Guides

The AFSC profiles in the careers section tell you what a job is. These guides tell you how to get there and what you’ll have once you do. They cover the enlistment and commissioning process, the pay and benefits package, and the tests that determine which jobs and career paths are available to you.

Use these guides alongside the career profiles. If an AFSC page mentions a security clearance requirement or a specific ASVAB composite, the relevant guide goes deeper on what that actually means and how to prepare. If a pay table shows a BAH figure you don’t recognize, the benefits guide explains how it’s calculated. If you want to know whether the total compensation package is competitive with a private sector offer, the benefits guides give you the full picture to run that comparison.

Guide Sections

Paths to Serve covers how to actually join the Air Force. Whether you’re considering enlisted service, commissioning as an officer, or a direct commission into a professional field, the process has specific steps, timelines, and requirements. These guides walk through each route: what MEPS looks like for enlisted applicants, how the OTS and ROTC commissioning timelines work for officers, and what the direct commission process requires for licensed professionals entering as medical officers, JAG attorneys, or chaplains. The enlistment process guide is a good first read if you’re earlier in the decision.

Benefits breaks down the full compensation picture. Base pay is just the start. Housing allowances, food allowances, healthcare, education funding, and retirement all add up to a compensation package that looks very different from a civilian salary. These guides translate the numbers into plain terms. The BAH guide covers how housing allowance is calculated and varies by location. The TRICARE guide explains what your healthcare actually costs on active duty versus in the Reserve. The GI Bill guide covers what education benefits you’ve earned after service.

Test Prep covers the tests that determine which career paths are open to you. Enlisted applicants take the ASVAB; the score determines both enlistment eligibility and which AFSCs you qualify for. Officer candidates take the AFOQT; scores affect career field placement and rated selection. Pilots, CSOs, and RPA pilots add the TBAS on top of the AFOQT, and that score feeds into the PCSM, which drives competitiveness for flight training slots. Getting these right before your first recruiter meeting gives you the most options.

Where to Start

Your situation determines which guide is most useful right now.

Still deciding whether to join: Start with Paths to Serve to understand what the enlistment and commissioning processes actually look like. Then use the Benefits guide to compare total compensation against your current options.

Already decided, preparing to test: Go directly to Test Prep. Identify the specific AFSC or career field you’re targeting, find the composite requirement on the career profile page, then use the ASVAB or AFOQT guide to build a focused study plan.

Comparing pay and benefits: The Benefits section covers base pay, BAH, BAS, TRICARE, TSP matching, GI Bill, and retirement in separate guides. You don’t have to read all of them. If a specific benefit is what’s driving your decision, go straight to that guide.

Prior enlisted considering officer path: The ASVAB for OTS guide explains how your existing ASVAB score factors into the OTS application and what the AFOQT covers that the ASVAB doesn’t.

Veteran transitioning out: The Benefits section covers TRICARE Reserve Select, GI Bill transfer-of-entitlement, TSP withdrawal rules, and Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) decisions that are most relevant after separation. The retirement guide covers both the 20-year active duty pension and the Reserve points-based system.

What These Guides Don’t Cover

AFSC-specific information, minimum ASVAB composites, training pipeline length, and technical requirements are on the individual career profile pages in the careers section. These guides cover the cross-cutting topics: the process, the pay, and the tests. When a career profile mentions “GEND 72” or “BMT followed by 108 days of tech school,” the relevant guide here gives you the context for what those things actually mean and how to prepare for them.

The blog covers narrower topics in more depth: specific career comparisons, fitness test scoring, bonus eligibility by AFSC, and transition planning. When a guide answer leads to a follow-up question, the blog is usually where that question gets answered.

Related Resources

Career profiles for every Air Force enlisted AFSC are in Air Force enlisted careers. Officer career fields and commissioning paths are in Air Force officer careers. The blog covers specific topics like bonus eligibility, fitness test scoring, and career comparison guides that go deeper than either the guides or profiles alone.