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I'm considering joining the Navy, I just got interested in the Navy, so I don't know much about it yet. And would just like more information. I'm 18, female, and working on getting into tip top shape (I've always ran everyday, so I'm working on lifting). I would like to enlist ASAP after I confirm this is right for me.
How is navy boot camp and service from a woman's perspective?
Do you get to choose what you do in the Navy? Like job wise?
What got me interested in the Navy was them paying for my school, is it still 4 years of enlistment or more for this perk?
I'm considering joining the Navy, I just got interested in the Navy, so I don't know much about it yet.
Any advice?
First, perhaps you might watch this 11 minute YouTube video "Welcome to Boot Camp" made by the "U.S. Navy":
Uploaded on Feb 25, 2011 - Great Lakes, Ill., is the home to the Navy's Recruit Training Center. It is
where young men and women come in as civilians, from many different walks of life, and leave as
Sailors... ready to become part of a global force that serves on, above and under the sea. Join a
recent group of them as they arrive in Great Lakes to begin this journey.
There is a lot to learn about the U.S. Military, there are a lot of opportunities. The military is not for everyone, But the majority of veterans I have met appear to be better people...
I'm considering joining the Navy, I just got interested in the Navy, so I don't know much about it yet. And would just like more information. I'm 18, female, and working on getting into tip top shape (I've always ran everyday, so I'm working on lifting). I would like to enlist ASAP after I confirm this is right for me.
How is navy boot camp and service from a woman's perspective?
Do you get to choose what you do in the Navy? Like job wise?
What got me interested in the Navy was them paying for my school, is it still 4 years of enlistment or more for this perk?
Any advice?
Thank everyone so much for all your answers!
This is from my own personal perspective.
Yes, there are men and women in the Navy, but I viewed myself as a Sailor first. It's all about teamwork and that's what was drilled into us in boot camp. Everyone is expected to pull their own weight so to speak.
The first week of boot camp was crazy. I felt lost, sleepy all the time and questioned whether I had made a mistake by joining. Boot camp can be challenging - it was more of a mental thing for me rather than physical. But once I recognized that the recruiters were actually trying to teach me something and not take it personal, things got a lot better. That's good that you're working to stay in shape because the physical part will be less challenging. Overall, looking back, it was a really great (and fun) experience. It's all about what you make it. Boot camp gets easier as time passes, once you become acclimated to Navy life.
Poncho_NM is right in that serving made me a much better person. I grew up. It allowed me to have financial freedom. I got to travel. The list goes on.
The biggest perk for me was having made friends for life. The camaraderie among military personnel is like nothing else I've experience. You become family with one another. Even now, being retired, when I meet another service member (no matter what branch), there's an unspoken bond.
The military isn't for everyone. It requires discipline, hard work, and professionalism, but the rewards (for me) were far greater.
Good luck!
And Poncho_NM, that video brought back so many memories - good and bad!
Look up the jobs the Navy has. Take the ASVAB to help with job qualifications. Good grades in school will improve your job opportunities. Pick a job and ensure the enlistment includes your going to the school for that job. If you want career type training for civilian jobs, I suggest you look into engineering or medical field jobs. The selection of jobs in both fields are varied. When leaving the Navy in one of these fields, you are almost guaranteed to get a job with a clean military record. If you're lucky, you'll get shore duty in USA which would allow you to attend classes at the local community college or university. If at sea, depending on your job, you can take classes at sea for the basic generic college courses.
Look up the jobs the Navy has. Take the ASVAB to help with job qualifications. Good grades in school will improve your job opportunities. Pick a job and ensure the enlistment includes your going to the school for that job. If you want career type training for civilian jobs, I suggest you look into engineering or medical field jobs. The selection of jobs in both fields are varied. When leaving the Navy in one of these fields, you are almost guaranteed to get a job with a clean military record. If you're lucky, you'll get shore duty in USA which would allow you to attend classes at the local community college or university. If at sea, depending on your job, you can take classes at sea for the basic generic college courses.
Grades in school are not even looked at unless a person is going in the nuke field. It is solely based off of the ASVAB score. I've had kids that dropped out in the 10th grade and had terrible grades get a high score on the ASVAB and have a ton of jobs to pick from.
