Air Force Psych NPs - HPSP

[jb30]

Hey guys! I'm looking for some more info about the Air Force Health Professional Scholarship Program for Nurse Practitioners, specifically, Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioners. I've seen a few threads talk about the AF HPSP, but they were kind of general. I just started a 2 year accelerated Advanced Practice Nursing program at a pretty prestigious/expensive school (no idea how I got in) for students that do no have a BSN and was hoping to hear from some other people who have done the same thing and participated in the AF HPSP. Has anyone out there done the HPSP with the AF while going to school to get your Advanced Practice Nursing Degree in Psych-Mental Health, or any other APN specialty (not CRNA)? One of the questions I had was about salary after you graduate and you begin your active duty assignment. Do you follow the general pay scale of an officer or do you make more money since you are a board certified licensed health professional? If you come in as an O-1, following the pay scale, you'll only be making around $35,000 even though you are a health professional. Whereas, in the private sector, new grads for psych NP right out of school, can very well be starting out making $110,000-$120,000 in a lot of places in the country. The national average for psych NPs right out school is around $85,000. My school is really expensive so having the Air Force pay my tuition would be great, but if I'm only going to be making under $50,000 for my 3 years of active duty, I'm not sure it would be worth it when I can be making a lot more money in the private sector and just paying off my loans with the money I'm earning. If anyone out there has any answers for me, please post them. I have a lot more questions too, so hopefully I can find someone out there who has been through this. Thanks.