Garrett Parker 7406830 <div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Hello all,<br /><br />I wanted to get some opinions from outside of my family on my current situation. I am considering leaving my career to enlist in active duty in the Army. I am currently 20 years old working in IT as a field engineer. I find it interesting and it could be a very rewarding career in the future, but I am torn because of how much I have always wanted to enlist. I want to take an option 40 as either a 68W, 19D, or 11B. I know I may get some shit for wanting to be in a combat MOS since I have knowledge in IT, but combat roles have always been the most interesting careers to me. Growing up would always tell my pops I wanted to be a ranger haha.<br /><br />Would this be a risky decision for the future with the current state of the path I want to take? I don&#39;t want to be years down the road with regret and what-if&#39;s. Any feedback is appreciated, thank you. 2021-12-06T05:24:50-05:00 Garrett Parker 7406830

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Hello all,<br /><br />I wanted to get some opinions from outside of my family on my current situation. I am considering leaving my career to enlist in active duty in the Army. I am currently 20 years old working in IT as a field engineer. I find it interesting and it could be a very rewarding career in the future, but I am torn because of how much I have always wanted to enlist. I want to take an option 40 as either a 68W, 19D, or 11B. I know I may get some shit for wanting to be in a combat MOS since I have knowledge in IT, but combat roles have always been the most interesting careers to me. Growing up would always tell my pops I wanted to be a ranger haha.<br /><br />Would this be a risky decision for the future with the current state of the path I want to take? I don&#39;t want to be years down the road with regret and what-if&#39;s. Any feedback is appreciated, thank you.

2021-12-06T05:24:50-05:00 2021-12-06T05:24:50-05:00 CPT Lawrence Cable 7406844

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Well, I was 27 with a College Degree and volunteered Infantry twice, first enlisted and the when I Commissioned. Let me beat the good SFC Boyd to the punch (yes, he convinced me), you do not need an Option 40 to get into the Ranger Regiment. Option 40 simply gives you the chance to go to selection/RASP and if you don&#39;t make it, you are needs of the Army AND you don&#39;t have a slot for Airborne School. A route that gives you more control over your career is to enlist with an Airborne option, then volunteer at OSUT/Airborne or wait until you hit your unit. If you wash out of RASP, and the attrition rate is horrible, you are Airborne and either return to your initial unit or get assigned to one. <br />If you go through the numerous threads on this site, you will notice that the fact that the Infantry is the largest branch in the Army and has the best promotion opportunity and a surprisingly large number of Career paths. I don&#39;t regret any of my Infantry time, even though I ended up as an Engineer Officer that last half of my career . At some point when you are over 30, Light Infantry and Air Assault units start losing their charm and you start looking of a Career that involves having a vehicle.

2021-12-06T05:53:41-05:00 2021-12-06T05:53:41-05:00 SGT Private RallyPoint Member 7406854

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>If you have any inclination toward the medical field I would definitely recommend getting a contract for medic, much better career path, in or out.<br /><br />You will likely be a straight up enlistment, under Enlistment Program 9A, found in Chapter 9, Section II of AR 601-210, and eligible for Option 3 (Guaranteed Training) and Option 4 (Airborne Training). If you make through your guaranteed training of choice and into Airborne Training, you can then volunteer for Rangers if you wish. This is the best route.

2021-12-06T06:15:16-05:00 2021-12-06T06:15:16-05:00 SSgt Christophe Murphy 7407087

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Everybody wants to join up and punch a nazi or (insert bad guy here). It is good vs evil and people still resonate with that. It&#39;s not surprising anyone feels like that. <br /><br />You aren&#39;t the first or last person to enlist at 20. It happens all the time. <br /><br />If you want to scratch that itch and still keep a foot in the civilian world and be able to continue adding to your civilian creds you can always enlist in the reserves/guard. I know tons of professionals who jumped into that. I went through Infantry Training with a 35 year old orthodontist who enlisted into th reserves later in life because it was something he always wanted to do.

2021-12-06T08:44:43-05:00 2021-12-06T08:44:43-05:00 SFC Michael Hasbun 7407089

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Please don&#39;t waste your time with the combat arms MOS&#39;s. I know they sound neat and nifty, and the movies make them seem interesting, but you&#39;re not going to find any Welders, Engineers, Topographical Analysts or IT guys on the streets. Meanwhile, homeless shelters across the country have more blue cords than dirty socks in them.<br />It&#39;s a waste of talent, and now that the wars are ramping down, it&#39;s a good way to spend 4 years mowing lawns, scrubbing floors, painting rocks, and doing nothing worth mentioning for an entire enlistment.

