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Originally Posted by AlanY
I've always thought this is one of the worst arguments for enlisting. It's sort of a "day care" argument -- "I'm not mature enough now, so I'll putter around in the service for a few years until I grow up." KYTguy used the same kind of argument when discussing his daughter (e.g. she'll learn to dress better, not forget chores, and clean up her messes in the service).
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I'm not saying I'm not mature enough, however, I think if I was to go to college for 4 years, I would either become disillusioned or bored enough that I might end up doing something stupid that would remove any chances of Advanced programs in the Navy. They're very strict for those. Get caught drunk in public, and you're out of there.
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Staying out of the service and working at a crappy, menial job to pay your way through college will make you grow up just as fast as you would in the military, and you'll be getting an education in the meantime, not wasting your time. The only people who get "bored" in college are almost always people who aren't working part time jobs because their parents are paying or they have just enough financial support to get by. Enlisting gets you the crappy job right now but postpones the education. |
If I were to go to college, believe me, my parents wouldn't be paying anything. Carnegie Mellon and their like (what I'd be going for) is $40K+/year. I'd be getting scholarships out the arse, for the most part. And as to the enlisting = crappy job, I'm going to have to disagree there. While it may not be desireable to some (for instance, I would rather not join the Army and shipped out to Iraq. However, I have nothing but the utmost respect for those who do), I can't think of a single military job that could be called crappy. Even cook wouldn't be that bad.
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Not to mention, there are aspects to the military that hinder you growing up. In the real world, you're not always told what to do. You have to make most choices for yourself and face the consequences. You learn discipline from within, not from someone breathing down your back. If you have attitude problems or behavior problems, the military will straighten you out, but if you're intelligent, I think the "day care" aspect of military service is overblown. |
Admittedly. I don't think I'll have too much of a problem with self-discipline, though. I managed to maintain a 4.0 in both my home studies and college level classes, while having a job (electrical work) that required me to get up at around 6AM. I'd go from work to class, then home.
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Tuberoller is on to something when he talks about welding -- as an enlisted person, you'd be better learning a trade like welding or plumbing or diving that translates back into the real world. That way, you're using the military as a kind of trade school, and actually getting something out of it. "Nuclear Engineering," even though it sounds high profile, won't translate into anything in the real world without a college degree. Stick to military jobs that have trade-school equivalents, and you'll be ahead of the game when you get out. |
Name a military job that doesn't have a civvy counterpart. Even stuff like Master At Arms can land you a law enforcement job. And quite a bit of it can be turned into an engineering aspect if you get a degree.
Nuclear Engineering encompasses quite a bit, actually. There's three fields in the Nuc rating; Machinist's Mate (which can also fork over to Nuclear Welding, or Prototyping), Electrican's Mate, and Electronic Technician. MM is the guy actually working and monitoring the reactor itself, as well as other related systems. EM monitors and operates the power output. ET monitors the system as a whole, and repairs the controls and like. All of them have real world counterparts. Actually, most (something like 75%) of Nucs leave after their 6 years is up, and get immediately picked up by power plants or the like. So they're obviously doing something right.
And finally, there's
USMAP. Anyone in active duty can work towards a Department of Labor approved apprenticeship. All it means is you have a piece of paper that you log your hours with. You do the exact same job, but you get a certificate after x number of years. (1-4 usually) You can also opt to train in a field different from your job, if so desired.