Join the Military or Find that 5-9 Job?

[Naruto99Uzumaki]

3rd World war shall beginn

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[Sica]

Idk.. I mean, I would hate knowing someone I love has a possibility of dying when he/she goes to war.
I mean, it's just a job that I would never recommend to anyone.

 

[Sound]

You'd have to reconsider that very thoroughly . Going to the army you'll be entitled to one thing only for life but if you get an education you can still catch army afterwards. IMO you shouldn't do it but that's just my opinion

 

[Punk Hazard]

*Brad Pitt voice returns*
Yew think yew know war, boy? Yew got no idea what war is like. Yew ever seen death. I seen death with my own eeeyyes. I seen my buddies, my warmates, get shot down right in front of meh! No food or water! I've drinken' my own piss and done ate the flesh of my dead friends. Poor Frank wasn't dead yet, he was just asleep, but man, did he taste good.

 

[G e m i n i]

I wasn't even quoting the movie, I made that up yesterday while talking to myself as I made breakfast.

Sound anyways 》.《

 

[-immortal-]

*Brad Pitt voice returns*
Yew think yew know war, boy? Yew got no idea what war is like. Yew ever seen death. I seen death with my own eeeyyes. I seen my buddies, my warmates, get shot down right in front of meh! No food or water! I've drinken' my own piss and done ate the flesh of my dead friends. Poor Frank wasn't dead yet, he was just asleep, but man, did he taste good.

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''the Taste of War's blood, is only the beginning of hell ''​

 

[Six Paths of Logic]

*Brad Pitt voice returns*
Yew think yew know war, boy? Yew got no idea what war is like. Yew ever seen death. I seen death with my own eeeyyes. I seen my buddies, my warmates, get shot down right in front of meh! No food or water! I've drinken' my own piss and done ate the flesh of my dead friends. Poor Frank wasn't dead yet, he was just asleep, but man, did he taste good.

Lmfao, u need to be whipped with a belt

 

[G e m i n i]

*Brad Pitt voice returns*
Yew think yew know war, boy? Yew got no idea what war is like. Yew ever seen death. I seen death with my own eeeyyes. I seen my buddies, my warmates, get shot down right in front of meh! No food or water! I've drinken' my own piss and done ate the flesh of my dead friends. Poor Frank wasn't dead yet, he was just asleep, but man, did he taste good.

SMH No comment lmao.

 

[cptenn94]

Dang if you got good connections that's a great head start. But na military benefits only go so far. The greatest benefit would be having your schooling paid for.

Other than that, after you're done with your service you're back to square 1 except you can put on your resume you've served your country.

A 5-9 job is a dream lol. You gotta have a great education and work for a good company.
Best of luck to you though!!!

It can be a common misconception that you just fight for the military.
My father served aboard a nuclear sub as a reactor operator. He was among the top during his time.

Him having that actual ON THE JOB experiance, would have put him ahead of the college graduate.(sadly though when he got out of the military, the TVA, got a new director or something, and put a COMPLETE hiring freeze, across the board, for a few years. By then my dad found a different job he liked, and stuck with it)

So going into the military, besides just a combat position, can greatly help your chances at getting a good paying job.

There are actually many employers who will LOOK for people with military experiance in the field.

Me personally I have everything stacked for me to do whatever I would like in the military. I am a eagle scout, I did 4 years of Jrotc in highschool, Both my parents served in the military, and I scored a 93 on the Asvab(without studying I might add). However, I do not have a overwhelming desire to join the military.

Currently though, the military is shrinking. So it may not be so easy to just go and join and get what you want. They are much more selective about their recruits. I would recommend the navy. Generally they are a bit less combat oriented than the army or marines, but they still have a very wide range of job types that you could apply for. And nowhere near all the navy serves on ships. Also you could join the reserves alternatively.


Alternatively to the 9-5 job, you could create a business, or product.

Good luck on the asvab. There are not wrong choices. Just make a choice and move in that direction and be happy. If it is the wrong direction, then just turn around and choose a different path.

 

[Punk Hazard]

*Brad Pitt's voice comes in for the sequel*
Yew will NOT be leaving the military the same man yew are now. We will break yew. We will dee-stroy yew. We will mold yew into the ultimate Nazi, Communist and Taliban killing mah-sheen.

 

[Aim64C]

while I search for the dream 5-9 job that is supposed to be the source of my financial income. I find myself leaning more towards joint our military service. Finding a job in this economy isn't all that easy, and the military isn't all that easy. Well correction the hardest part is boot camp where they break you apart to mold you into something more sturdy. Yet I wonder is it worth it in the end to belong to the US government? Or to fight finding that 5-9 job.

That all really depends upon what you want to do.

I'll be frank - the military is easy. You have a steady paycheck, your housing is covered, and your food is accounted for. There is absolutely no reason for anyone in the military to be in debt outside of a mortgage, and there is almost no reason you should not be banking away about $1K every month (even as an E-1). Just don't be stupid with your money.