2021-12-06T08:45:40-05:00 2021-12-06T08:45:40-05:00 SFC Ralph E Kelley 7407165

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Why not bring your civilian career to the US Space Force?

2021-12-06T09:45:57-05:00 2021-12-06T09:45:57-05:00 SGT Erica Smith 7407241

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Do you like cutting grass, mopping floors, and cleaning toilets? That’s what you will be doing in those MOS choices most of the time. Medics, unless they are in the hospital or clinic are doing details like everyone else. 11B and 19D are always doing “area beautification” when not in the field or actively training. Which is a lot. We aren’t a military at war anymore. You aren’t going to be out there doing cool stuff like the early 2000s. So, if removing weeds from a motor pool until 2100 on a Tuesday sounds like fun for you, totally pick one of those three. If not, do just about anything else.

2021-12-06T10:36:20-05:00 2021-12-06T10:36:20-05:00 SFC William Linnell 7407405

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>WHAT?!? NOT BE A TANKER??!! There is something very wrong with you. As none of those will help you with your IT experience. Though you are ahead of the game in learning tech and using it in the field. One thing, go become a medic. make sure MEPS has the jump school in your contract after AIT. Once complete, when you get to your duty station, request placement for Ranger school or have in your contract pin point assignment in Ranger BN&#39;s. As a medic in a Ranger unit, you should get a slot for Ranger school. IF you make it and pass, Ranger you are and work with teams. If your wanting more excitement, then request to go to SF training and make selection. Then its ton of training and be placed on a team as their medic. We all love our medic or affectionally called &quot;Doc&quot;.<br /><br />I won&#39;t blow smoke up your ass. In garrison, life can suck. There is a thing called &quot;RED CYCLE&quot; where you do all these odd jobs. Mowing grass, pulling weeds, vehicle maintenance, CQ (sucks). I haven&#39;t seen anyone painting rocks since 2002 as it was deemed &quot;cruel and unusual&quot; punishment and hazing. Just like dropping Soldiers for push ups. The Army life is too easy. Soldiers that piss n moan about everything most often are in trouble or lazy bc they had to clean up their shitty looking room and bathroom. Common skills.<br /><br />I would also tell you what no one else has, you score high on the ASVAB with a high GT and ST score it opens many doors for you. Even possibly a signing bonus on a certain MOS. Qualify you for the College fund and the GI Bill. While active take college courses which one didn&#39;t have to pay for the last time I checked. So you could earn yourself a BA working up to your Masters, or get out after your first enlistment to go to college and have it paid for. Check into it. Good luck.

2021-12-06T12:09:31-05:00 2021-12-06T12:09:31-05:00 Lt Col Jim Coe 7407615

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Before you go Army, talk to recruiters from Air Force/Space Force, Navy, and Marines. Look at offers from all Services to see which match your short-term and long term life goals. After that if you want to go Army combat arms, then go for it! Check each Service web site to confirm requirements to enlist. There are age restrictions.<br /><br />BTW if you have a bachelors degree, look at becoming an officer instead of enlisted.

2021-12-06T14:40:15-05:00 2021-12-06T14:40:15-05:00 SMSgt Bob Wilson 7407887

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Should you have a &quot;4 year degree&quot; your starting salary for an Officer [O1] would be $40,632, plus housing allowance of $20,052. Add to that a food allowance of $3195 for an annual salary of $63,878 plus free medical for you. Now if married your housing allowance goes up. Depending on where you are stationed Cost-of-Living allowance could &quot;kick-in&quot;. So, what are you making now, do you want to move every 3-4 years [at government expense], &quot;see the world&quot;, hopefully progress in rank, and have most of your needs paid by Uncle Sam. Now starting out as an enlisted is DIFFERENT; you start out making $19,800 annually. Good Luck with your decision.

2021-12-06T18:33:33-05:00 2021-12-06T18:33:33-05:00 1SG Henry McDonald 7408072

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I don’t think it would be risky. Of course you will fall behind as far as keeping up with the trends in your civilian career. Your military experience if you choose one of the MOS’s you identified may well take you into a new career path. I think you are young enough that you have many options open to you. The enlistment and military experience will be good for you. I would recommend that you do it.

