Enlisted Life

[drewmeister2]

I was talking with someone who was in the military in the 70's (he called me to talk about it for some reason), and he said don't leave college for it, as he said life sucked, he was treated like dirt, etc compared to the officers(he was in the National Guard). Is this still true for enlisted people (do people here find this to be true still)? Granted, officers get nicer stuff, but are the enlisted people treated that badly? He also said that since he didn't go to college, he didn't get a good life after the service. Do most people who leave today get good jobs afterwards (considering all the military does to promote higher learning these days)?

Thanks.

 

[Asherz]

I think this would depend on who you ask. My husband was enlisted in the navy for four years. His overall experience was good and he is extremely employable in the civilian world. However, he has very technical training. I hear that people who go into things like infantry have difficulty finding jobs when they get out.

My DH would agree that officers were treated better overall, but I don't think he had any terrible experiences. He would tell you to get your degree and go in as an officer because you will get more respect and will get paid better.

The military does promote higher learning and you can technically attend classes while you're in, but many people find it difficult due to scheduling conflicts.

Go to school, there are several scholarship programs out there while you are still in college where the military will pay a significant portion of your schooling. Call an officer recruiter and find out what is out there.

 

[AndOne]

Drew -

I am career enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. Can't speak for the other services - but the CG has been a great career. Having said that - it is not a cake-walk either. When you are junior enlisted it means you have to take a lot of your orders from junior officers - who are sometimes younger than you. If you are a prideful person - best to wait it out and go officer. If you are a humble person and can follow orders (even when its something as menial as cleaning a toilet) - then by all means consider joining. It's all in the attitude....

 

[Entertaining_Angels]

Just varies from person to person. I loved my MOS. I won't say it was always easy because there were problems but I was in a unit that was well taken care of due to the nature of the job so we didn't face the same issues other units had. My job also required a higher ASVAB score and a specialized test similar to an IQ test so many of the folks in the unit did tend to have higher degrees.

 

[HumbleSiPilot77]

I was talking with someone who was in the military in the 70's (he called me to talk about it for some reason), and he said don't leave college for it, as he said life sucked, he was treated like dirt, etc compared to the officers(he was in the National Guard). Is this still true for enlisted people (do people here find this to be true still)? Granted, officers get nicer stuff, but are the enlisted people treated that badly? He also said that since he didn't go to college, he didn't get a good life after the service. Do most people who leave today get good jobs afterwards (considering all the military does to promote higher learning these days)?

Thanks.

While I don't fully agree or support your post, there is some thought provoking truths in it.

 

[Autumnleaf]

The service will give you what you demand of it depending on you. If you join up for beer money and complain about being told to mop the floor you're going to have a hard time. If you do everything to the best of your ability and join up for specialized training or college money you will have a better time. It is true that when you first enlist you end up doing the crummy work because you're new. If you stay in work hard and are agreeable to be around you'll pick up rank and higher pay so you don't have to do crummy jobs anymore. The military can be a hard mistress but it can also serve to advance your training and schooling. Think hard before you sign up because there is a measure of truth that you don't totally belong to yourself while you are under the orders of the military.

From my personal experience the Marines treats people better than the Army but they also demand more of you which is good. Employers tend to like former Marines better than Army, from my experience.

 

[Entertaining_Angels]

From my personal experience the Marines treats people better than the Army but they also demand more of you which is good. Employers tend to like former Marines better than Army, from my experience.

Thanks for the chuckle

 

[Autumnleaf]

Thanks for the chuckle

There's a trick to it I think. Home for me is middle of the US which is far from Marine bases. This makes a former Marine something interesting. Versus towns next to Marine bases where Marines are often considered a necessary evil. I suppose the same is true of Army. Where I live Army and Air Force are all over the place so they're thought of as a dime a dozen.

 

[[serious]]

Life sucks, but the people are great. no one is stabbing you in the back for a promotion as lower enlisted. NCO and Officer level is a bit different though. They might eat better, but there's plenty of poop to deal with on that level as well.

 

[rppearso]

Life in the military sucks in general, I signed up to be in the army national guard. I had an engineering degree and was suppost to go aviation. Basic training was degrading and contrary to christian living and beliefs. After basic I was treated worse than enlisted becasue I was an officer candidate (but not an officer yet) and I found out officer school would be like basic again so I opted out. The treatment was terrible and it caused me to become paranoid whenever I was on post. It was the people that made it suck. I have come to understand that this differs widly from branch to branch and from unit to unit. But the bottem line is Entry level training is degrading, heavy handed, drill sgts speak in harsh tones and all of your liberty is striped away.

 

[ACougar]

It's not that hard, or that rough if you just accept what's happening and deal with it as it comes. In tme you'll get comfortable and you'll be able to deal with it. There are advantages to going in as an oficer and thier are advantages to going in enlisted. I always thought Warrent Officers had the best of both worlds.

As for getting a good job when you get out that depends on what you did while you were in. There is plenty of opportunity for most to get a degree, you can get lots of training that is valuable in the civilian world, however you have to go after it and you have to be flexable.

Anyone who is in college and doing ok, I would recomend they stay in school until they graduate. To anyone who is working as unskilled labor and wants to turn thier life around I still recomend it, especially if your able to get training in a field that is in demand in the civilian world.

I was talking with someone who was in the military in the 70's (he called me to talk about it for some reason), and he said don't leave college for it, as he said life sucked, he was treated like dirt, etc compared to the officers(he was in the National Guard). Is this still true for enlisted people (do people here find this to be true still)? Granted, officers get nicer stuff, but are the enlisted people treated that badly? He also said that since he didn't go to college, he didn't get a good life after the service. Do most people who leave today get good jobs afterwards (considering all the military does to promote higher learning these days)?

Thanks.