My Nephew has just taken the AFQT. How do I convert the categories into Air Force categories?

2016-07-28T18:08:06-04:00

My Nephew took his ASVAB just last school year. He received his AFQT scores but there was no Air Force Category break down on the sheet. The Air Force recruiter is telling him he has to join to get the results from MEPS to see what jobs he is eligible in. Is this true? You can't see if a job is available to you until you join? Looking for some clarification.

Response by MSgt Aaron Brite made Jul 28 at 2016 6:15 PM

2016-07-28T18:15:03-04:00

AFQT : officer qualification test?
If the officer test, not a lot to convert as I recall. Admin for pushing paper, Flight skills and Navigation. Actual officer job assignment is not as straight forward as enlisted so speak with an Officer recruiter.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2016 7:29 PM

2016-07-28T19:29:29-04:00

He should be able to see what he qualifies for before joining and be able to pick a job before hand. Unless he's in a rush to join and joins under open general which means he goes to Boot camp and fills the Air Force needs. I would suggest not joining until he's 100 percent sure.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 28 at 2016 7:31 PM

2016-07-28T19:31:40-04:00

Original scores should have been in his MEPS packet, and the same test is used for all services. They just use different formulations for the line scores in order to determine eligibility for certain MOSs. He might have it in his personnel jacket. If not, they can be looked up in RCMS.
Any recruiter would have access to look them up as well.
Not sure why this guy is giving the run-around. Methinks he is lazy.
I'd try a different office.

Response by MSgt Joe Ringold Jr made Jul 28 at 2016 7:52 PM

2016-07-28T19:52:46-04:00

If your nephew took the ASVAB at his high school, I am sure the scores are available to the Air Force recruiter responsible for that school. Unless things have changed since my days as an enlisted recruiter, he/she is responsible for contacting all qualified testers. To contact the recruiter, simply visit this website and enter the zip code of the school and for education level choose high school student or graduate. The name, address and phone number and email for the assigned recruiter will pop up on the screen.
Just to let you know. Talking about jobs and being qualified for those jobs are two different things. This is the main reason recruiters want to process people so the applicant(that is ready to join) can see exactly what they are qualified for according to their mental and physical evaluations. Air Force availability of jobs also differs on a week to week basis. This is a fact most people are clueless about. As a recruiter, we are taught to fill the needs of the Air Force with qualified applicants that are READY TO JOIN the Air Force. If a particular job is available prior to attending Basic Training that can be guaranteed to them, that is icing on the cake, otherwise the Mechanical, General and Electronic aptitude areas might be the only options to guaranteed jobs.
Your recruiter should be able to tell you more as well as keep you apprised of any new changes in procedure, qualifications, etc.

Good Luck and Aim High, Air Force!

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 29 at 2016 4:20 AM

2016-07-29T04:20:31-04:00

When it comes to the other branches that's what I have been lead to believe. I went up to MEPS with a bunch of Navy enlistees and they didn't know what they were going to be doing until they tested there. All the Army guys like myself already took the ASVAB and selected our job prior to MEPS. So from what I've seen that seems to be the case, but don't quote me.

I did MEPS in Sept 2015.

Response by MSgt Scott Gaston made Jul 29 at 2016 5:16 AM

2016-07-29T05:16:06-04:00

Are you talking about AFOQT (Air Force Officer Qualification Test) or ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery)? They are two different animals all together.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 29 at 2016 7:58 AM

2016-07-29T07:58:22-04:00

He does not have to join to get the results. The Recruiter is able to see the results, but may not want to "waste" his/her time. When in fact, the recruiter is wasting your nephew's time. Maybe, have your nephew give you his information and you can track down the results for him.

Response by MSgt Chris Chambre made Jul 30 at 2016 6:59 AM

2016-07-30T06:59:38-04:00

Sounds bogus to me. When I wanted to join in 1985 scores were a large part of fitting you to a job. Maybe contact this recruiters chain of command. Then if it's true you can tell them right away what jerks they are.