2021-12-06T20:47:57-05:00 2021-12-06T20:47:57-05:00 SPC Erich Guenther 7408222

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Well first, nobody cares what your former civilian occupation was once you enlist. So you can drop that worry by the wayside. Second your young enough to take the detour if you want with no real harm to your IT career, I would keep the first enlistment as short as possible though. If they still offer it enlist for three years. Which will give you the option to move back into IT if you want if you do not like it. I broke off from my IT Consulting career for 18 months to start and run my own business for a while. It was looked at as a net plus for the next firm that hired me. I owned and was working as a Manager for a Charleys Grilled Steaks Franchise soooo, completely unrelated to IT for 18 months. You can pull off 3 years because you will retain some of what you know now in IT over that 3 year timeframe. Remember that when you enter again into the IT field beggars can&#39;t be choosers and you shouldn&#39;t hold out more than 4-5 months for that dream offer.<br /><br />Now where your going to run into a problem with the break in IT is explaining the radical change from IT to Soldier and then back to IT again. You can do it if your clever enough and basically lay it out as you did above. Say that you had initial second thoughts about not trying this pathway first prior to Field Engineer but now that you have tried and put it behind you that your ready to move on after deciding a career in Infantry wasn&#39;t for you. Thats how I would do it if you decide that it is not for you. Be true to your feelings though......don&#39;t make up a story for a civilian IT recruiter because most have pretty good BS meters. So having said all the above in summary. Your age makes this doable and recoverable if you decide to go back to IT so your not wasting anything here. I did my foray when I was in my early 50&#39;s and nobody really cared that I had an 18 month gap because IT is such an in demand field.<br /><br />Now that I covered your concerns, having been Infantry before and spoken online with a lot of folks that did what your attempting to do. One was an assistant prosecutor in a DA&#39;s office. Can you see that? Getting a law degree, job in a DA&#39;s office then giving it up to enlist Infantry? Well it happened. He was not happy with the choice and ETS&#39;d in three years back to civilian. So do know what his biggest complaint was? He thought Infantry was hooah 24 by 7 and it isn&#39;t. In fact he was surprised that even with all thme wars going on, they made him cut the grass and pick up trash on the base he was on because believe it or not that is how military bases stay well kept and clean. They do not hire contractors to do that, they have the Infantry do it in their off training cycle. <br /><br />Now initially your first few iterations the Infantry training is hooah because you get to fire live rounds, throw live grenades, go out on patrols and engage in war battles at 2-3 in the morning in addition to lots of outdoor camping. However, the Army trains iteratively meaning that you get trained in the same stuff, over and over and over again until you do not even think about it. Your reactions are all automatic and instinctive. So what I am getting to here is at some point it becomes mundane and just boring. Now I heard Special Forces is different in that they keep variety so do Rangers to some extent. So perhaps you will find more satisfaction in those MOS. But also keep in mind to be a RANGER or SPECIAL FORCES means you have to be in kick azz physical shape and that means a LOT of running to stay in shape and a lot of serious physical training. Including spending some of your personal time to do the same because not always on duty do they do PT. Eventually you get used to the PT and it becomes second nature but it takes time comming from a sedentary job like you are. <br /><br />So hopefully that little input has helped, Good Luck in whatever you decide.

2021-12-06T23:01:10-05:00 2021-12-06T23:01:10-05:00 MSG Private RallyPoint Member 7408264

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Regardless of what anyone says...and I mean ANYONE....at the end of the day, you have to do what you feel is right. If you want to step away from IT and do field shit....then step away from IT and do field shit. And, if it is high speed field shit you wanna do....who am I to tell you no. You do you, boo. You do you. I won&#39;t judge you badly.

2021-12-06T23:57:41-05:00 2021-12-06T23:57:41-05:00 SSG Private RallyPoint Member 7408639

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Wow... a lot of hate for the combat arms in this thread... LOL... However, they are all right. I love being a 12B and I was a 19D prior, however, neither did anything for my civilian career. I picked those jobs cause I wanted to be hooah, well, now I am just hurt... LOL. Pick a job you like, if you are great at IT there is a huge need for that and you will excel in your role and could move up quicker than your peers. Do not do option 40, get airborne and then volunteer for Ranger once you are at your AIT. You civilian experience will mean nothing on paper, but your prior knowledge will make you stand out. Be the best at what you do. Best of luck!

