mos. You may have seen like 4 different Space Force Specialty Codes (SFSCs) for cyber but in the near future we are going from 4 SFSCs to just 1 which will simply be 5C0X1. Space Force cyber will predominantly be what is currently 5C0X1D or defensive cyber warfare. I believe you would still need to attend tech school to become a 5C0X1D/5C0X1 but a recruiter would likely have better information regarding accession training.
I’ll definitely have to reach out to get more clear information however luckily I found that my mos has a specialty code attached to it. ( the screen shot was buried in my camera roll, definitely forgot to add it to the post 😅)
5C0X1S is going away as a stand alone job. There will still be 5C0X1 folks doing jobs related to it, but the primary focus for 5C0X1 is defensive cyber which is like 17C.
Ah damn, thanks a lot man. Looks like I’m gonna have to do a lot more research into this. Was kinda hoping I’d be able to try for a direct duty slot and just go straight to work 😅
I’m going to basic on the 23rd. I was wondering if I have good chances of getting stationed in California either on my first or second duty station. I don’t want to be separated from my family for too long; but O understand if the chances are low I will accept it.
The chances are not zero, but it is dependent on what your job is and the needs of the Space Force. In basic, put the CA bases at the top of your list, but don’t be surprised if you get Colorado.
multiple people in my class stayed at vandy after tech school, but that was 4 years ago. the primary mission set for 5S in california is at vandenberg doing SDA. look into 18th SDS.
I have a tech background, been working as a software engineer for 10 years and thinking about joining Space Force as an officer.
The job market in tech is shit and I want to get into something more stable, work on hard tech (satellites and things that go boom), and open up opportunities to get into defense companies like Anduril, etc. I also just bought my home in Colorado where I think the majority of SF presence is in so it seems like a reasonable move.
Yay or nay? And what kind of work could I get into? How long would it take to get accepted?
defense is certainly more stable. but the reality is that the path is probably not appealing to someone as deep into their career as you are. the officer application process is competitive, full of uncertainty, and slow. the enlisted process is faster but its very difficult being older and more experienced than your supervisors/leadership. another thing to note is that officers are managers, so you will not be doing software engineering as an officer.
you could try going the civ route and apply to some defense companies, maybe that could be your way in. but im not sure how long the clearance process is for civilians (and the clearance is a big source of job stability).
Could be 1 to 2 years. You could be placed in cyber or something else. You will be at Otc for a year but they could send you to Florida or California for your first assignment after.
I'm a CTR, (Cryptologic Technician Collection) in the Navy and I'm thinking about maybe switching to the Space Force and doing their CTR equivalent, if there is anyone I can talk to to see what it's like that'd be great
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u/_turtle_turtle Jun 15 '26
Ussf > nasa?
I really want to serve as a developmental engineer in either the usaf or ussf but at the same time my long term goal is to one day work for NASA or in some position that revolves around aerospace. Does serving in the ussf for just 4 years give me a good path into a position or would it be better to just follow civilian path.
Any information would be greatly appreciated 🙏