Air Force and ASVAB

The ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) is used to identify whether a candidate is qualified to enlist in a particular branch of the U.S. Military. If you want to join the Air Force then you are going to be taking the ASVAB.

The ASVAB test is also used to determine which jobs (referred to as Air Force Specialty Code in the Air Force), enlistment bonuses and salary-level a candidate is eligible for. A high score will improve your chances of getting the job and signing bonus you want.

The ASVAB is a large test containing a total of approximately 200 multiple-choice questions that cover a wide variety of topics or categories. In fact, the ASVAB contains questions from nine (9) specific categories or sub-tests as shown below.

Your scores on these individual sub-tests are used by the Air Force to calculate 2 (two) important types of scores: your Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) score and your Composite Scores. Your AFQT score is used to determine if you are eligible to enlist in the Air Force. Your Composite Scores will determine which jobs you are eligible to hold. Let's go through each of these separately.

Air Force AFQT Scores

Please take a look at our AFQT Overview for a full review of the AFQT and how it is calculated. In short, the Air Force will evaluate your scores on four (4) of the ASVAB sub-tests to calculate your AFQT. The sub-tests used to calculate your AFQT are:

Review these sub-tests in detail.

Air Force AFQT Minimums

Each branch of the military sets its own standards for enlistment. In general, a much higher AFQT score is required from applicants with a GED than their counterparts with a high school diploma. The minimum AFQT scores to enlist in the Air Force are:

Minimum AFQT Score (with High School Diploma): 36
Minimum AFQT Score (with GED): 65

Air Force Composite Scores (Jobs)

Jobs in the Air Force are called AFSC's (short for Air Force Specialty Code). To find what jobs you qualify for, the Air Force breaks down your ASVAB sub-test scores into groups known as "Qualification Areas."

The 9 total ASVAB sub-tests are:

Review these sub-tests in detail.

 

The four Qualification Areas are:

Qualification Area	ASVAB Sub-tests
G - General	Verbal Expression (WK plus PC) and Arithmetic Reasoning (AR)
M - Mechanical	Mechanical Comprehension (MC), General Science (GS) and 2 times Auto & Shop Information (AS)
A - Administrative	Numerical Operations * (NO), Coding Speed * (CS), and Verbal Expression (WK plus PC)
E - Electrical	Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), Mathematics Knowledge (MK), Electronics Information (EI), and General Science (GS)

For a full list of all available jobs within the Air Force and the minimum scores required on the Qualification Areas listed above, please visit:

Prepare for the Air Force ASVAB

If you are serious about earning high scores on the ASVAB and jump-starting your career you need to prepare wisely for the ASVAB. No system produces better results than ASVAB Prep Tests.