Is the military a good career? (Preferably would like to hear

I'm going to guess it's emotionally taxing because:

1. Away from home
2. Will be problematic to any kind of relationship you have, since you're away from home

But I dunno, I'm not a military dude

>>18506874
As long as you're not in a relationship and don't mind 1. being away from friends and family 2. getting deployed to some shithole and 3. getting maimed/killed in said shithole I guess it's not too bad a choice

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>>18506874
>becoming a zogbot to die for israel in the middle east
ok bub

>>18506887
>>18506905
OP here - yes I guess the family strain is true. My grandad eventually quit the navy because of the strain of being away from his family and young kids.

But that's the thing, you don't have to stay in for life. I looked it up and I think for officers in the Royal Navy (yes I'm a Britfag) the return of service is four years. That means after training you have to give four years at least. Then you can leave.

As for the threat to life, everything in life is inherently risky. It might be a risk worth taking though, given the benefits of getting to lead an active lifestyle, going around the world, learning discipline, having camaraderie, having the chance to work out and get fit as part of your job, etc.

Also of course, threat to life highly depends on what sort of position you do. I am personally thinking of the navy. Yes there's still a risk to life in the navy - the Falklands War shows that. But I think it's probably lower than serving on the front lines in the army.

>>18506917
So do you just sit at home and whinge about people who are actually doing things with their lives?

>>18506921
>So do you just sit at home and whinge about people who are actually doing things with their lives?

Did I ever say that you should sit at home? Dying for Israel is not worth it. Do anything else.

>>18506921
You seem to have offered it some thought and still see the military as a viable option. If I'm right, you should do it - nothing in my view would be worse than sitting in some old folks home wondering what XYZ would have been like. I have a few regrets on that account myself, and I just know I'll be kicking my own ass once i sit trapped in a worn down body

>>18506930
As I said I'm British. Our military doesn't spend a huge amount of its time (if any) defending Israel (pretty sure Israel has its own very well funded military?)

The British military serves British interests.

It's just really not an argument that you're posing. You might have an argument if you said "being in the military means you have to follow orders". That's true, that's definitely a cost of joining the military. The only question is if the benefits outweigh that cost.

I think the military is certainly tough. I have seen some people on 4chan who have clearly been chewed up and spit out by the military. They say how shit it is. But then some people make a great success of it, or have a great time doing it.

>>18506979
I should probably at least go to the career centre I guess, to see what they say.

>>18506991
Surely won't hurt being informed .. best of luck whatever you decide to do OP!

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US Army fag here

How old are you OP? How well do you get along with men, do you have a lot of guy friends? Are you competitive? Are you a leader? Do you enjoy physical training? Are you incredibly passionate about serving your country? Can you be disciplined? Are you mentally tough?

Those are just base line questions for any job in any branch, then you have to pick a specific job, then there's more you have to ask yourself. The military is not for everyone, but if you're the right person it could be the best choice you ever make in your life.

>>18506991

Do you think you can handle the military?. What's the toughest thing you've ever been though?. Physically and then also mentally?.

>>18507000

>do you have a lot of guy friends? Are you competitive? Are you a leader? Do you enjoy physical training? Are you incredibly passionate about serving your country? Can you be disciplined? Are you mentally tough?

Nice trips, and not sure if your US military experience applies to him since he's British I think? but to any Americans here, you don't have to be any of that to be a soldier (not a good soldier anyways). The military for one just needs soldiers to do their time whether t hey're shitbags or not and they'll accept you as long as you don't fuck up TOOOO GODDAMN BAD.

Obviously it's better if you have the qualities you asked about but come on. Most people at the age you go (18-20-something) still are immature as fuck and silly clowns. I had good work ethic and tried but I had a lot of faults and did all right in the military. Others could too.

>>18506874
Yes. You stay in shape, you get paid, you have zero expenses, and you get to kill people. Then, if you survive, you get free college and the American people suck you dick (sometimes literally) for being a veteran. It's a win all around unless you get maimed/killed.