Response by MSgt Jeff S. made Aug 1 at 2016 1:54 PM

2016-08-01T13:54:46-04:00

MSgt Robert Pellam there seems to be a couple of things going on here. First, the recruiter is going for a hard sell. He's trying to leverage the desire to know the score into a hasty decision and commitment (bad recruiter - no doughnut for you). However, there is a kernel of truth to the job availability /MEPS claim. The AF recruiter doesn't have access to the currently available jobs. That is the role and purview of the MEPS Job Counselor, and they hold them close to the vest. So, in order to know what job is available, it is true that he would have to enter the lions den at MEPS. However, any 1st year recruiter should be able to take the ASVAB scores and show the test score required to qualify for each job. That will allow the applicant to see what he/she has opened up test wise. It is very important to remember that scores are only one part of the puzzle. There is also the medical qualification (MEPS Physical resulting in a PULHES) that must be met for each AFSC as well. A quick interweb search reveals many pages that show the test score needed for AFSCs ... I recommend About.Careers. Rod Powers does an amazing job compiling and moderating that area. You can find a breakdown of the PULHES codes there as well.

Response by CMSgt Scott Haskins made Aug 2 at 2016 8:09 AM

2016-08-02T08:09:14-04:00

Go to the recruiter and ask him to pull his scores for you to review. Take your nephew. If you need help figuring it out contact me through Rally Point & I will help you. I still have some contacts in AF Recruiting and should be able to help you out.

Response by SSgt James Atkinson made Aug 2 at 2016 11:06 AM

2016-08-02T11:06:41-04:00

The recruiter is playing games with the kid, and he does not have to sign up to see what jobs apply to his scores, but there is always a high level of push to force the new recruit into makign hasty choices once they get to MEPS, and the recruiters trying to fill slots are not interested in the kids future, just in filling slots. If the potential recruit has a strong understanding of that they wish to do in the military, and they have alternate jobs then they have a stronger and deeper positiion when it comes time for the military to make them a job offer.

In my case, I was a computer programmer before I enlisted, and I specialized in writing programs in machine language or Assembler, and it was somethign I could have made a career on along. But, I have an intense desire to serve my country in the military, AND I wished to learn mainframe computers and networks down to the component level, and I had studied what computers the USAF had, what they were doing with them, what systems were highly specialized, where they were located, and so on. I also researched the ASVAB scores needed for those slots, and then I did the same research on 3 additional fields in the USAF, all of which woudl plunge me deep nto component level repair on highly sophisticated systems.

I also started the recruitment cycle shortly after my 16th birthday, where I went to the recruiters of all four of the military services, and spent a years asking questions, and prying answers out of them, and went to the city residency rolls, and located veterans in the city, and went and sat down with them, and talked to veterans in our church, and teachers at our school.

I also learned about the Delayed Entry Program, which I recruiter tried to hide from me, and I selected that I wished to go into the USAF, into Computer and Switching Systems Maintenance, as the USAF previous had Computer Maintenance as one field, and had Switching Systems as a different field, and I wished to be trained on both. I decided to enlisted, but for a specific position on either the 407L or the 465L and knew that I could get a slot as a 30534, but due to the rarity of the positions opening up I would have to enlist, and then wait. So when I went to MEPS I went there as an Air Force recruit with the primary position I was interested in, along with the ASVAB scores needed, then I have researched alternates as Electronic Cryptologic Systems, then Navigational Aids as my third choice, and as a fourth Airborne Signals Intelligence.At MEPS I took the ASVAB, scored high on the portions needed for any of the positions I sought, so when it came time to sit down to pick the job, it was a short consultation, and I got my first choice, but I also have to wait 9 months for the slot to open up, and there was one hell of a push to sign-me-up and ship-me-off that very day into alternate positions, but I stood by my original goal, signed off on all of it, took the oath, and went back to work for 9 months, look a leave of absence, went on activity duty, and so on.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 2 at 2016 11:27 AM

2016-08-02T11:27:09-04:00

As a former USAF RIC, the Recruiter is playing games. Ask him for your nephews MAGE scores and then look up the jobs on about.com. M=Mechanical A=Administrative G=General E=Electrical. The jobs are a first come, first serve basis and change daily, and sometimes by the hour. There is a difference between being Qualified for a job and being able to get said job. The reason why there are a lot of "Open X" jobs, is that it is hard to fill/project said jobs so a kid doesn't have to sit around waiting for a class date to start.