As such - it is a very good stepping stone.

However - I caution you on the choice of going military. Currently, the system is becoming increasingly corrupt and frustrating. The training "isn't what it used to be" - nor is the leadership. There are a lot of people who are there just to collect that paycheck above and who are not there to develop their set of skills and abilities.

Do. Not. Let. That. Mentality. Corrupt. You.

I will be honest with you, though - as a young woman (if I am to interpret your profile correctly) - the only way you can go wrong with the military is if you blow all of your money while you are there while failing to learn any skills that you can take with you to another command or the civilian world. It may come time to renew your contract, and you my flip them the bird out the door, glad for it to be over - but if you were smart with your pay, you've got a decent amount saved up (after 4 years, you should have around $30K saved up - plus any enlistment bonuses they throw in there). After 8 - you should have nearly $70K.

Depending upon where you get deployed (if you get deployed), there are some damned good reimbursements that you get, too. A 1 year deployment can net you an additional $10-20K. On one of mine, I was able to save $40K. Granted, I felt damned near criminal for it (though it is worth noting that I am also an E5 - so my base pay was higher than what the E3s were getting on that deployment - but the main bread-winner was the per-diem they had for that area at about $140 per day - which I am beginning to believe was instated as a gravy train for political favorites among officers, because it was excessive as all get-out).

What I'm trying to say is that if you enlist and you hate it - you can still play it off to your advantage.

Ultimately, though - you should always consider where you will be able to grow the most. I declined to re-enlist because the military was not really the best place for me to grow - I needed to take on more independence, more liberty, and more individual responsibility outside of the military structure.

Perhaps in a different environment - I would have been happy to stay and would have been up for E-7 selection boards (though I would have preferred to go the CWO route). Perhaps I was just raised too close to civilian industry for the military to make any kind of sense to me (since I saw much of it as needless waste of resources, horrible allocation of manpower, and many people lacking work ethic... before we even got to the leadership and the structures they had set in place).

I have to say that, currently, I am happier in the civilian world. There were times where I was happy in the military - and no doubt there is a place in the military where I would be happy (I just wasn't in it).

Either way - you always need to look for opportunities to grow. Jobs may be a bit on the decline, currently (which is ridiculous - I can drive around and see all kinds of jobs that need to be done and that people would pay for... but that I would be fined by the government for doing - which is precisely why we have the lack of jobs) - but they will return after the economic collapse breaks down government enforcement and society is forced onto a standard of currency such as gold or silver (though silver is such a small market and has such high industrial consumption that it will not see widespread use as a currency even if it is widely accepted).

What I keep hammering at is personal growth - learn skills, learn systems, learn techniques and strategies - learn trades. Don't just learn how to do tasks - learn the art/trade that developed those tasks. No matter what that task is, no matter who has assigned that task to you (military, civilian, government - doesn't matter).

Keep track of your accomplishments and look for opportunities to push the limits of your skills. These will help you whether it's for advancement in a job (even the military), seeking a new job, or striking out as a free tradesman/entrepreneur. Your 'points' in a resume should prompt a story of your success during an interview (since that is where most interview questions come from). Your portfolio (as an independent tradesman) is a preview of the work a customer can expect (even if that portfolio is work done under an employer).

Either way - you are the master of your career, you are employed under yourself first and foremost. Always look for opportunities to grow (not just in a financial sense) and never be afraid to drop everything and completely change course.

I lost my mom. I lost my dad. I lost my home and everything that grounded me to what I knew to be. I still guarded my bank accounts with a vengeance (especially against myself). I learned that you can survive out of a backpack. It may not be the most glorious existence, but you can survive until you find an opportunity to thrive. Hunger (not necessarily the physical variety) and desperation are exceptional motivators to overcome the status quo.

 

[G e m i n i]

That all really depends upon what you want to do.

I'll be frank - the military is easy. You have a steady paycheck, your housing is covered, and your food is accounted for. There is absolutely no reason for anyone in the military to be in debt outside of a mortgage, and there is almost no reason you should not be banking away about $1K every month (even as an E-1). Just don't be stupid with your money.

As such - it is a very good stepping stone.

However - I caution you on the choice of going military. Currently, the system is becoming increasingly corrupt and frustrating. The training "isn't what it used to be" - nor is the leadership. There are a lot of people who are there just to collect that paycheck above and who are not there to develop their set of skills and abilities.

Do. Not. Let. That. Mentality. Corrupt. You.

I will be honest with you, though - as a young woman (if I am to interpret your profile correctly) - the only way you can go wrong with the military is if you blow all of your money while you are there while failing to learn any skills that you can take with you to another command or the civilian world. It may come time to renew your contract, and you my flip them the bird out the door, glad for it to be over - but if you were smart with your pay, you've got a decent amount saved up (after 4 years, you should have around $30K saved up - plus any enlistment bonuses they throw in there). After 8 - you should have nearly $70K.