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>>18507008
>Obviously it's better if you have the qualities you asked about but come on. Most people at the age you go (18-20-something) still are immature as fuck and silly clowns

Sure, you can go in and shitbag it up and skate by doing the bare minimal. Hate your MOS, have all your battle buddies hate you and either drop out after your first contract or get kicked out. OP asked about making the military his career - pension and 20 years type deal, and from what he was hinting he even wants to go the commissioned route. You can't do all that being a dickhead private your whole career.

>>18506874
I'll say it's a pretty good deal if you have no plans for your future

>>18506874
The military is a good career, but it is a costly one. It's a lot of work for not phenomenal pay, and sometimes there is a lot of traveling. That being said, you'll get to the top of many hiring lists once your service is completed, and you'll probably get whatever college loan you want (if it's not just granted to you) afterwards.

Out of all possible careers, it's not the one I would go with, but it does seem like a very safe bet in an uncertain economy. I don't know anyone who isn't a.) a hur dur grunt type, or b.) dishonorably discharged, who didn't come back and live a decent life: wife, kids, retirement, comfortably sized home, good career opportunities...

>>18507017

Well, If he's already got those qualities then he has an opportunity to make something of himself in the military. Must be nice to know you're going to a military where you aren't guaranteed to go to war.

>>18507024
A successful military career does also seem to cure people of their fuckboisms and laziness. If you don't see combat and get PTSD or something, you'll probably come back with a better temper and a more cooperative personality.

>>18507029

I have to add that a lot of it is due to gaining knowledge from so many people.

Everyone I met and worked under taught me something. It was like I got passed around by a bunch of fathers. They yell at you and curse and shit and treat you like family because that's basically what you guys are. You don't have a choice but to learn shit. Instead of spending time in the civilian world where there is no guarantee you will learn anything the military MAKES you learn shit. It's adult schooling only in the values the military wants you to go through.

I tell my wife all the time what the military wanted us to get good at it taught us to get good at. They wanted me to know how to take pain, I now do that, the military wanted me to pay attention to my fucking surroundings at all times, I do that (and it sucks), they wanted me to be able to operate heavy machinery, I can do that.

Military didn't give a fuck if we knew how to cook so I still can't cook for shit, they always gave us chow.

>>18507000
26. Yes I have guy friends. Also getting into physical training is what made me think about the military.

Although I must admit - I've now been jobless for a while. I quit my last job because I was thinking about the military, or some other options. But I haven't taken them yet.

So they might say to me "nah you've been jobless too long, ya shit." Or they might say "if you really prove yourself to us we might let you in".

Also yeah it's the Royal Navy I'm thinking about by the way. Specifically either Logistics Officer (although that does sound a bit dry), or Warfare Specialist (which isn't an officer position, but Warfare sounds more interesting, and potentially you can rise up to become an officer). Although I guess I could say fuck it and go for Army if I talk to them about it.

>>18507013
That's pretty much been my thought process, although I know that some vets have a tough time, but yeah there's so many charities these days for vets (in the UK we have Help for Heroes which is one of the main ones)

Eh

>>18507017
OP here, I mean I dunno about career - my thought process is that if I hate it then I could leave. I looked it up and i think you have to give 4 years of service in return for your training. My grandad was in the navy for maybe 5-10 years (not sure exactly how long), then he left because of the family pressures, and he went into something else.

>>18507024
I think the pay sounds alright. I mean if I went to a desk job I might get better pay, but then desk jobs are boring and shitty.

Yeah I don't just want to be a grunt. I was thinking of Royal Navy, and I'm looking at Logistics Officer or Warfare Specialist - the former might be pretty dry just dealing with supplies. The latter seems far more interesting, although it's not an officer position. But you can rise up to become an officer.

>>18507025
The Royal Navy is being deployed in the Middle East a fair bit these days I think. But yeah, not full out war.

>>18507036
I'm not in the military, but I 90% of what I eat is chow. It saves money and time. That's a respectable choice.

Occasionally I'll go to Epicurious or Jaime Oliver on Youtube, and at dinner everyone is like, "Damn this is hella tight cooking my man." I just leave that stuff to the experts and follow their instructions.

>Paying attention to your surroundings at all times (and it sucks)
Why does it suck?

