After several years of serving your country you are now officially out of the Army, now what? First and foremost give yourself a huge pat on the back, as you should be commended for serving and protecting this great country. Next you need to decide what to do with the rest of your life.
When making such a big decision you first need to ask yourself what it is you enjoy? If you enjoy animals for example, then perhaps you should consider a veterinary carrier. But what if you don’t have the training?
If you want to do something after your Army life that requires schooling then waste no time and get going. Many who served in the Army qualified for the G.I. Bill, which gives you money for college. You should know if you have the G.I. Bill or not, but if you are unsure you can always go talk to a recruiter who can then put you in touch with the proper personnel. Also, because you served in the Army, there are many scholarships, grants, and loans that are specifically designed to aid you in your quest for greater knowledge. To find out what these are, seek the advice of the financial aid office in the college you are thinking of attending.
Perhaps though college isn’t right for you. In this case maybe you can take what you learned in the Army and apply it to civilian life. If you were in the Military Police for example, then perhaps a career in law enforcement would be rewarding for you. Maybe you worked in the motorcade. With the skills you learned there, you could easily translate that into a good paying auto technician job. The point is, whatever you did in the Army for Uncle Sam, there is almost always a counterpart in the private sector.
When you are seeking private employment be sure to mention that you served in the Army as many employers look for the discipline in an employee that the Army teaches. Being in the Army looks great on a resume and you never know which prospective employer may have served in the armed forces as well.
Before deciding what to do, ask yourself these questions first:
What are your goals?
What are your skills?
What are your interests?
Do you want to seek higher education?
Once you have secured your employment and are looking for housing, keep in mind that there are many loans that are tailored for those that served in the Army. If buying a house is your desire, then talk to your real estate agent about any special loans for former military.
Any move in life takes getting used to. A move out of Army life and into civilian life takes a lot of getting used to. Remember the decisions you make will affect the rest of your life so take your time and choose wisely. There are many advantages and special offers for those that did serve in the military, as there should be, and you should take full advantage of each and every one.
Question by so_serious: Military life?
Does anyone have any details on the pay and life of a person who decides to join the military? I will be a junior in college this year and I’ve run out of resources to pay for tuition. Is joining the military a good idea?
Best answer:
Answer by Shibboleth
If you have 30 semester credits when you join, you get 1 automatic promotion. If you have 60 semester credits, you get two automatic promotions.
This is only good for promotion from E-1 to E-2 to E-3.
As such, your pay would change considerably just for what you’ve already done.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Would you be okay with being sent to Iraq? If so, yes. If not, try using your computer for something productive. I suggest adsense.
http://google-adsense-money.notlong.com
Seeing that you’re in college, apply for a 2-year ROTC scholarship.
They can pay for it.
Then you will be an officer.
https://www.nrotc.navy.mil/
http://www.afrotc.com/
An officer’s pay is much better, etc… Different life as an officer than enlisted.
GOOD LUCK!
Army National Guard pays 100% tuition (to state schools and up to $ 4,500/semester for private schools… meaning if it’s less they won’t give you $ 4,500 if it’s more they will only pay $ 4,500) + $ 503/mo GI Bill(and kicker) + Drill Pay (usually net is around $ 120 – $ 150). Which means your Student Loans and Pell Grants go 100% to books…. I’ve never spent $ 4,000 on books though.
There is also a 2yr Undeployment Status after BCT.
You can IM me if you want. I’ll answer any questions you got.
If you’re about to be a Junior, is there any chance you have enough semester hours to take an Associates Degree? You might try for that, and then see how much help that would be when you go military.. However, if not enough, join a non-combat service, like Navy, or, not direct combat, like Air Force.
Please don’t, get a loan if you have to, its not worth it. I’m a military wife, daughter, and sibling believe me its not worth the sacrifice and the pay is horrible for what you risk and leave behind.
The lifestyle is great if you can handle it.
– You get paid every two weeks gauranteed (you can look the pay scale up on line just type in DOD Pay scale in google and you will find it
– You have all your housing and food paid for
– In some services they give you your uniforms, Army given to you, Marines you have to buy them
– All your medical needs are met by the service and if they cant meet them they will send you to a civilian provider for FREE.
– BUT 90 % chance no matter what service you join you will end up in Iraq or Afganistan. I serve next to men and women from EVERY service branch.
I have been in the Army for 10 years now and I can say that anyone that Joins any service for the “money or college” is usually very bitter because you are joining for the wrong reason. You should be joining because you want to do something for yourself or your country not for money because let me tell you that you wont get rich being a soldier, marine, or sailor. I think that you should think long and hard before doing it because NO one in the military wants a soldier that is just there to do his time because they typically are problem soldiers that only care about themselves.
Suppose you come back from Iraq in a wheelchair? Is it worth it? Think about it.
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It depends on the kind of person you are. Do you take orders well? Are you self disciplined? What kind of shape are you in? All these questions can only be answered by you. As for what is life and pay like, it depends on a lot. Reservists live a lot differently than active duty. Airmen in the Air Farce live differently than soldiers in the Army. Pay is likewise different. We all use the same base pay structure, but a special forces seargent with less than 5 years makes as much as an average staff sergeant with 10. An airman (paygrade E-4) makes as much in a four month deployment as I did in my year-long deployment (I’m an E-5 with 12 years).
Horrible. I spent three years in the Army as Infantry(11B) and it sucked. The pay is horrible, a lot of soldiers with families end up having to go on food stamps or welfare to support their family, then when it is time for them to get out they can’t afford to. Depending on your duty station(mine was Ft. Riley, KS) your barracks or on post housing could suck, ours was infested with roaches and nothing worked. You have no freedom, they will require you to work when they want you to whether you have other things to do or not, plus when we were at work all we did was sit in our rooms and watch porn(it sounds great but try doing it for three years). We never got the equipment we needed plus when we deployed to Iraq 67% of our weapons were not up to Army standards, try fighting a fire-fight with automatic weapons that only fire one round at a time, not fun. We couldn’t get parts for our vehicle’s so every time we went out to the field it was a jerry-rig competition on who could keep their vehicle running for the whole time. Plus if you join now you will end up in Iraq or Afghanistan fighting Bush’s ego war, and be lucky to come home in one piece.
I would not recomend it. It was hell on earth for me and most of the guys in my unit and other’s that I talked to. It isn’t what the commercials make it out to be.
Try to find a way to stay in school or take a loan out to pay your tuition, you’ll be glad in the end.
Maybe you should look into ROTC program. It will help pay for your college as well as give you a little training for being an Officer in the military.
If you can get loans they will repay up to 72k. I decided on that course and my college will be completely paid for and I am entering the Army as an Officer. This is a great opportunity and if you see your local recruiter they can help you through the whole process. Best thing I ever did.