Depending upon where you get deployed (if you get deployed), there are some damned good reimbursements that you get, too. A 1 year deployment can net you an additional $10-20K. On one of mine, I was able to save $40K. Granted, I felt damned near criminal for it (though it is worth noting that I am also an E5 - so my base pay was higher than what the E3s were getting on that deployment - but the main bread-winner was the per-diem they had for that area at about $140 per day - which I am beginning to believe was instated as a gravy train for political favorites among officers, because it was excessive as all get-out).

What I'm trying to say is that if you enlist and you hate it - you can still play it off to your advantage.

Ultimately, though - you should always consider where you will be able to grow the most. I declined to re-enlist because the military was not really the best place for me to grow - I needed to take on more independence, more liberty, and more individual responsibility outside of the military structure.

Perhaps in a different environment - I would have been happy to stay and would have been up for E-7 selection boards (though I would have preferred to go the CWO route). Perhaps I was just raised too close to civilian industry for the military to make any kind of sense to me (since I saw much of it as needless waste of resources, horrible allocation of manpower, and many people lacking work ethic... before we even got to the leadership and the structures they had set in place).

I have to say that, currently, I am happier in the civilian world. There were times where I was happy in the military - and no doubt there is a place in the military where I would be happy (I just wasn't in it).

Either way - you always need to look for opportunities to grow. Jobs may be a bit on the decline, currently (which is ridiculous - I can drive around and see all kinds of jobs that need to be done and that people would pay for... but that I would be fined by the government for doing - which is precisely why we have the lack of jobs) - but they will return after the economic collapse breaks down government enforcement and society is forced onto a standard of currency such as gold or silver (though silver is such a small market and has such high industrial consumption that it will not see widespread use as a currency even if it is widely accepted).

What I keep hammering at is personal growth - learn skills, learn systems, learn techniques and strategies - learn trades. Don't just learn how to do tasks - learn the art/trade that developed those tasks. No matter what that task is, no matter who has assigned that task to you (military, civilian, government - doesn't matter).

Keep track of your accomplishments and look for opportunities to push the limits of your skills. These will help you whether it's for advancement in a job (even the military), seeking a new job, or striking out as a free tradesman/entrepreneur. Your 'points' in a resume should prompt a story of your success during an interview (since that is where most interview questions come from). Your portfolio (as an independent tradesman) is a preview of the work a customer can expect (even if that portfolio is work done under an employer).

Either way - you are the master of your career, you are employed under yourself first and foremost. Always look for opportunities to grow (not just in a financial sense) and never be afraid to drop everything and completely change course.

I lost my mom. I lost my dad. I lost my home and everything that grounded me to what I knew to be. I still guarded my bank accounts with a vengeance (especially against myself). I learned that you can survive out of a backpack. It may not be the most glorious existence, but you can survive until you find an opportunity to thrive. Hunger (not necessarily the physical variety) and desperation are exceptional motivators to overcome the status quo.

It can be a common misconception that you just fight for the military.
My father served aboard a nuclear sub as a reactor operator. He was among the top during his time.

Him having that actual ON THE JOB experiance, would have put him ahead of the college graduate.(sadly though when he got out of the military, the TVA, got a new director or something, and put a COMPLETE hiring freeze, across the board, for a few years. By then my dad found a different job he liked, and stuck with it)

So going into the military, besides just a combat position, can greatly help your chances at getting a good paying job.

There are actually many employers who will LOOK for people with military experiance in the field.

Me personally I have everything stacked for me to do whatever I would like in the military. I am a eagle scout, I did 4 years of Jrotc in highschool, Both my parents served in the military, and I scored a 93 on the Asvab(without studying I might add). However, I do not have a overwhelming desire to join the military.

Currently though, the military is shrinking. So it may not be so easy to just go and join and get what you want. They are much more selective about their recruits. I would recommend the navy. Generally they are a bit less combat oriented than the army or marines, but they still have a very wide range of job types that you could apply for. And nowhere near all the navy serves on ships. Also you could join the reserves alternatively.


Alternatively to the 9-5 job, you could create a business, or product.

Good luck on the asvab. There are not wrong choices. Just make a choice and move in that direction and be happy. If it is the wrong direction, then just turn around and choose a different path.

*Brad Pitt's voice comes in for the sequel*
Yew will NOT be leaving the military the same man yew are now. We will break yew. We will dee-stroy yew. We will mold yew into the ultimate Nazi, Communist and Taliban killing mah-sheen.

Thanks for the input, ill keep that all in mind.

