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I am joining some form of military in the near future however I can't decide on what branch or job to choose from. I've narrowed it down to the Army and Navy. I have talked to former vets and they all say to choose something that will transfer to the civilian world. I was thinking about IT in the Navy but I'm not sure what the course work is like and if there is a lot of math please let me know, thats my achilles heel. I also feel like that rating would get boring, I'm not really into combat ratings or mos bc I hear it burns you out over time. I enjoy working with my hands and staying active, indoor/outdoor doesnt matter to me. I am open to suggestions so please let me know what you all do and help me decide on a career path.
Sounds like you want to do IT work? Do you want to work with computer systems or the equipment that moves all the data called transport?
In the Navy the IT rate handles all the computer desk top support and setting up the comm links. They also work on the servers on computer system admin.
ET's and CTM's work on the equipment that moves the data from point A to B, this includes routers, switches, telecomm multiplexors, satcomm wide-ban, optical equipment.
ET's also work on air search and sea search radar gear.
CTM's work on a bunch of spy stuff for the NSA, a lot of their systems are classified.
CTN's in the Navy are hackers...
Even though you didn't mention the Air Force they have a couple of excellent career fields. Mainly the 3d1x2 field. They deal mostly with routers, switches and optical transport equipment.
All the comm stuff ET's, CTM's, and the Air force cyber transport work on pays good money on the outside world. The Navy IT rate is hit or miss on their outside job prospects, I haven't run into a lot of them in telecomm. You can count on making about mid 50's starting when you get out to topping out in the low 100's before you hit management. Also you can transition into a GS job very easily in these fields, as all will get Top Secret clearances.
I firmly believe that you need to primarily restrict your lob search to the jobs that the ASVAB says you can do.
I worked with a lot of guys who aced the ASVAB. I missed it by one, so I got a bit of ribbing for that. If you can ace the ASVAB, then I recommend that you consider going nuke.
The Nuclear Power field pays pretty good in the US Navy, and it pays fairly well on the outside.
There are some, whose military career income was mostly just base-pay. High tech ratings look at a lot more than just base-pay.
Corpsman/medic, surgical assistant (just about anything health care) truck driver, mechanic, etc. As noted above, take the ASVAB and see where that puts you. There are a lot of jobs from low tech to high tech that transition to civilian employment and pay varying amounts of money in the civilian world. If you can get a good technical school, go for it.
I am joining some form of military in the near future however I can't decide on what branch or job to choose from. I've narrowed it down to the Army and Navy. I have talked to former vets and they all say to choose something that will transfer to the civilian world. I was thinking about IT in the Navy but I'm not sure what the course work is like and if there is a lot of math please let me know, thats my achilles heel. I also feel like that rating would get boring, I'm not really into combat ratings or mos bc I hear it burns you out over time. I enjoy working with my hands and staying active, indoor/outdoor doesnt matter to me. I am open to suggestions so please let me know what you all do and help me decide on a career path.
My husband is an IT in the Navy. He already had a bachelor's degree when he enlisted (yes, he enlisted post-college - and, actually, post-several years of civilian work; no, he did not seek an officer's commission), but his degree was in English. He is by no means "a math guy." He did complete a master's in information systems management, but again, light on the math. When he was in the process of enlisting, and talking ratings, the conversation went like this..."So, you've been working as a teacher?" "Yes." "So, you've probably used computers at the school." "Yes." "Great, because we need ITs right now, sounds like a good fit."
He's now a CPO, and as happens sometimes with Chiefs, his rating really doesn't matter as much anymore in regard to what the bulk of his work is, since he got his anchors. He's a Naval Military Training Instructor, and his day-to-day work rarely even involves IT work anymore...it's all leadership, training, and mentoring of new sailors. He's always been more interested in instructing than he has been in information systems (he was, after all, a teacher in the civilian world). Right now, he's a Chief first, an IT second. He has no plans to retire in the near future, but when he does, he's not ruled out being involved in JROTC, etc. He's def. not interested in doing IT work outside of the Navy, given that he doesn't do all that much with it in the Navy, currently, even though it's his rating.
He did do a tour in Iraq, where he manned a comms box, but was generally safe doing that. He did funeral honors duties for several years when he got back, and was always quick to note that he was far more likely to get killed while driving on the highway to do funerals in the middle of the U.S. than he was ever likely to get killed in Iraq.
I spent 26 years on active duty in the Navy and my son is currently on active duty as an IT and has been in for 2 years. The A School (that is what the Navy calls the initial school to teach you your job) is challenging. While my son didn't have any trouble with the course he did lose MANY classmate that were dropped from the IT program and had to pick other rates in the Navy because they couldn't pass the certification tests. You have to get A+ certified (two different certification test are required) and the certification tests were challenging.
You do know that the Navy IT rate has two parts, computers and communications. You can be working on the computes or you can be working on the radios that allow the ship to get internet, phones, data, etc.
Navy.. but you need to be prepared for many schools. My Bro was a SAR. ( Sea and Air Rescue) I was Army. Good Luck!
SAR stands for Search and Rescue.
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