I am an engineer (mechanical with a major defense contractor; I started working with my company recently, and I enjoy my job (I'm in my mid-late 20's). I have always had the thought of serving my country in the back of my mind, but I never really had a chance to give it any serious thought; I was an athlete in undergrad, and then spent some time in various jobs and grad school. Still, though, the thought of military service has always been on my mind (I probably would have considered active duty at some point if I had more trouble finding a job, but fortunately it only took ~3-4 months).
Recently, I thought of the National Guard (I forget exactly why, but I looked them up online). Not to sound cocky or anything, but work has never made me feel 'challenged', at least not the same way as when I was competitively swimming, and I think that service is something which could challenge me, and satisfy my thought that I am missing out on something by not serving.
To make things even more interesting/tempting, the PA National Guard has a Combat Air Brigade. Remember when I mentioned I worked for a defense contractor? Yeah, I work on some of the same rotorcraft used by the PA NG. This means that I could have the opportunity to apply experience and knowledge back and forth between civilian life and service.
Still, though, I wouldn't want to endanger my civilian career too much. At least on paper, it seems as if they are very good with supporting their employees who do serve, but I haven't had a chance to try and find anyone else who is in the guard. Does anyone have experience joining the NG after starting a civilian career? How well would an employer take me having to leave for ~3 or more months for basic training? And last, but not least...how difficult is it to get a job flying those buckets of bolts?