>>18507036
>Instead of spending time in the civilian world where there is no guarantee you will learn anything the military MAKES you learn shit. It's adult schooling only in the values the military wants you to go through.
OP here, that's what I was thinking. In the desk job I was doing (web development by the way - yeah I wasn't really a fan of it. So I quit. Which was probably dumb, I should have had something lined up, but hey, hindsight's a great thing), I thought I'm never going to learn the skills I want to learn in life. Never going to grow as a person, never going to grow my character.

>the military wanted me to pay attention to my fucking surroundings at all times, I do that (and it sucks)
Like you find yourself being extra-vigilant in every day life? Also is this army or navy or air force you were in?

>>18507091

>Why does it suck?

I'm always paranoid. I think it was the year in Iraq that did it. Too many patrols. Every day we'd go out and drive a long ass road waiting for bombs to go off.

I don't know if that's why but I always feel like someone is going to fuck my shit up. I feel like my next door neighbor is going to sneak up to me and kill me because I did something to piss him off. I feel like someone at work is going to fuck me up because of something I said to them to piss them off so I'm always waiting and expecting something.

>>18507082
>the pay sounds alright
>desk job better pay
personally I would rather just go to school for finance and then listen to Jay-Z or something but to each their own

the best part is that it's guaranteed work. there's no like "oh man is anyone in the military gonna hire me this month"

>you can rise up to become an officer
from an outsiders perspective that is usually the case for those who work for it. officers usually come home and get succed for life too, so that's good

>>18507101

>the best part is that it's guaranteed work

Might work too well. US military recruiters are like motherfucking ticks. As soon as you mention to them there's a 1% chance you're considering possibly thinking about maybe going in they're on your ass and you can't shake them. Don't go near them unless you want them to harass you about joining.

>>18507096

>Also is this army or navy or air force you were in?

I was in the ARMY

>>18507098
>I'm always paranoid. I think it was the year in Iraq that did it. Too many patrols. Every day we'd go out and drive a long ass road waiting for bombs to go off.
>I don't know if that's why but I always feel like someone is going to fuck my shit up. I feel like my next door neighbor is going to sneak up to me and kill me because I did something to piss him off. I feel like someone at work is going to fuck me up because of something I said to them to piss them off so I'm always waiting and expecting something.
That sounds shit. Sorry to hear it man. Are there any vets charities in the US you could go to? I always read stuff about vets going to a charity we have in the UK, Help for Heroes, for this sort of stuff. Yeah obviously going to that sort of thing you might think "no I can deal with it" but could help couldn't it.

>>18507098
I have mild PTSD not from the military. It does suck. You struck a chord with that neighbor thing. I have this one angsty friend...between the bullshit he says and this Weiss Market Shooting that happened recently, I'm afraid that one day is tupla is gonna tell him to start killing people.

Fears like that one in particular are even worse than "crazy" unfounded ones because it's hard to dismiss them, if there's a shred of truth to them. You probably know what I mean.

One thing that is good about being hypervigilant though is that it makes you quick witted in conversation and first to respond to things that are going on. That part is not so bad.

I'm gonna try EMT, where that kind of quick thinking is probably necessary for the job, saves peoples lives etc. Do you think I'll fuck myself up worse with some of the dead people and shit?

>>18507116

I went to a psychologist for a while (couple months) because my wife wanted me to get help and I was drinking a bit. She was nice but I mean, she was telling me shit that just wasn't helping. First off she wanted me to quit drinking and I get that. I know I could use the help (I'm not drinking so much anymore) but that's not it. A lot of people say the same shit. Stop drinking. Even when I don't drink this is how I feel and think. Sober I'm fucked up. They still don't get it. Besides that I think she got the vibe that I was trying to bullshit my way out of getting paid by blaming it on PTSD or something. Not sure but that's what I felt she thought. Either way I didn't really give a fuck. I went so my wife could get off my case. People don't understand though but what can you do.

>>18507120

>Do you think I'll fuck myself up worse with some of the dead people and shit?

You might get messed up seeing dead bodies. How sensitive are you to stuff like that?. Have you ever passed out at the sight of blood?.