2021-12-07T08:18:37-05:00 2021-12-07T08:18:37-05:00 SFC Casey O'Mally 7409055

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I don&#39;t think there are big &quot;what-if&quot; risks. When you talk to old folks they almost universally discuss the regrets of things they DIDN&#39;T do rather than the regrets of things they DID do. If you want to go hooah hooah, go for it.<br /><br />But, if your goal is to do the Army for some time, be that 3 years or 30, and then go BACK into IT, there is a pretty major risk of remaining relevant. IT moves FAST. If you do not maintain and continuously update yourself in the IT world, you will leave the Army completely out of synch and starting off barely above scratch - if not starting from scratch completely. If you take the time and effort to maintain your certs, keep up with developments, and gain knowledge - which can be difficult to find the time for, but not impossible - then this can be mitigated.<br /><br />Ultimately, take a look at where you dream of being in 5, 10, and 30 years. Then take steps in that direction.

2021-12-07T13:38:12-05:00 2021-12-07T13:38:12-05:00 SSG Alan Pelletier 7409215

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>The fact you&#39;re considering the military is an answer already!<br />Do it you&#39;ll never look at life through the same boring lens again.

2021-12-07T16:10:12-05:00 2021-12-07T16:10:12-05:00 SSG George Holtje 7409593

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>It&#39;s always risky but this is the time in your life to take that risk. With that background you run a risk of getting trapped in training room assignments or being the go to guy for tech issues when you have your work issues to deal with. Any military time is a plus on your resume. IT is something you can do in the Army. As an IT specialist, your experience will become secondary to what your NCOIC wants done regardless of your experience level or how correct you are. That applies to any MOS you serve in.

2021-12-07T20:23:04-05:00 2021-12-07T20:23:04-05:00 SFC Private RallyPoint Member 7410868

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Do what will make you happy. Military careers are rewarding no matter what field you take. Most of my infantrymen were incredibly intelligent. If you have the opportunity you should look into becoming an officer in one of those fields. More education, more $$. Better post army career opportunities due to the responsibility level.

2021-12-08T15:12:56-05:00 2021-12-08T15:12:56-05:00 SGT Kenneth Duncan 7411499

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Your decision to make. My Army career as a Calvary Scout was a Million Dollar experience that I would never pay 2 cents to go through again. Work at the Post Office, better pay. GOOD LUCK.

2021-12-08T22:53:03-05:00 2021-12-08T22:53:03-05:00 SGT Trip Heaverly 7412328

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>You’re too young for it to be a career risk. You can take a short enlistment, go have some fun blowing stuff up, get out and go to college on the governments dime. You’re IT career will always be in high demand so you would only be helping your future self. The only risk is getting shot or blown up in combat arms!

2021-12-09T11:31:17-05:00 2021-12-09T11:31:17-05:00 SSG Bob Robertson 7413959

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Enlist for the least amount of time you can right now. Do your best. Don&#39;t like it? Leave. You haven&#39;t lost but 2 to 3 years but the experience is great and you will have served this great nation.

2021-12-10T08:04:16-05:00 2021-12-10T08:04:16-05:00 PFC Lisa McDonald 7414496

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>In 1981 at time of enlistment the recruiters tried to steer me into computers. I was on a mission to prove my mother wrong about something and would only take Infantry. As others have stated a high GT score in the Infantry opens opportunities. As someone else stated by thirty you will be looking for something that involves riding in a vehicle unless you have good genetics and a true hard az.

2021-12-10T13:30:50-05:00 2021-12-10T13:30:50-05:00 SGT Private RallyPoint Member 7415943

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Hey man, currently an 11B at Fort Stewart, speaking from my experience should you choose to join the infantry any experience you had prior to enlisting really doesn&#39;t matter. We get folks from all walks of life. Some fresh out of high school, some with college degrees. When I joined I was 23, married with a kid on the way. I dropped out of college during my third year studying wildlife and fisheries science. You won&#39;t be judged for having IT knowledge, actually I know my company would love having a computer savvy guy to trouble shoot our issues. If you were a new soldier of mine, I would be looking at your character and your motivation. If you go infantry, be ready to train. It won&#39;t always be the high speed stuff you see online (We do some of that) but there&#39;s a lot of powerpoint/classroom training we have to do to build up to the good stuff. A lot of the day too day BS we deal with will frustrate you. But you live for those moments that remind you of why its all worth it (clearing a trench with the boys, watching artillery rounds impact, getting a free helicopter ride every now and then etc.)<br /><br />Bottom line man, if you&#39;re willing to push yourself to stay physically fit, you participate in the training, and you stay clean you&#39;ll be alright, regardless of which MOS you choose.

2021-12-11T11:27:44-05:00 2021-12-11T11:27:44-05:00 SFC Tracy Donahoo 7416622

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>As a guy who used his first re-enlistment option to go infantry, I can’t discourage you. <br /><br />If it’s really something you want, do it now while your body is still young enough to do it.

