I will always regret not becoming a military pilot when I was young enough. When I was a kid, nobody ever told me how to pursue that career and I didn't have a clue. In my 30s, I became an Army officer and had a great time but always wish I could have gone the flight route.
My son is almost 2 and you can bet that I'll tell him what he needs to do to achieve this. [1]
[1] - To be a USAF pilot, your best bet is to bust your ass in high school and be both a student and an athlete and secure one of the coveted congressional endorsements to the U.S. Air Force Academy, where you must bust your ass and hope for a flight slot. Similar route for the Navy and USMC: U.S. Naval Academy.
The process to become a U.S. Army helicopter or fixed-wing pilot is a lot easier. Pursue a slot as an Aviation warrant officer. Successfully complete basic training, WOCS, and flight school. You don't need a college degree but it helps. The key is age: the doors close at around 32, so you have to start early.
Currently, the US Air Force is moving away from its focus on pilot culture to intelligence. In other words, you'll start seeing more colonels and generals with an intelligence background instead of a pilot background. There's a running joke in the USAF that intelligence drops the bombs and pilots are just bus drivers.
I don't think it has to be that hard...I bought a small plane from a Navy pilot (an instructor for F-18s at the time). I asked him how he got the job, and he said he joined on a whim, after being recruited at the mall. The deal he got when he signed up was he'd get to be a pilot as long as he didn't wash out of the program.
(I also spent an evening at the bar w/ a class of his students. I was expecting super gung-ho jock types, but they were actually very laid back and a little bit dorky. Interesting experience for a boy raised by hippies in the Oregon woods.)
My son is almost 2 and you can bet that I'll tell him what he needs to do to achieve this. [1]
[1] - To be a USAF pilot, your best bet is to bust your ass in high school and be both a student and an athlete and secure one of the coveted congressional endorsements to the U.S. Air Force Academy, where you must bust your ass and hope for a flight slot. Similar route for the Navy and USMC: U.S. Naval Academy.
The process to become a U.S. Army helicopter or fixed-wing pilot is a lot easier. Pursue a slot as an Aviation warrant officer. Successfully complete basic training, WOCS, and flight school. You don't need a college degree but it helps. The key is age: the doors close at around 32, so you have to start early.