 

[RasenUchihaChaos]

And eventually you will have to get a job like the civs regardless if u in the military

 

[G e m i n i]

Well its a good thing I decided to get a job as a civs. And don't have to superior Apr anyone yelling on my face or top get rid of my piercings

 

[Taco King]

I think that you mean a 9-5 job.

 

[7PointOh]

Only sign up if you have the desire to serve. Benefits are good. But you have to remember, all your personal issues come secondary when it comes to the needs of your duties. The perception of combat and face yelling and mud crawling and all that other stuff that is portrayed on popular media is only a very small percentage.

FYI only the Navy and Marine Corps have Boot Camp. And it is not the hardest part. In the end, its what you make of it and what you take away. If you go in for term, and take advantage of educational opportunities during and after your time in service and get a specialty that can be transferred over to civilian life if you so decide to leave after, then good on you.

 

[Jin Hayami]

And here we go again. I'm active Army. Once again. NONE of the posts I've read have the slightest god damn clue about what the military actually is like.

Edit* I take that back. Aim64C beat me to the punch. He's rocking the Navy IR flag so you're better off talking to him about any naval training.

1. You will never get rich in the military. I'll put that out right now. You'll most likely deploy and be exempt from taxes and not have anything to spend it on so you'll get to buy a few toys when you get back. 1st one is usually a car that none of your friends in college can afford. 2nd is usually a motorcycle or a trip to Europe or something. 3rd is when you typically start giving a shit and saving it because odds are you're getting out soon anyway lol.

2. You will get an education for free and I encourage everyone who does enlist to use the military tuition assistance program while they're in. That doesn't cut into your GI Bill so you could have an associates by the time you finish and a masters by the time you use up your GI Bill. The biggest benefit career wise is actually having job experience and a connection to the government. My waitress at Applebees last night had a degree in sociology. I know people that work for the FBI and NSA that didn't finish high school and make 70k a year. Not to mention a security clearance and experience in a related field will get you a lot of jobs over any diploma. A diploma just means you can learn. Experience and a clearance mean you already know how to function in a professional environment. Experience and trust trump a piece of paper any day of the week.

3. Training is the biggest pain in the ass you will ever deal with in your life. Basic isn't hard. It just sucks. They design every test so that anyone who isn't a complete piece of shit can pass and they teach you everything you need to know to pass. After you finish you're like "**** it. I'd do that again." If you're a runner then you're already fairly set. Most people fail pushups and the run. Navy run isn't even that far I think it's only like a mile and a half these days. Then again odds are you really only have to be able to run to the other side of a ship so there isn't much point to it.

4. War isn't anything near what the movies make it out to be. Everything is really anti climatic. Theres the enemy. Can barely see them. Shoot at them. They stop shooting back. They're probably dead. Let's call it up. MOST (and I can't stress that enough) MOS's won't see much combat if any. Do you really think they're gonna send a bunch of mechanics out to sweep a village? No they send them to pick up broken trucks if anything. There are personnel who spend their entire contract behind a desk doing paperwork.

5. Paperwork, scrubbing floors, mopping, sweeping, and inventory will take up about 10000x the effort and time you actually will spend shooting and doing cool stuff. Don't get me wrong opportunities to do awesome stuff comes up all the time. But the only way to not have to clean is to stay in for a long time. No way to get out of inventories. In fact when you get promoted to NCO you're actually the one responsible for that equipment so you spend even more time going through it.

That's the truth. I'd say the best MOS if you can score high enough on the ASVAB (try to beat my 120) would be anything intel. Cushy job. A lot of work with civilians and joint service stuff so you don't have to deal with a very thick layer of military bullshit. And it gives you a high clearance and an opportunity to immediately cross over and get paid more to do the same thing as a civilian. At the very least contractor companies love to hire people with a TS SCI.

Everyone who is thinking about enlisting is more than free to personal message me. I strongly encourage doing so before you speak to the recruiter because they just want to fill slots and I just want to keep people from getting ****ed like I did.

 

[Jin Hayami]

Ultimately, though - you should always consider where you will be able to grow the most. I declined to re-enlist because the military was not really the best place for me to grow - I needed to take on more independence, more liberty, and more individual responsibility outside of the military structure.

Perhaps in a different environment - I would have been happy to stay and would have been up for E-7 selection boards (though I would have preferred to go the CWO route). Perhaps I was just raised too close to civilian industry for the military to make any kind of sense to me (since I saw much of it as needless waste of resources, horrible allocation of manpower, and many people lacking work ethic... before we even got to the leadership and the structures they had set in place).

I have to say that, currently, I am happier in the civilian world. There were times where I was happy in the military - and no doubt there is a place in the military where I would be happy (I just wasn't in it).

The truth.
And his excuse for not reupping is a lot better than mine. I got barred from reenlistment for beating the shit out of a fat incompetent pencil pushing garrison NCO that talked like the Penguin and maintained his virginity into his thirties before he ordered his wife online.