2021-12-11T19:58:01-05:00 2021-12-11T19:58:01-05:00 MSG Danny Mathers 7420055

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>An IT career required a lot of self learnings of certificates especially networking and routing of new systems and equipment. If your employer doesn&#39;t pay for the courses, you better have big pockets for the books and lots of study time. You fall behind your career will dissolve into rebutting laptops. Eventually you will be well qualified to work fast food restaurant. Follow your dream, you can make it as an infantryman. All you have to do is wanted badly.

2021-12-13T19:25:48-05:00 2021-12-13T19:25:48-05:00 SSG Private RallyPoint Member 7420298

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Well…. I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but none of these answers really seem to be too helpful as far as advice so I’ll take a stab.<br /><br />The Army is honestly very valuable in many ways and some in what we call “intangible benefits”. It provides leadership training on all echelons and is a very respected profession in general. Aside from that, even if you only enlist for one term, you get a college degree payed for, training that converts into college (68w in specific gives you accreditation for nursing and only requires 4 college classes to become a registered nurse when you get out) etc. you get VA benefits, most notably $0 down VA home loan (just used this to buy a $264k house) which you can also use for a business. Just being in the military when you get out gives you multiple routes of opportunities. <br /><br />If I had to give you my best advice though, because you’re not 100% sure what you want to do, go 68w reserve. Currently it offers a 10k bonus, $100 extra a month kicker bonus, can transfer to nursing which gives you a good backup plan when you get out, you still get all of the benefits while keeping your current job, and if you really enjoy the military you can drop a 4187 and go active duty pretty easily. It’s the same as National Guard but you’re not restricted to your specific state and moving federal reserve to federal active duty is at most a 4-5 month process (usually much faster) than the national guard which takes usually a year+ to get released by your command to go active, if they release you at all. That would be my advice. The Army is not risky at all. Unless you’re already filthy rich and need literally nothing in life it’s nothing but added experience, opportunity and education benefits.

2021-12-13T22:58:19-05:00 2021-12-13T22:58:19-05:00 SGT Tim Fletcher 7424044

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>For what it’s worth, I would suggest you follow your dream! The military is not for everyone but when you are young is the best time to take on the challenge! While combat MOS’s might be your initial interest, they don’t have to be your whole career! They do give a soldier a quicker opportunity to learn how to lead a team which is a vital skill in every aspect of life and work be it military active duty or civilian….and IT is not going away and is used in most fields in the military and most postings have opportunities to advance one’s education which I would strongly encourage all to take advantage of! Good luck whichever route you ulignstrly decide to take!

2021-12-15T21:56:15-05:00 2021-12-15T21:56:15-05:00 SPC Earl Edgell 7427952

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I&#39;d say join the military, a career in IT is fun and interesting and even rewarding.<br />A career in the army is fun and rewarding In a different way. You get to travel the world and see things you may not have the opportunity to I. The civilian sector.

2021-12-17T21:24:27-05:00 2021-12-17T21:24:27-05:00 SGT Leon Riege 7442056

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Even those things you may think you look back on with regret now will be worth their weight in gold later on ,DON&#39;T WAIT TO LIVE LIFE! This is not a practice run , non of us get step by step instructions on growing up or getting old , there is good and bad in everything, if you want to go 18x then talk to the recruiter about it

2021-12-26T18:51:49-05:00 2021-12-26T18:51:49-05:00 PFC Private RallyPoint Member 7443928

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Well that depends on your perspective, if you make really good money in the job your in and you don&#39;t have a college degree I would stay where your at, however if you have a degree you could go in as an officer and do the same job if there&#39;s an opening, but that&#39;s the cool thing if you get a good score on your asvab you can do whatever job you want

