GRE & 15A

Happy February everyone! I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach and my weekend has been eventful! I am very much looking forward to Spring Break in March.

My weekend involved taking the GRE – General Graduate Record Examination test, prerequisite of applying to graduate school! That’s right folks, I’m considering getting my Masters degree! While I am still waiting on details of my post graduation plans once I commission, I thought applying to graduate school to keep my options open would be interesting. While some classes offer incentives for taking the GRE, like counting it as an extra credit assignment, I took this test for a slightly different reason.

Recently, I found out my future career field in the Air Force for when I commission. My AFSC (Air Force Speciality Code) career assignment is 15A, meaning I will become an Operations Research Analyst. While typical pathways after graduating college and ROTC with a bachelors degree include IST (Initial Skills Training), my future career field is slightly different.

Non-Rated Job Drop finding out my AFSC career assignment!

IST for Operations Research Analysts involves attaining a Masters of Science Degree from the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) in Dayton, Ohio. Usually, the 1.5 year masters degree schooling starts in the summer or fall after commissioning in the spring semester. Upon graduating with a Master degree, IST would be complete and you would be stationed at your first duty assignment. There is a second option for IST for Operations Research Analysts however, that allows newly commissioned officers to head to their base directly upon completing their bachelors degree, and taking approximately the first third of AFIT masters courses towards your higher level education degree online, while working your job at your base assignment.

While I haven’t officially decided which path I am going to take, I am very excited to graduate, commission, and start my life on Active Duty. 

In other news, I passed my first exam of the semester! I also have been keeping up with my gym schedule three days a week, and have found a love/hate relationship with the StairMaster machine.

Post-StairMaster workout at the Eagle Fitness Center!

I realized that I can climb the StairMaster while listening to music, podcasts, and my most recent discovery – watching moves! I am about 75% through Luca on Disney+ from multiple sessions on the stair climber. Watching movies helps pass the time while exercising, and also makes it feel more like a break from my rigorous daily work/school schedule. I hope everyone is finding time to relax during their busy schedules by exercising, or movie watching, or both! Keep on keeping on folks, will report back soon!