Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm just trying to explore my options and be more open minded since I'm still young.
I'm in my late 20s, getting my masters in advertising but not sure if I want to do that anymore. I don't have kids and I'm not married and I don't really plan on it. I don't really know what to do with my life so I was thinking if I could lock myself to a 20 year contract or so, at least I'd have some benefits and savings by the time I'm middle aged. That'd be better than switching careers all the time and continuously starting in beginning level jobs.
If I were to join the military, what would my options be and what should I expect? I'm a woman so I don't think I would join the Navy. I don't want to go to combat either. I was thinking about the Air Force or the Army. I'm pretty fit physically. I lift weights and am stronger than most women. I speak, read, and write a foreign language but not fluently enough to translate legal documents. I have also thought about joining the CIA with my language skills but now I would obviously need to be better at it. I have also always wanted to travel a lot for work.
What are your thoughts? I'm pretty tough and I think I can handle it. I just want to make sure I'm not going to regret it or lose body parts.... I would also have about $50K in school debt. I have heard some people were able to get the military to pay it off but some people weren't able to do that. Just wondering how the people who got it paid off were able to do so? Also, what would a degree in advertising allow me to do in the military? :/ My undergrad degrees were Creative Writing and Philosophy...
Look into State Department Foreign Service, not just military and CIA.
There is no 20 year contract in any of the U.S. military services. There are absolutely no guarantees that you will not get injured, lose a body part, or die--but you could step in front of a bus tomorrow, never serving a second in the military.
There is no guarantee you will complete 20 years of military service. Very few of the hundreds of thousands serving right now will make it to longevity (traditional) military retirement. Most will serve honorably for 4-plus years and choose a civilian life and career. That works, too.
I'm just trying to explore my options and be more open minded since I'm still young.
I'm in my late 20s, getting my masters in advertising but not sure if I want to do that anymore. I don't have kids and I'm not married and I don't really plan on it. I don't really know what to do with my life so I was thinking if I could lock myself to a 20 year contract or so, at least I'd have some benefits and savings by the time I'm middle aged. That'd be better than switching careers all the time and continuously starting in beginning level jobs.
Knuckle down and finish the Masters. Walk away and you lose everything that you have invested to this point.
Military service is done via 4 year and 6 year contracts. The vast majority of servicemembers will get out after their first contract expires. They tried it, got a taste and they want no more of it.
Quote:
... I'm a woman so I don't think I would join the Navy
Mmm, that seems a little biased. Females tend to enjoy much faster advancement in the Navy, as compared to males. I must assume that whatever lies beneath your bias, it is likely myth.
Quote:
... I don't want to go to combat either
Seriously do not say that. It sets veterans against you. You may think it, and you may select a career field accordingly, but do not go around saying that. I am just trying to be helpful.
Quote:
... I was thinking about the Air Force or the Army. I'm pretty fit physically. I lift weights and am stronger than most women.
Good.
Quote:
... I speak, read, and write a foreign language but not fluently enough to translate legal documents. I have also thought about joining the CIA with my language skills but now I would obviously need to be better at it. I have also always wanted to travel a lot for work.
There are languages that are in high demand. Tell a recruiter and see. The military can send you to schools to improve your command of a language.
Quote:
... What are your thoughts? I'm pretty tough and I think I can handle it. I just want to make sure I'm not going to regret it or lose body parts.... I would also have about $50K in school debt. I have heard some people were able to get the military to pay it off but some people weren't able to do that. Just wondering how the people who got it paid off were able to do so? Also, what would a degree in advertising allow me to do in the military? :/ My undergrad degrees were Creative Writing and Philosophy...
I did 20 years. For me it worked out okay. I got a fairly reasonable level of pay. 18 years of my career I was tax-exempt [which helps a lot]. I was able to buy an apartment building at each of four of my duty stations, so by the time that I retired I had accumulated a reasonable Net Worth. It can be done in the Navy.
'Loosing body parts' sigh, there are risks every where. The risk of this specific thing is very low, over-all. But live hard, work hard, play hard, drink hard, and after 6 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, you do accumulate disabilities. It happens.
Nearly all vets have some disability. The longer we have served, the most boo-boos we have. Shyte happens.
You said late-20s. Lets say you enlist at 28 and that you did serve for 20 years. Poof your 48. Attend your 30th highschool re-union. Standing in a room filled with 200 people your exact same age. What percentage of those people will have obvious disabilities?
Serving in the military so no greater risk of being wheel chair bound at 48 than your high school crush who went into selling insurance.
Our youngest son is home now on medical leave from the Army. The idiots were playing tackle frisbee and they destroyed his knee. Now he has 3 months to try and heal before he must be back in uniform PT'ing. Any time you get a group of 20-somethings goofing around, there is some chance that someone will get hurt. It happens.
Do not let a fear of getting hurt, stop you from life.
I'm just trying to explore my options and be more open minded since I'm still young.
I'm in my late 20s, getting my masters in advertising but not sure if I want to do that anymore. I don't have kids and I'm not married and I don't really plan on it. I don't really know what to do with my life so I was thinking if I could lock myself to a 20 year contract or so, at least I'd have some benefits and savings by the time I'm middle aged. That'd be better than switching careers all the time and continuously starting in beginning level jobs.
