Quote: (09-01-2011 09:08 PM)GetEm Wrote:
i do have a hard on for guns, was thinking of going in as an infantry in the marines or army, but decided against it because there's no job after serving.
Exactly, all the thrills tend to be in fields with no future. Infantry is a great for a 20 year military retirement, but leaves you empty-handed once you're out.
As for Officer vs. Enlisted, sadly, a lot of officer slots are focused towards management and administration, so your typical officer ends up leading a boring life with little hands-on experience. Great if you plan to go the career route, but if you get out (voluntary or involuntary... shit happens) you're as almost as empty-handed as the enlisted man.
Honestly, the best bets are technical jobs which require a Top Secret clearance. As long as you don't have a criminal record, and you're native born, getting a TS isn't much of a problem.
Army MOS 33W is basically an IT guy with a TS clearance. That's a pretty solid start. Even if you wash out after a year or two, quite alot of companies WILL hire you for an entry level slot for just about anywhere in the world. In the same vein, anything with "analyst" in it will also be a boring, albeit highly lucrative job. UAV pilots are also a hot commodity, but with much more limited locations.
Of course, this all assumes you're relatively intelligent, and aren't a career criminal. If not, please stay the hell away from federal service.
In Summary, the conventional wisdom that "Officer is better" really only holds true if you go the 20-year retirement route, or don't know how to pick a decent MOS.
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