Thinking about jointing the military, and one with insight?

[V8KILLR]

Ok, as some of you know, I got my BS degree this December in mechanical engineering. As some of you may also know, I got laid off of my first full time engineering position and have been having a hell of a time finding another job. I have always thought of going OCS in the Navy or maybe Air Force. I like the Navy a little more because of having pride due to my dad being in, back in the 60s. I’d like to have any insight. I know the benefits are great and the pay is so so, but other then that I don’t know much. One thing to add, I am an Eagle Scout. I know it may be cheesy, but I’ve heard that it does matter. Last thing, sorry for being all over the place, I would like to go to grad school and having it paid for by the US gov, may work out.



Thanks,

Jason

 

[SouthernCal GN]

Military

Go for it! I was in the Navy for 11 years, and while it's true that you won't get rich ($ wise) in the service, you can bet you'll never regret the experience. By the time I was 28 years old, I had been to the following countries in my travels:

Africa (1 week)
Australia (3x, 6 weeks total)
Phillipine Islands (9x, too many weeks to count)
Indonesia (1 week)
Thailand (1 week)
Korea (1 week)
Singapore (4x, 4.5 weeks)
Bahrain (6x, 2 weeks)
Mina Jebel Ali (2x, 2 weeks)
Midway Island (3 days)
Canada (2x, 2 weeks total)

Lived in Hawaii for 7 years courtesy of Uncle Sam....in fact, that's where I got the Turbo Regal bug! Been all over the U.S., too.

You can have your grad school paid for by the service, but be aware that you'll often have a 2-to-1 trade off; that is, for every year of school paid for, you'll owe the service 2 years of time. Of course, this may have changed over the years....

As an officer, you'll enjoy a much better quality of life than the enlisted man, but you'll be subject to MUCH more scrunity, and expected to shoulder MUCH more responsibility that your civilian counterpart. Also, you'll be expected to be man enough to take responsibility for your screw-ups, without whining of bitching. The buck stops with you.



Now the cons: you're putting your life on the line for your country, and sometime you won't agree with the reasons why you're going into harm's way. Living conditions can be less than ideal, the pay is not equivalent to the private sector, and you may spend long periods of time away from family and friends.

Would I join again? Yep- in a heartbeat. Do I have any regrets/ Perhaps a few, but not enough to change my mind. Do your research, and make your move.

 

[We4ster]

Go for it and enjoy the experience...One thing, stay single!
The long deployments can ruin a good marriage/relationship.

 

[Shane]

I say don't join. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

However, I am an Eagle Scout and when I enlisted I was given E-2 for free for that. I don't think it does anything for occifers though. You might get squad leader in OCS for it though.

 

[rev. 3:11]

Jason,
Just my $ 00.02
I was Marine Corps enlisted because I was too eager to wait until after college (I still kick myself). My son is hoping to go to the Academy (Annapolis) in 2 yrs. I think either A.F. or Navy would be good choices due to the more technical jobs available. You might consider an appointment in the A.F. or Naval Reserve (or A.N.G.) first, to see if military life is to your liking. You will attend OCS jus like the regulars but have less of a commitment, in case a job does come up (and it does open doors). I don't know about officers but as an enlisted man you could opt to go regular from reserve (but not vice-versa).
Have you considered U.S.M.C.?
Semper Fi!

 

[Strahd_Zarovich]

If you join anything join the A.F. get a carrer not just a job. They have the best training the shortes deployments and the best bennifets. If I had to do it again this is where I would be. I work with them all the time and a full day for the A.F. is like 0900 to 1300. They are major slackers, but have the best chance to get a better job once they leave the Military.

As for the job thins enlisted and Officers can opt out if they can prove that the job they are going to has better bennifets and pay then they are currently makeing in the military. This is hard be cause the military includes all of your housing, food and medical into the equation. I use to work in the section that did this for people.

If you have any more question PM me. I still work on Fort Bragg and can get the right people for you to talk to easily.