Response by Maj Wayne Dahlke made Aug 2 at 2016 8:37 PM

2016-08-02T20:37:45-04:00

The percentile scores for each section of the test (Mechanical, Admin, General, Electrical) will determine which jobs the person has the APTITUDE for, however what he or she is QUALIFIED for depends on a number of other factors (Physical, mental, security clearance, etc).
In general, a percentile score above the 75th percentile will guarantee that you can get any job on the list. Then it comes down to those other factors. In the end, the best advice I can give is this...have the individual do their research on what they want to do!

When I enlisted back in 1987, I had very specific goals in mind, so I went looking for a specific type of job. Since I was trying to get into the Air Force Academy, I wanted a job that was not Career Job Reserved, minimally manned, or difficult to get a transfer out of....I needed something that was abundant and easy to be released from. I took a delayed entry administrative job (702X0, mainly for the ability to time my entry to align with the admissions process), to ensure I would A) not be in tech school forever, and B) would be able to be stationed anywhere, and C) NOT be mission critical when the time came to release me to go to the Air Force Academy. I also had to do all of the research on how the enlisted application and medical procedures were administered so that I would know when my recruiter was trying to BS me into changing to a harder to fill position.
SSgt James Atkinson's post below is a great example of someone who knew exactly what they wanted, and did all of the research BEFORE showing up to the recruiters office. If the individual can walk into the recruiters office with all of their ducks in a row, know exactly what jobs they are not only physically and mentally, but aptitudinally (is that even a word?) qualified for, it will make the entire process MUCH easier, not only for the person, but for the recruiters as well.

Good luck, and hopefully the individual will get exactly what they are looking for when joining the military. It is not a glamorous life, but it is a supremely satisfying one, if you go in with your eyes open, and your goals and expectations set to get what you want out of the experience!

Response by MSgt Chris Gulotta made Aug 2 at 2016 9:46 PM

2016-08-02T21:46:38-04:00

I think it may be best to visit the recruiter with your nephew. It is possible that the information he is relaying to you is being taken out of context.

Response by SSgt Tony Basile made Aug 2 at 2016 10:35 PM

2016-08-02T22:35:28-04:00

the book of afsc;s (careers) is roughly 8x10x 6 inches thick... what would you like 'them' to do for you? Keep one thing in mind.... the military places people in jobs that they have an immediate need to fill and those needs change from time to time. Even when I enlisted, i was offered a job in Missle Maintenance...... I asked to be able to 'sleep on it', so the next day I accepted the assignment..... gues what? Someone who knew what they wanted took the job and it was closed out. The category 'breakdowns' are available on a civilian job correlation sheet but I do not know if it is available to civilians in an over the counter format
This link may help you to review career choices https://www.airforce.com/careers/browse-careers and this following link nay be able to help you relate the AFSC to a civilian job http://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/skills-translator/
One thing to keep in mind is this.... the longer the training time, probably the more detailed the job and the education.
I hope this helps

U.S. Air Force - Career Browser

Welcome to the United States Air Force. Learn about great opportunities for enlisted airmen, officers and health care professionals.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 3 at 2016 6:42 AM

2016-08-03T06:42:49-04:00

Seems like BS to me

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 3 at 2016 6:44 AM

2016-08-03T06:44:16-04:00

Anyhow, until this kid takes the second oath at MEPS, he isn't obligated to serve

Response by TSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 4 at 2016 9:30 PM

2016-08-04T21:30:48-04:00

When I was working on a package for warrant rotary wing aviator the recruiter used the DMDC website to retrieve a REDD (Reenlistment Eligibility Data Display) report that quantified my ASVAB scores for all service requirements. He should be able to do this and then view cutoff scores in the AF enlisted classification directory (Google). He does not have to join to know what he is eligible for, but he would have to go to MEPs to ensure he is not physically disqualified from anything through PULHES requirements like depth perception, color blind, flat foot.