OP here - gonna use a tripcode so I don't keep saying that I'm OP

>>18507101
>personally I would rather just go to school for finance and then listen to Jay-Z or something but to each their own
Y'know that's another thought I've been having, learn economics or something. I read something recently that said economics grads earn a lot of money.

I went to uni, I got a humanities degree. Not particularly useful really. So yeah, then I did a web dev job (I had some knowledge of it). Quit that because I found it really dry and shit. But in retrospect I should have lined something else up first. Because now I've been unemployed for... well I may as well admit it, 2 fucking years.

>the best part is that it's guaranteed work. there's no like "oh man is anyone in the military gonna hire me this month"
You mean finance is guaranteed work? How is the military *not* guaranteed work? At the moment for the British military, they're lacking people and they're putting loads of adverts on the TV to recruit people. And I doubt they will ever bin you out as part of any lay-offs. We're rebuilding right now. So I would say it is a pretty secure job.

>from an outsiders perspective that is usually the case for those who work for it. officers usually come home and get succed for life too, so that's good
Obviously going in straight as an officer means better pay, but I'm too old for the Warfare Officer position with the Royal Navy (unfortunately). That's what I'd love to do. But I'm too old. So I could do Logistics Officer (but that sounds sort of dry just handling supplies and stuff) or Warfare Specialist (non-officer, but sounds like a more interesting branch to be a part of).

>>18507114
Fair.

>>18507128
>how do you do with dead bodies
dead bodies are mostly just gross. people actively passing away might be another thing, but the job is to prevent that from happening so.

I know this one guy who saved a person by stuffing his thumb in their open brainhole. Maybe EMT is a stupid thing to become involved with. I'm just so bored by like...Wonderwoman and OKCupid and 4chan.

>>18507139

Are you in the U.S.?. You could consider the reserves. Or National Guard.

Military was tough. You see tough times, stressful times. I think I got burnt out with my experience. One at that stage in my life I gave my 120 percent for everything. I didn't know how bad that is for the military. I mean I didn't know how to NOT give my all. I should have given my 90% or something so I could relax a bit but I burned my fucking brain and body out and wanted out after my first enlistment. If I knew what I knew now I wouldn't have done it that way. I felt sorry for the people who signed up for the 6 year contract at the first go. I only did three year. The moment I hit basic training I was like "I fucked up". It's an extreme lifestyle sometimes and honestly if they made it easy to quit then I probably would have multiple times.

I swear now I appreciate that I can quit a job at any point because in the military it's not really like that.

>>18507154
I looked into the national guard when I was 12 but I have been in mental hospitals and have really strong astigmatism

>>18507120
>one day is tupla is gonna tell him to start killing people.
What is "tupla", or is that a typo for something else?

>>18507128
I'm guessing that psych didn't have any military experience, in which case what about a vets charity? As I say in Britain we've got Help for Heroes and I think they're good for that sort of thing. Although I'm sure some psychs just happen to be good, and some just happen to be not so great. Also I had some counselling at one point for trivial shit and obviously it's true that they don't solve everything (for me I felt some of it was just navel-contemplating crap)

But I would have thought that for military-related PTSD, especially since you've served your country, there must be a place where you can say "come on you fucks give me some help, I served my fucking country and I deserve it"

>>18507162
tulpa is some instance of mystic buddhists coming up with a fancy word for imaginary friend.

these people get so socially isolated that they form imaginary friends and then try to overly legitimize it by calling it a tulpa. they'll eventually start to insist that their tulpas are real living things.

>>18507177
Ah. Interesting.

Shameless bump

Shameless bump again

>>18506874
are you canadian? if you are do research into the canadian coast guard - they pay you 50k a year for every year of training (4 years) however after training you are obligated to stay in service for 4 years following

>>18506991
Not him, and I don't agree with what he said but you do have to bear in mind that the UK did go to war in Iraq. That was an incredibly pointless and wasteful war that accomplished less than nothing. Would you be able to kill even if you were in a ridiculous war you opposed?

Go to school. Fuck the military. I did 4 years during peacetime, got out, and never looked back. Unless you TRULY believe the "freedom isn't free" bullshit you will be no better than a mercenary.

