An Air Force Personnel (3F0X1) Specialist supports other airmen with essential information and resources for their position.
Personnel specialists are similar to a civilian HR position, with slightly different job tasks.
These individuals are essential to ensuring airmen get the answers to any career questions they have.
Education, Qualifications, and Training
This is an entry-level enlisted position.
This position does not require any top-level clearance or special testing outside of the normal testing requirements.
Education
Individuals in this position must have, at minimum, a High School Diploma or GED.
Individuals must take/pass the Administrative ASVAB Air Force requirement with a minimum score of 59.
Qualifications
Airmen in this position must have the ability to speak distinctly.
Because this job requires administrative duties, recruits must be able to type at 25 words per minute.
Recruits must be 17 (with parental consent) and 18 without.
39 is the max age for this Air Force position.
Training
As with other enlisted positions, individuals will attend Basic Military Training for 7.5 weeks.
After Basic Training recruits will spend 26 days at Keesler Air Force Base for Technical Training.
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What does an Air Force Personnel Specialist do?
An Air Force Personnel specialist is the go-to person for getting advice on changing specialties or needing training resources.
These individuals give advice on positions, promotions, training programs, and benefits.
Personnel specialists help Airmen set up their career goals and track progress along the way.
If an airman has a question regarding their specific duty assignment, they can reach out to a Personnel specialist to get answers.
Their main goal is to support the growth and career development of airmen.
Personnel specialists will achieve this goal by conducting interviews with individuals to get insight into their qualifications and interests.
This information can help pair airmen with positions that better match their likes and qualifications.
They will conduct any processing surrounding individuals entering and leaving the Air Force.
These specialists will ensure that all compliance is met in regard to personnel policies, procedures, and directives.
Not only are Personnel specialists there to provide assistance to airmen, but they are also there to support their families as well.
When an individual is set to deploy, Personnel specialists are there to answer any questions they or their family may have.
Personnel specialists create, maintain, and audit personnel records and corresponding information for airmen.
These individuals will monitor retention programs.
This information will be used for creating presentations, reports, and statistics.
Specialists will examine that data and look at ways to improve retention.
Functions such as assisting with letters of reprimand or promotional information will be taken care of by the Personnel specialist.
Getting help with choosing the correct benefit package for themselves and their families is something they would reach out to a Personnel specialist for.
They can guide them on the package and answer any questions regarding compliance or coverage down the road.
Whenever there is a casualty or an airman goes missing, the specialist will assist the family with the next steps to take, including preparing documents and assisting with situationally appropriate program applications.
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What does an Air Force Personnel Specialist get Paid?
An Air Force Personnel specialist will get paid depending on their rank and time of service.
If an individual does not have prior military experience or education, one could expect to start at a lower rank.
Lower-ranking enlisted airmen generally receive a base pay as an E-1 Airman Basic, making just over $1,900 a month.
Individuals with higher ranks will earn more money and eventually have options or potential pay in addition to their base pay.
Benefits
When looking into your base pay, individuals should keep in mind that most airmen will not pay for housing and will pay very little to nothing for medical and dental care.
These are two huge expenses that are generally paid out of monthly income in a civilian job.
Benefits in the Air Force Include:
- Insurance
- Housing and Food allowances
- Paid sick time, vacation, and retirement packages
- Tuition Assistance
- Recreation
You can view the Air Force ranks and pay table here.
Related Article – Basic Allowance For Housing (BAH) Calculator
Job Reviews
A unified theme when reading reviews of this position is the skills that individuals learn in the position are a huge advantage later in life.
Not only do individuals learn how to perform certain tasks, they learn work ethic.
Being in any position in the Air Force requires discipline and control.
Positive reviews of this position include skills learned and camaraderie with office individuals.
Negative reviews included the need to always be on call and available.
The negative reviews also included multiple deployments and time away from family.
Here are a few reviews from actual previous Personnel specialists.
Civilian Career Opportunities
Individuals in the Personnel specialist position learn administrative functions that relate to positions in an office setting.
The closest civilian position is a career in human resources.
Opportunities in this field are very open.
Positions are available all over the United States and they can pay similar to higher than the Personnel position in the Air Force.
Other possible civilian career opportunities include:
- Payroll
- Recruiting
- Administrative Assistant
- On-boarding Specialist
- Career Advisement
Summary
Air Force Personnel specialists (3F0X1) play the role of adviser, advocate, and career field expert.
These airmen will assist with career choice, tracking/maintaining personnel files, and assisting with benefit and program applications.
This position is similar to a civilian human resources job.
Recruits who wish to join this position will take the Administrative ASVAB and must meet all basic requirements.
This is an entry-level position with full Air Force benefits.
Airmen who have previously held this position like the functions and assistance that they provide to people.
This position directly relates to several administrative positions in the civilian career field.
Related Article – Air Force Airfield Management Specialist (1C7X1): Career Details
Reference:
Born and raised in Woodbridge, NJ, he graduated from the New Jersey Institute Of Technology with an MBA in eCommerce.His hobbies include beach volleyball, target shooting, and lifting.
Rob is also a Commercially rated pilot and Certified Flight Instructor (CFI), with over 1,500 hours of flight time.
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