I've also had the Valedictorian of a graduating class fail the ASVAB (back when you needed a 31) and I had to turn him away. This would have been the first student out of this high school we had ever put in the Navy and we were all so excited. Unfortunately, he didn't make it.
Getting "shore duty" in the USA isn't "lucky" in my book. Why join the Navy if you want to stay right here in the USA? I always told my Future Sailors to volunteer for a ship or overseas duty and take advantage of all the great opportunities that the Navy has.
Look up the jobs the Navy has. Take the ASVAB to help with job qualifications. Good grades in school will improve your job opportunities.
No.
Quote:
... Pick a job and ensure the enlistment includes your going to the school for that job
The Navy is not going to make you a QM without training you to be a QM.
Only if you signed up to be an un-designated seaman, would you hit the fleet without schooling.
Quote:
... If you want career type training for civilian jobs, I suggest you look into engineering or medical field jobs
So glad you can predict the future.
Quote:
... The selection of jobs in both fields are varied. When leaving the Navy in one of these fields, you are almost guaranteed to get a job with a clean military record
That can be said of many Navy jobs.
Quote:
... If you're lucky, you'll get shore duty in USA which would allow you to attend classes at the local community college or university. If at sea, depending on your job, you can take classes at sea for the basic generic college courses.
All Navy schools translate to college credits. All sailors may be studying and taking CLEP tests every month for college credits. I have worked alongside many sailors who were completing college courses while we were underway.
In the last 5 or 6 years of my Active Duty career, it was becoming so you needed to complete a college course every quarter just for the eval bullet to make yourself promotable. If you refused to work on completing an additional degree, that was a clear black mark on your evals. Obtaining one degree was 'good', but you could not stop there. The idea was to continue taking courses for every set of evals.
Shore duty for your first duty station would make you less competitive in terms of gaining sea-time, and it would not be any easier to get college credit.
The Navy is not going to make you a QM without training you to be a QM.
Only if you signed up to be an un-designated seaman, would you hit the fleet without schooling.
So glad you can predict the future.
That can be said of many Navy jobs.
All Navy schools translate to college credits. All sailors may be studying and taking CLEP tests every month for college credits. I have worked alongside many sailors who were completing college courses while we were underway.
In the last 5 or 6 years of my Active Duty career, it was becoming so you needed to complete a college course every quarter just for the eval bullet to make yourself promotable. If you refused to work on completing an additional degree, that was a clear black mark on your evals. Obtaining one degree was 'good', but you could not stop there. The idea was to continue taking courses for every set of evals.
Shore duty for your first duty station would make you less competitive in terms of gaining sea-time, and it would not be any easier to get college credit.
Not every Navy ship board job will allow time for college courses when at sea. I worked in the engine room of a steam driven ship. At sea we worked a normal work day schedule in addition to standing 8 hours of watch in the engine room in 4 hour shifts. We were lucky if we got 4 to 5 hours sleep when at sea. When we had women moved onto the crew, we had the additional problem of women who hated working in the engine room and either ran away or got pregnant to avoid going out to sea in the engine room. This caused us to be short handed and have to stand 6 hours on watch, 6 hours off watch, plus a full work day in an engine room around 115 degrees with plenty of humidity. Flight deck crews at sea also could rarely get time off to take courses at sea. Only way for us to take courses is when in home port and those courses weren't offered on the ship in home port, only when at sea on deployment.
Grades in school are not even looked at unless a person is going in the nuke field. It is solely based off of the ASVAB score. I've had kids that dropped out in the 10th grade and had terrible grades get a high score on the ASVAB and have a ton of jobs to pick from.
I've also had the Valedictorian of a graduating class fail the ASVAB (back when you needed a 31) and I had to turn him away. This would have been the first student out of this high school we had ever put in the Navy and we were all so excited. Unfortunately, he didn't make it.
Getting "shore duty" in the USA isn't "lucky" in my book. Why join the Navy if you want to stay right here in the USA? I always told my Future Sailors to volunteer for a ship or overseas duty and take advantage of all the great opportunities that the Navy has.
The OP is joining the Navy for college. Getting shore duty means having access to a local college. People who want a college education can take night classes at a local university while on shore duty. If in a medical rating, shore duty is very likely and would offer better opportunity to continuing their education for a medical degree.
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