>>18506874
Just become a government civilian for the military.

CWS

>>18508114
Good idea. If you are young and have been able to stay out of trouble, getting cleared should be a breeze, as you have no history.

>>18506874
Not military but from a military family and have had military roommates.

It depends on what you get for work. My old roommate swears by his life its an honourable, heroic, rewarding career and believes there should be a draft, because its the only way faggots learn to be a man.

He served in Afghanistan. He never ever saw combat.


Then my other roommate who also served doesnt ever talk about it, changes the subject when it comes uo, and his life was in the toilet for 10 years after coming back.


Grandfather was known for beating the piss out of anyone who had war stories because talking highly of the military means "you werent really there." brother in law served as a high ranking officer, saw combat, he came out perfectly fine (seemingly) but strongly discourages younger people from joining and is intensely anti-war....

Had another buddy come back from overseas, havent heard a word about his time there and he immediately changed careers and became an alcoholic...

See the pattern here?

>>18508152
I recently looked up this little twat I was in tech school with who got kicked out before we finished training ( the little dink went tooling around in his Plymouth duster with a bottle of Everclear, some Mountain Dew, and a pack of Marlboro Reds (can you guess what happened? Little twat set his crotch on fire while he was driving).

Anyway, we went and visited him in the hospital and said the usual "tough luck, see you around" bit. Anyway, I found this idiot on Facebook recently and trolled his page....you never have seen so much rah-rah 'Murica!" "Freedom ain't free!", "Support our Troops" nonsense on one page! What a loser.

If you really are hellbent on joining the service. Get an MOS (job) that can translate to civilian life.
Be an electrician or something.
They'll train you, you get paid for it and then you can get a job when you come back.

>>18508233
Excellent advice. Wish I had followed it. My specialty was peculiar to the military and the tech was pretty much obsolete when I trained ....should have been an electrician.

But seriously, if possible, avoid military service. In the old days, your odds of getting killed in combat, etc, were pretty good. Nowadays, the medical tech and PPE, body armor, etc, are so fucking good you have fantastic chance of coming home PTSD shocked, brain damaged, and/or horribly maimed.. .BUT ALIVE. lemme tell you. Some things are worse than coming home in a casket. Coming home a limbless vegetable would be light years worse.

OP I hope you're still here because I have several family members in the military and can give you some insight.


1. Military is often a family operation. People join because their parent(s) were in the military and they're used to the lifestyle.

2. Military is often a final solution. People join because they have nowhere else to go. They're too stupid or unmotivated to be successful at anything else in life.

3. Military is often a bargain. People join because the military offered to pay for their education. They get their education, do their time, and get out. If they find they like the lifestyle, they stick around. Some become lifers, and some just take an extra 10 years before they decide they're sick of it.

4. Military is often a looney bin. People join because they want to kill, destroy, fight, or claim glory.

5. Military is a brotherhood, a bureaucracy, and a business. If you can't fit in with the others, you won't be happy. If you can't settle for having (in the grand scheme of things) very little control over the outcome of your work, you won't be happy. If you can't stand being somebody's slave, you won't be happy. If you don't agree with the overall 'direction' of the military (and the certainty that you cannot now, nor will you ever be able to, have any impact on that direction), you won't be happy.

>>18506874
>current active duty
It's not too terribly bad, but you must understand it's a lot of what you make of your time while here and what your job is. You don't HAVE to sign up for infantry contracts or anything. The military (depending on what branch you join), actually has a lot to offer to us now. I'm talking decent retirement packages, even for us lower level enlisted. Hell they got me on a Roth IRA and another 401K type program called the TSP. Ever since boot they've been taking out a small amount of my money that I selected and they put it in those accounts.

IF you do happen to choose a combat MOS you can have more money options such as your deployment money which includes your hazard pay (extra bucks!!). There's not much happening in the world combat wise where we have a major force on the ground, however there are still units (cough cough) deploying to the middle east as like a quick response force and training.

Honestly, it's not too bad, just being away from home is killer for me personally. I miss my fiance, my parents, my friends and family, all that shit. Just take that into consideration.