military anyone?

[n0mad]

hi all, im a 1st year pharmacy student, and i read some
previous posts about air force pharmacists, but i still
have some questions...

1) what is the monthly salary?
-i realize theres allowances for living and food expenses.
-but whats the salary?

2) the current sign on bonus is 38,000 for 1st yr active duty..
but whats the annual bonus for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year service?

3) i heard theres scholarships or cash bonus available
for 3rd and 4th year PharmD students before they graduate..
is that true? and how much?

4) if you sign a 3-4 yrs contract, must you shave your hair
the entire length?

any info is appreciated... and thanks for reading... =' )

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[117296]

hi all, im a 1st year pharmacy student, and i read some
previous posts about air force pharmacists, but i still
have some questions...

1) what is the monthly salary?
-i realize theres allowances for living and food expenses.
-but whats the salary?

2) the current sign on bonus is 38,000 for 1st yr active duty..
but whats the annual bonus for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year service?

3) i heard theres scholarships or cash bonus available
for 3rd and 4th year PharmD students before they graduate..
is that true? and how much?

4) if you sign a 3-4 yrs contract, must you shave your hair
the entire length?

any info is appreciated... and thanks for reading... =' )

1) the salary is based on what rank you are. That would be posted on the branch's website. That is base pay. There are also special pays, which are variable, and I don't know how much they are.

2) I would double check that. I think that you are either allowed to take a cash bonus or a loan repayment offer. (The loan repayment is usually a much better deal.)

3) I am pretty sure that they pay your tuition for years 3 and 4, in addition to you getting a stipend per month to pay for living expenses, which is I think 1600 or 1900/mo...but I'm not sure. There is no salary on top of that...although I think you have to work 30 days after your P3 year in which you get active duty pay for that month...or at least that's how it was described to me.

4) I don't know...but I would imagine that your hair has to be within professional standards...and according to the armed forces, that usually is fairly short.

Seriously, you NEED to call a armed forces health professions recruiter who can answer your questions definitively.

 

[n0mad]

3) I am pretty sure that they pay your tuition for years 3 and 4, in addition to you getting a stipend per month to pay for living expenses, which is I think 1600 or 1900/mo...but I'm not sure. There is no salary on top of that...although I think you have to work 30 days after your P3 year in which you get active duty pay for that month...or at least that's how it was described to me.

o wow, thats amazing... if they pay for my tuition years 3
and 4, im definitely in... but do you think its a competitive
arena to get in the air force?

thanks for the info, im trying to gather all the data so i would
know what to ask the recruiter...

 

[Hels2007]

Doesn't anyone read the subforum titles anymore? Moving to Pharmacy.

 

[n0mad]

which branch of the military would u recommend?
air force, army, navy?..

im looking forward to having my p3 + p4 tuitions
paid off by the military, and when i finally graduate
i want the same amount as a sign-on bonus...
30 days paid vacation, and 12 holidays..
are there other benefits im missing?
and free haircuts (i think)...!

 

[SexyPlexi]

Navy!

 

[YapYap6]

I'd say the Navy; however, as of right now, my recruiter is giving me the run around. She's been promising for the last month to "call you on (insert day) to let you know when your physical will be" among other promises, but NEVER delivering. She's been sitting on her *** and giving me excuses every week when I call her. I'm giving her another month before I give her supervising officer a call.

 

[inquirer89]

Really just depends on what you want to do or where to go. I personally prefer the Air Force and will look into their HPSP once I'm in pharm school. I've heard that they're the easiest to serve with (not a lot of extra duties, etc.) I'd research the medical military forums and search for posts relating to the military in the pharmacy forums.

 

[pharmpilot]

Air Force. But then I might be a little biased.

Navy doesn't seem like it would be bad, either.

 

[pharmpilot]

hi all, im a 1st year pharmacy student, and i read some
previous posts about air force pharmacists, but i still
have some questions...

4) if you sign a 3-4 yrs contract, must you shave your hair
the entire length?

Hair must meet Air Force standards while in uniform.

For guys that means the hair will have a tapered appearance. It can't touch the ears and only closely cut or shaved hair on the back of the neck can touch the collar. It can't exceed 1 1/4 inches in bulk, and not exceed 1/4 inch at the natural termination point.

Sideburns will be neatly trimmed and tapered in the same manner as the haircut. They will be straight and of even width (not flared) and end in a clean-shaven horizontal line. They can't extend below the lowest part of the exterior ear opening.

Mustaches will not extend downward beyond the lipline of the upper lip or extend sideways beyond a vertical line drawn upward from the corner of the mouth.

There's a whole lot more to the dress and personal appearance standards than this, but you get it in whatever form of basic training you go through. You also get used to it pretty fast.

 

[eelo]

which branch of the military would u recommend?
air force, army, navy?..

im looking forward to having my p3 + p4 tuitions
paid off by the military, and when i finally graduate
i want the same amount as a sign-on bonus...
30 days paid vacation, and 12 holidays..
are there other benefits im missing?
and free haircuts (i think)...!

No free haircuts.

You may or may not get a sign-on bonus. If you're truly planning on going into the military, you need to be sure to talk to an Officer Health Professions recruiter, which is not the same as the recruting office in the mall (those are enlisted recruiters, and they'd love to enlist you, but that's a completely different program).

When choosing a branch of the military, you may want to look at potential duty locations. IN GENERAL (this is not absolute), the Navy tends to have facilities near oceans (um, yeah) and the Air Force tends to have large facilities in more remote areas (for airstrips). Of course there are exceptions, but it's something to keep in mind.