 

[whitehot84]

The ARMY has the best schools and the fastest pay increases. You have, with your engineering degree, the chance to pick and choose what you want to do before you go in.
When I was in Nam I worked side by side with Navy and Airmen doing the same job but with two years service I out ranked all of them, some being in over 4 years.
Just look at all your options. It doesn't cost anything to inquire and don't take the first thing that comes along. Also, if you get your commission, you will have no trouble getting a job when you get out. Businesses love retired officers because of the rigors of military life. They know they can handle the everyday bumps in the road.
Good luck with your future.

Ron

 

[Taffy]

If you are just looking to make the most money, being a Navy Nuke is what you want. That is about the crappiest job out there though.

Maybe try being a pilot. Pick your branch and your plane/chopper.

 

[charleslong]

Originally posted by rev. 3:11
Jason,
Just my $ 00.02
I was Marine Corps enlisted because I was too eager to wait until after college (I still kick myself). My son is hoping to go to the Academy (Annapolis) in 2 yrs. I think either A.F. or Navy would be good choices due to the more technical jobs available. You might consider an appointment in the A.F. or Naval Reserve (or A.N.G.) first, to see if military life is to your liking. You will attend OCS jus like the regulars but have less of a commitment, in case a job does come up (and it does open doors). I don't know about officers but as an enlisted man you could opt to go regular from reserve (but not vice-versa).
Have you considered U.S.M.C.?
Semper Fi!

I would have to agree with this guy, If you must go into one of the branches, I recommend ANG. I am active duty and work with "full time ANG" every day. They come in in uniform and do the same thing as myself, and they are protected by the union. They do what they want, they are civil service during the week, and durning there 2 weeks a year there guard. They get paid pretty good also. I wish I had known about it when I joined active. In my shop, they dont have to deploy if they dont want to, they get the option. They also get the option to double dip.

But if I was in your shoes and had a degree, I would just get a civil service job. That would be close enough to serving for me. I have enjoyed it so far, but there is a lot of stuff that would have made me not want to join, had I known about it before.
Hope some of this info helps

 

[charleslong]

Originally posted by rev. 3:11
Jason,
Just my $ 00.02
I was Marine Corps enlisted because I was too eager to wait until after college (I still kick myself). My son is hoping to go to the Academy (Annapolis) in 2 yrs. I think either A.F. or Navy would be good choices due to the more technical jobs available. You might consider an appointment in the A.F. or Naval Reserve (or A.N.G.) first, to see if military life is to your liking. You will attend OCS jus like the regulars but have less of a commitment, in case a job does come up (and it does open doors). I don't know about officers but as an enlisted man you could opt to go regular from reserve (but not vice-versa).
Have you considered U.S.M.C.?
Semper Fi!

actually, you could go to guard or reserve, after serving half of your enlistment, its called palis chase and there may be another way to do it, but I think it would just be easier to go into the branch that you want at first. Going guard from active the palis chase way could result in you multipling your number of years left active by 2. So if you signed for 4 years, and you have 2 years left, when you go guard, you will have 4 years left.

 

[charleslong]

Originally posted by whitehot84
The ARMY has the best schools and the fastest pay increases. You have, with your engineering degree, the chance to pick and choose what you want to do before you go in.
When I was in Nam I worked side by side with Navy and Airmen doing the same job but with two years service I out ranked all of them, some being in over 4 years.
Just look at all your options. It doesn't cost anything to inquire and don't take the first thing that comes along. Also, if you get your commission, you will have no trouble getting a job when you get out. Businesses love retired officers because of the rigors of military life. They know they can handle the everyday bumps in the road.
Good luck with your future.

Ron

I can agree with you on a couple of your statements, but if I had to do it all over again; I would choose the Air Force again. We dont get promoted as fast as the Army, but we have our perks. As far as the Army having better schools, I dont know about that.

As mentioned about quality of life is better. The next branch I would choose would be the Navy, but I couldnt see myself going out to see for so long. I like my 45-90 day TDY options, and they normally dont involve us being in direct harm.

 

[charleslong]

check this site, it normally have pretty good jobs listed.
http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/jo...=3876&ss=0&FedPub=Y&SUBMIT1.x=77&SUBMIT1.y=12