Hey Guys! Last month I was invited to talk at my old AFROTC detachments (Detachment 720 at The Pennsylvania State University) Alumni Career fair and was asked some pretty good questions about my career/experience in the USAF thus far. Had some good questions and I thought I would share some of the information!
What is your, AFSC?
I WAS a 62E3G, Developmental Engineer, but now I am a 92M0 (Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) Medical Student) who wants to become a 44EX (Emergency Services Physician).
What base are you currently stationed at?
I am in a special position where I pretty much got to choose my location. I got into medical school at The Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine in Dothan, AL and that is where I will be at until I graduate May 2023, you know, assuming everything goes as planned. Before I got to Alabama I was stationed at the Los Angeles Air Force Base in California.
What year did you graduate from Penn State?
I graduated from Penn State December 2016, shout out to my cadets doing the victory lap!
What was your major(s) in Penn State?
I was a Mechanical Engineering major, but I basically took every intro level science course as I was also attempting to complete the pre-requisites for medical school, so trust me I feel your pain when it comes to my science majors!
Why did you choose the AFSC that you are in? and Any advice to cadets that are also interested in your AFSC?
62E3G (Developmental Engineer):
Wonderful opportunity, bright outlook and a decent number of different things you can do with it. I chose this AFSC because I wanted to apply my mechanical engineering degree in a practical way. Developmental engineers mostly work in a program office of some sort and do a lot of acquisitions work. That is, the buying, fixing and refurbishing of weapon systems for the war fighters, well, the paperwork for the contractor to be able to do all of that most of the time. What I mean is you act on behalf of the Gov’t to work with a defense contractor (e.g. Lockheed Martin) to make, update or fix a weapon system for the warfighter. You are helpful from the business side because you bring with you the know-how with regards to science, math, engineering, etc and can interpret what the contractor is explaining and what the weapon system needs to be able to do for the warfighter. Watch the movie The Pentagon Wars if you want a rough/ funny depiction for what I am talking about for life in the acquisitions field.
You may be at the thick meaty end of the spear, but your day to day work directly impacts the USAF in a major way. Also, the work that you do transfers into industry i.e. if you do end up getting out of the USAF, there is a tremendous amount of opportunities for you. You have a huge impact as you are working on developing, changing, and sustaining the USAFs weapon systems that are used every day by the warfighter and working with sometimes $B of dollars to make things happen. Outlook is good because there is a decent amount of positions for senior leaders, so you always have a pretty good outlook for a long career. Also, opportunities to work some secret squirrel green door assignments are there. Deployments are not as common as our ops brethren, but that can be a blessing and a curse. There are not that many overseas assignments, but there is a good chance for work that you get the opportunity to go TDY all over the U.S. , at least I was able to!
Advice for cadets? The base that you choose on your dream sheet will indicate what type of work you will be doing. Recommend you do some research on what that base has if you are gunning for working in space or in aircraft land. I don’t know if that will change with the Space Force.
Quick shameless plug for LA AFB. I really enjoyed my time in LA. LA AFB will most likely put you at the Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles, CA that was a tremendous place for me to work on some cool space projects that the USAF has. Not to mention a pretty sweet gig living in LA! Beach life, cool space stuff and the endless opportunities that come with living in LA. Just my 2 cents though
If location is a heavy factor in your decision, just go with an open mind.
Also “bloom where you are planted”. Everyone always says this, but it is so true! What it means is to make the best out of your opportunity. Work hard, try to enjoy whatever you get, and you will have endless opportunities vs the new Lt that mopes around and does not show they are interested in the work and what is going on, trust me! If you don’t like where you end up, but you do the hard work, show enthusiasm and put in your time your superiors will go out of their way to help you best they can at doing what you want, and the USAF probably has the opportunity to do what you want! I mean look at me, I am being paid by the USAF to go to medical school and become a Doctor!
Some out dated info from 2017, before the space force, on Acquisitions that may be useful is below!
https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/1/annual_report_web.pdf
The path towards becoming a physician is long and arduous, but if you have the passion, drive and dedication to help others, the curiosity to learn more about how the human body works and the moxy to be a leader in the medical arena I highly recommend it! It is not for the faint of heart, as it is rough and long path; prep to take the MCAT and get into medical school, 4yrs of medical school, and on average about 4yrs of residency.
If I haven’t scared you off and you are still yearning for this opportunity the USAF will pay you to go to medical school with the promise that you will give them time back in return. Pretty sweet deal! There is A LOT that plays into this and if you are interested, I would recommend that you talk to someone who is doing it or find an Air Force HPSP Recruiter. Highlights about the HPSP program can be found at the website link below.
https://www.airforce.com/search/HPSP
What are your hobbies?
While I was at Penn State I was an EMT who worked for the campus ambulance service. Still am and have been certified as an EMT since 2013. With ROTC, school, EMT work and a girlfriend I really didn’t have time for much else. Now with a little more time to breath I enjoy photography under the moniker “Desimone Studios”. I find it a nice outlet to channel my creative side and something that gets me outside. Feel free to check out some of my work on my website, desimonestudios.com ! I also enjoy playing guitar every once and a while.
Advice to give to ROTC Cadets, things that you wish you knew coming into the Air Force, advice that you learned along the way?
Get ready to learn a lot! You will be drinking from the fire hose soon after you get to your first assignment/ training.
Come with an open mind and do the best you can wherever you end up! The people that you work with are amazing and the opportunities that await you are almost endless!
Ask a lot of questions and don’t be afraid to fail! As a 2d Lt you have this impervious shield and can almost get away with asking any question or making any mistake. People understand that you are learning and are more than willing to help you out. You are in good hands!
Mission first, but PEOPLE ALWAYS! The relationships that you make and everything you do to be personable and help others out is so important. The work will be there, the mission will continue, but the opportunity to help someone or make a friend will not.
You will be working with a lot of civilians. They can be your support staff, subject matter experts or even your boss. They are an extremely valuable resource!
Favorite memory from Penn State
Being an EMT in Beaver Stadium during the White Out vs Ohio State back in 2016 when we beat them! The fans rushed the stadium and then rioted all throughout downtown. We Are!
Favorite memory from the Air Force, from the Detachment, after being commissioned
My best memory back from the detachment is being a deputy flight commander after coming back from field training as a junior in 2014 and mentoring the new cadets. You don’t realize how wonderful it is to give back and have a positive impact on someone while it’s happening, but it is life changing!
After commissioning? Finding out that I was going to go become a doctor paid/funded via the USAF with the Air Force HPSP program. The first step towards accomplishing my goal and helping those around me as a physician!