Hello and happy Thanksgiving . I ' ve spent the past couple weeks lurking here , doing some other reading online , and talking to a few friends offline whose close relatives are currently enlisted , so at this point , I would really appreciate some input from you guys too . I just turned 36 a few days ago , and I ' ve been searching for jobs after completing my master ' s degree in forensic science for the last two years . Suffice to say that I ' ve had little luck in landing a job relevant to my field of study . So until a few weeks ago my choices were either getting a temporary job while keep searching for something I want , or just bite the bullet and start on an entry level of anything I can do , but then I found out that the Air Force increased the age limit to enlist . Barring the possibility that I ' m somehow employed as a forensic scientist , or , I dunno , a TSA agent in the near future , I ' d like to hear your opinions on whether enlisting is a better alternative . Here ' s my current condition Having a master ' s degree in forensic science , could be useful if I get assigned a relevant job . Relatively fit I can do 45 push ups and 50 sit ups a minute with no problem , and more on a good day , 15 minutes on mile and half run is slow but I just need to run more to shape up . Fluent in Mandarin Chinese , I actually did DLPT for that language years ago in application for a civilian job . Didn ' t get it , but my scores at that time was passpass 3 in ListeningReadingSpeaking . I still use that language every day , although it ' s more for civiliancasual side of things , rather than anything technical . Did a sample test and got 88 % without any preparations , so I can do better if I study a bit . Obviously a clean background , no drugs , no alcohol , no debt or physical defects either . I ' m interested in anything intel , cyber , and obviously linguist if I can somehow get Chinese as the language . Based on what I ' ve read here and from other forums online , an enlisted airman usually doesn ' t get a choice in the assigned language , but would the situation be different if I already have DLPT scores to show competency , and can undergo another test if offered ? I also know that I ' m too old for OTS . My girlfriend already said that she ' d support me regardless of my choices , and I ' m way too old to give a crap about what my family and friends think . Incidentally , I ' m also old enough to recognize that I ' ll be offering my time and service in exchange for experience and potential job security . I don ' t think this is a last resort type of option , rather , if I can work my way towards a decent career path , this might be the best way to make myself more valuable . Everything looks potentially good on paper , but I defer to your collective wisdom , do I have a shot at this , or have I been mistaken and overlooked some pitfalls ? Thank you , and I appreciate your opinions , feel free to be as brutally honest as you wish . TLDR 36 m , graduate degree in forensic science , physically fit , DLPT Mandarin Chinese passpass 3 . Enlist or stay civilian ?