2021-12-27T21:43:50-05:00 2021-12-27T21:43:50-05:00 SFC Kerry Shannon 7467663

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>As a retired 11B, with a 16 year career in managing IT projects and programs (most recently, a 180 million dollar IT program in biometrics), I will give you a couple of things to think about:<br />1. A career in the Infantry, regardless of what unit/specialty (light, mech, airborne/air assault/Ranger, etc...) is going to be physically demanding, but you will have experiences you not have in other specialties in the military. Due to the technological changes occurring within the military, and even down at the infantry level, actual knowledge of IT is useful (as opposed to those &quot;gamers&quot; who think they have IT knowledge).<br />2. You probably wont know until you get close to your end of enlistment, if you&#39;re going to stay and make a career of it. There are pluses and minuses-I went in at 17, and retired at 40, with multiple combat tours, and a variance of duty positions, plus experience on Brigade and Army-level staff, which directly contributed to my civilian career. <br />3. Given the current state of the economy, the political nature of things (now), the &quot;wokeness&quot; that seems pervasive throughout society, and just the general attitude of most folks (polarized), serving in the military may be &quot;difficult to accept&quot;, given the sacrifices you&#39;ll have to make. Every generation says they had it harder than the current one-all my Platoon Sergeants, First Sergeants, and Sergeants Major were Vietnam-era guys, and we were constantly told that we had it easy...fast forward through Grenada, Korea (DMZ), Gulf War, and two tours of Iraq, plus 15 years of working in combat zones as a contractor-not sure I or the folks I served with had it easier, it was a different time-the nature of warfare had changed, technology had changed, society had changed...but what hadn&#39;t changed was the desire to serve, which is the most important reason to &quot;go in&quot;.<br />4. If you want to go in-go all in, serve to the best of your ability, never turn down an opportunity, get out/retire with an honorable discharge, and most importantly, an active security clearance!<br />5. If possible, keep on some basic IT certifications, plus study for advanced ones-certifications are the name of the game in the civilian/defense contractor/government sector, as you probably know.<br />6. If you do go into combat arms, for god&#39;s sake, don&#39;t be short sighted and think all you&#39;re qualified for is to be a security guard-it is one of the stupidest things I&#39;ve seen young (and some old) veterans do after their service-employers want experience, disciplined folks, because there are a lot of folks in the private sector lacking in those qualities. <br /><br />Just my two cents, best of luck to you!

2022-01-10T10:16:32-05:00 2022-01-10T10:16:32-05:00 PO1 Craig Anthony 7497723

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>You are going to a gauranteed job with no fear of a pink slip. I joined at 26 and you can keep up with IT skills while you&#39;re in. I worked with THE IT guys on the ship for fun. You&#39;ll still be young enough to retire before 55.

2022-01-26T14:28:31-05:00 2022-01-26T14:28:31-05:00 SSG Dave Johnston 7515469

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Did you give any thought to joining the US Army Reserves? It would allow you to work in both worlds... During my active-duty career I delt with my MOS, then 91B now 68W, going from the equivalent of being an LPN/LVN to EMT {see TM 8-230 and compare it to &#39;The Brady Manual}... You could look at a Communications MOS would give you, Combat support/Combat service support, not quite Combat arms but, it would keep you current in your civilian field.

2022-02-06T12:22:34-05:00 2022-02-06T12:22:34-05:00 PO2 Paul Reeve 7517323

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>For security of job. Sure I would

2022-02-07T17:37:23-05:00 2022-02-07T17:37:23-05:00 PV2 Robert Vanover 7563611

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I would recommend 19D because I served. Was it 19D10 Armored Cav.

2022-03-09T13:29:02-05:00 2022-03-09T13:29:02-05:00 SPC Kynthia Rosgeal 8456649

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Wow. If you are established in your IT career. I&#39;d say, stay the course. Opportunities are always opening up in IT in the private sector and I honestly wish you great success. <br /><br />Military service comes with many benefits. If you choose to enlist or go through officer training. You&#39;ll acquire management experience the private sector really pays attention to. I was only a specialist. That&#39;s an E-4, and I had a LOT of team lead, assistant Mgr Opportunities simply handed my way because of military experience. <br /><br />Having said all that. Joining the military comes with certain caveats. One. You are signing a blank check, payable up to, and including, your life. Two Your bearing, manner and life will change. You will acquire experiences, confidence, strengths and the ability to over ride your fears and concentrate on accomplishing your tasks or missions. Three, if you make it through basic, advanced training etc and finish your contract, you become a member of a group of wildly assorted people as a Veteran. One who has learned to walk the walk. You may even see combat (though I sincerely hope you don&#39;t, its not as entertaining in RL as it is in the movies.) You will also learn to overcome your limits. You think you cannot March 30 miles overnight in full battle rattle, but chances are. You&#39;ll do that and more. <br /><br />I would go to your local VA, ask about open veteran organizations that you could visit and speak to actual veterans. Get the 411 there.<br /><br />P.S. vets are just like you. With different experiences and many enjoy helping someone learn about military life.

2023-09-04T21:05:44-04:00 2023-09-04T21:05:44-04:00 2021-12-06T05:24:50-05:00