What is life like as a 25U in today's Army? Will it help me outside of the Army?

I hope you like OE-254's....

In the 8+ years I did in the military. You will learn about BFT/FBCB2, LAN, Cisco routers, Warlocks, Asips, Singars, GPS and UHV radio. As a 25U just remember Always, Always check the connections!! Also keep a pencil eraser handy, to clean the round pin connectors in the H250's (Hand Mic).
Commo!!

I just got out a few years ago. Life as a 25U is fairly easy. All i did was troubleshoot / replace radios and keep the units commo room organized

I was a Bravo so speaking from my experience, being anything in the 25 series is good. But I would recommend you try to cross train with other 25 series Soldiers. The more you know, the more you grow, and you're only making yourself a bigger asset to the unit. That's no BS. As far as certs go, look at the current DoD standard. When I was in it was 8570 and I've heard it's morphed into other things. Signal is a HUGE deal, and Cyber is the new "core" of it. As a Bravo I was told to pick a certain section of my MOS and become the guru in it. He recommended security (this is in 1999), and I had no idea what was coming. Wish I had listened more. On certs, it would depend on the unit, their mission, and their requirements. IF they have no need for you to have a CCNA, they won't pay for it, and that makes sense. That should NOT stop you from getting it. Most Bravos start with A+/Net + and Sec+. Those are your starter pack certs. Many places require Sec+ so look into that. Once you have a foundation, figure out what you want to do. If you get out, or are even really contemplating it, START NOW figuring out what you need to be competitive. When you look for some jobs, they want you at the start to be qualified with certain certs. So waiting till the end is bad business. I'd also recommend you make a Linkedin account. There is a US Army Signal Section, and LOADS of other sections you can use to begin asking what is hot, what is not, and what you need to do to be "hot" when you punch out.

They talk about us, but they won't talk without us..........

which brigade? unless you are at bn/bde level/in a signal unit, ccna is unlikely unless you pursue it in your on time. What you do on a daily basis depends entirely on where you go.

If you are battalion or brigade lvl then BFT, Singars, various other harris radios, OE254. If division element you will probably end up on a CPP team. But you are signal now be flexible I have seen 25U right out of AIT get sent to a G6 help desk. As far as bases go carson is nice a little cold for my taste I am station about 15min away at Peterson AFB.

As a 25U myself, I'd say yes, there are job opportunities available to you. However, the training you receive in school for a 25U, is not exactly enough to land you a job without a little more schooling. Cross training with other 25 series, especially the 25B, you will learn more and receive more credit for the trades you are learning! are you going to Fort Gordon, GA?

Your main duties as a 25U will be repairing commo gear, conducting scheduled maintenance inspections on commo gear, maintaining forms and records on commo gear, establishing and operating a D/S maintenance account on commo gear above your authorized level of maintenance. You will be asked and directed to install, supervise others installing, and training others installing lots of OE-254 antennas that are supposed to be general purpose user. All the years I was a 31U, the old numbers for 25U, I only ever worked on any computers in one unit, for two years, at Fort Sill, OK. Absolutely no training, except on the job from my 1LT and not much of that. If you want to work on and be proficient on computers you better go 25B or you won't have much luck.

25U is primarily radio support. Working in a Battalion S6, the 25U's handled the radio side of the communication needs within the Battalion while the 25B's handled the IT side of it. A few were cross trained, and a handful even got Security+. However, the IT certifications you speak of were only allotted to 25B's during duty hours. As a 25U, you either had to luck into getting a slot for the training and certification exam, or do it on your own time and hope that you get reimbursed your expenses for it.

One thing I will add to your new chosen path of Information Technology. I can't speak to 25U or Network administration very much, my Brother is a Network Administrator and I went into Computer Programming after my stint in college. One thing to keep in mind is Network Administration on the civilian side your going to get tired eventually of being "oncall" 24 by 7. It's a rotational duty and sometimes Computer Programmers pull it as well. Keep in mind that you can move further up the ladder from Network Admin to Computer Programming without a huge amount of effort. Computer Programming would be after your time in the uniformed Army because there is not much opportunity to do it while in the Uniformed Army because typically the Army uses Civilian Contractors in that role from HP, Lockhead-Martin, Rockwell, etc. Computer Programmer means more pay and eventually an almost full escape from oncall duty as you gain more experience. The next rung up from programmer is Project Manager or Consultant. So my advice is to just keep it in the back of your mind that you have a career path and your not just stuck as a Network Administrator. Though some folks like the position of Network Administration and stay with it their whole life (nothing wrong with it). I just get a little surprised when I run into a Network Administrator that gets burned out and leaves the IT field completely without trying any of the other job positions or at least looking into them. Also, a lot of the Special Forces Network Admin roles have Civilian equivalent roles in which you could transfer over to DoD Civilian to a GS grade. If you do that for Special Forces, however, I think they prohibit you from any kind of Reserve Commitment as they want your availability 100% for Special Force support. It's just another thing to look into as far as options.