If I were to join the military, what would my options be and what should I expect? I'm a woman so I don't think I would join the Navy. I don't want to go to combat either. I was thinking about the Air Force or the Army. I'm pretty fit physically. I lift weights and am stronger than most women. I speak, read, and write a foreign language but not fluently enough to translate legal documents. I have also thought about joining the CIA with my language skills but now I would obviously need to be better at it. I have also always wanted to travel a lot for work.
What are your thoughts? I'm pretty tough and I think I can handle it. I just want to make sure I'm not going to regret it or lose body parts.... I would also have about $50K in school debt. I have heard some people were able to get the military to pay it off but some people weren't able to do that. Just wondering how the people who got it paid off were able to do so? Also, what would a degree in advertising allow me to do in the military? :/ My undergrad degrees were Creative Writing and Philosophy...
Finish your masters first. Since you would have a degree you may be able to go in at a higher rank. They will do contracts for so many years of service and then when you get to a certain point and still feel the same, the you can lock in and become a lifer. Also they are changing the retirement structure so if you join before Jan 1, 2018 you will be grandfathered into the old retirement plan vs. the 401K style one (Retirement changes mean tough choices for troops ... eventually).
I do know they will test you to see what fields you are strong in. As for combat, you are a soldier first regardless of what your MOS is. They do have some who are a journalist and jobs that require a language in the military. They also train you on a language because you have to be able to read it, speak it, and write it. So if the MOS they set you up with, they may select a language that is completely different than what you do know.
How long would I be a soldier for? What happens after 4-6 years? Do I get any retirement benefits? I heard something about doing 1 year of something and then you're good for the rest of your life. I can't remember what it was exactly. And how would I be able to get my student loans excused after serving? And how long is basic training?
As for the specific branch, I would have to speak with a recruiter for that..
How long would I be a soldier for? What happens after 4-6 years? Do I get any retirement benefits? I heard something about doing 1 year of something and then you're good for the rest of your life. I can't remember what it was exactly. And how would I be able to get my student loans excused after serving? And how long is basic training?
As for the specific branch, I would have to speak with a recruiter for that..
When your enlistment (contract) comes to an end, you MIGHT be offered a new enlistment, which is a continuation period of your existing service. I say MIGHT because the services do not offer everyone a new contract.
Please pay attention to the previous posts. There is information about retirement programs forthcoming, and how military retirement system works.
Be careful of "what you hear" from people about silly things like you mention above. There are many myths and outright falsehoods perpetuated by every day citizens and even veterans, like me, who retired 2 years ago and might not know the up to minute changes in how things work. We have a saying: "Trust, but verify"
Speaking with a recruiter costs you nothing. Going online to the services' "join us" websites will allow you to learn about things like retirement, basic training, jobs, education, and loan repayment. Incentives change frequently--when I worked in Army recruiting, we saw messages from the top changing incentives several times a month sometimes. Example: today I can offer you a $2000 cash bonus to leave next month for training, 2 weeks later, I cannot give you that job because all the quotas were filled last week when everyone jumped on the quick ship bonus.
And how would I be able to get my student loans excused after serving?
Student Loan Repayment Program or College Loan Repayment Program. You need to get it, in writing, *prior* to entering, and it's only for certain jobs (MOSes). The Army, it seems unlike the other services, DOES guarantee training in a specific job prior to shipping, but the jobs that qualify for this deal are either going to be the toughest (typically unappealing jobs), or the toughest to fill (e.g. ones requiring high test scores, clearances, etc.)
The specifics differ for each service; in the Army, if you qualify, you get 1/3 of your student loan *principal* balance paid after each year of successful service, up to $65,000 total over the course of 3 years. You give up the right to participate in the GI Bill.
Talk to a recruiter for each service you are interested in. Contracts and services are dramatically different. No matter what, make sure the promises are in *writing* before you actually enlist. It's a contract; if you foolishly sign based on a verbal promise, you deserve what you get.
... The Army, it seems unlike the other services, DOES guarantee training in a specific job prior to shipping, but the jobs that qualify for this deal are either going to be the toughest (typically unappealing jobs), or the toughest to fill (e.g. ones requiring high test scores, clearances, etc.)
When I first enlisted in the US Navy, I was guaranteed a specific field of jobs.
The top two choices of guarantees that I was presented with were Nuclear Power or submarine Advanced Electronics [AEF]. The toughest jobs pay the most money
When I first enlisted in the US Navy, I was guaranteed a specific field of jobs.
The top two choices of guarantees that I was presented with were Nuclear Power or submarine Advanced Electronics [AEF]. The toughest jobs pay the most money
You're not tracking. The Army guarantees the actual job classification, not just a field. It's not 'one of these two in this field', it's 'I'm going to be a 92R [Parachute Rigger] or an 11B [Light Infantryman] or a 92F [Fuel Supply Specialist]'. It has to be available (open) at the time you enlist, and you have to qualify, but you can very specifically pinpoint your specialty.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