Also, if you stay in for more than 4-5 years, you'll prob ably get an opportunity to go overseas, so take a look at potential overseas locations too.

 

[FruitFly]

Hey n0mad,

I merged both of your threads on military pharmacy into this one. This should streamline the information you can gather a little better.

Good Luck,
-Fly

 

[117296]

o wow, thats amazing... if they pay for my tuition years 3
and 4, im definitely in... but do you think its a competitive
arena to get in the air force?

thanks for the info, im trying to gather all the data so i would
know what to ask the recruiter...

From what I've been told, you need at least a 3.25 professional GPA, and usually, it should be higher than that.

 

[Jbuprepharm]

From what I've been told, you need at least a 3.25 professional GPA, and usually, it should be higher than that.

ususally you truly NEED a 3.0 or better but they look favorably on you if you're over a 3.2 and especially if you worked through school, had other responsibilities etc.

 

[inquirer89]

If I were to apply for the 3 year HPSP, then when should I do it? The summer before my P1, or the summer after so that they have my professional gpa?

I have a while before I can consider it, but I jw.

 

[n0mad]

GPA isnt a problem for me as i plan to be on the
Dean's List every year... hahahhh... yea, its a plan..
but i did more digging and i realize the military doesnt
pay a patriotic pharmacist very much... whilst my
colleagues will be making 120K a year, minus tax they'll
get around 90k? but the military salary is only around 40k..
hm.. i thought we're suppose to "be all we can be?"

add allowances n benefits doesnt amount to much
compare to civilian pay..

i still like the 30 day vacation though.. thats a good enough
time to travel the world..

 

[Rumplestiltazepam]

GPA isnt a problem for me as i plan to be on the
Dean's List every year... hahahhh... yea, its a plan..
but i did more digging and i realize the military doesnt
pay a patriotic pharmacist very much... whilst my
colleagues will be making 120K a year, minus tax they'll
get around 90k? but the military salary is only around 40k..
hm.. i thought we're suppose to "be all we can be?"

add allowances n benefits doesnt amount to much
compare to civilian pay..

i still like the 30 day vacation though.. thats a good enough
time to travel the world..

Go talk to a recruiter! lol.

There are other things to consider...talk to a recruiter and they will give youe the speel of how military has competitive pay. Health Insurance, job security, freetime and retirement should all be factored in. Plus over the course of your duty you will move up pay grades. Opportunity to retire after 20 years is appealing to many people.

Again go talk to a recruiter and see if you like what you hear. Then ask the recruiter to put you in contact with a current practicing military pharmacist so you can get more answers from another source.

If the big thing that is motivating you is the tuition reimbursement. Sit down and run the numbers yourself. If you search "Indian health services" you will find a thread with a link to a brochure that breaks down military pay to civilian pay and gives you a general idea how they compare. The brochure doesn't consider OT a civilian pharmacist may acquire though.

 

[117296]

GPA isnt a problem for me as i plan to be on the
Dean's List every year... hahahhh... yea, its a plan..
but i did more digging and i realize the military doesnt
pay a patriotic pharmacist very much... whilst my
colleagues will be making 120K a year, minus tax they'll
get around 90k? but the military salary is only around 40k..
hm.. i thought we're suppose to "be all we can be?"

add allowances n benefits doesnt amount to much
compare to civilian pay..

i still like the 30 day vacation though.. thats a good enough
time to travel the world..

It depends on your special pays, etc...

Do remember that you would be getting loan repayments and/or tuition reimbursements, which are substantial (as much as 38k/yr)...you should probably factor in how much in loans you would pay back as a civilian.

I would like to point out that your lifestyle would be much different as a military vs. civilian pharmacist.

You obviously value $ more highly than other factors, judging by the "be all you can be" jab.

Good luck...hopefully you will find what you are looking for.

 

[n0mad]

on another thread someone did a calculation as follows:

salary + allowances approximately 55k..
tuition reimbursement 28k per year, 111,000 total..
so thats around 83k annually..
the biggest benefit in my opinion is a 30 day vacation...
i dont think civilian jobs would allow me to leave for that long.
the retirement plan is also nice, but thats a 20 yrs commitment..

 

[patmcd]

Overall the compensation works about the same. Really what it comes down to is you need to want to be in the military and nothing else.

 

[PharmMed]

I was an active duty pharmacist in the Air Force for 3.5 years with Reserve time prior to that. I took the scholarship you talk about. PM me for more information. I can answer all your questions. Don't want to tie up this forum with that though...

 

[tellsarah]

AD military is a hard life. Hours are long.
Make sure you want to be a soldier first and not just for the benefits or money.

I would go air force. Here is an example. A former airman that went army told me this about housing: enlisted housing in the air force is better than officer housing in the army. Trust me, they are correct

 

[pharmpilot]

The joke goes...

Soldier slogging through the mud - "This sucks."

Marine carrying his rifle above his head as he slogs through a swamp - "I love the way this sucks."

Airman sitting in his hotel room - "What?!? No remote! This sucks!!!"



Air Force does get treated better. Followed by the Navy. But thank God we have soldiers and Marines, too.

 

[tootoo30]

Here is an example. A former airman that went army told me this about housing: enlisted housing in the air force is better than officer housing in the army. Trust me, they are correct

That's true! I'm prior Army and I had a good friend in the Air Force and she was pregnant at the time, so she needed immediate housing, but the Army was the only close unit with on post housing. They gave her the Army housing and still gave her the housing allowance because the Army housing was not up to Air Force standards! How ya love that!