Tough decisions

kamikazee

@ .@ I dunno what to choose. Should I join the navy? and miss all my family and friends? That would also stop/limit my anime/video game hobby. On the bright side, it'll make my family proud and serve as a life accomplishment.

Should I join? or should I continue what I've been doing ( trying to get BS or AS in computer software/hardware engineer?

need some points. pros and cons. What should I do?

of course this is just for general discussion.

OT: oh yea I pull "what should I do" LeBron James

kamikazee

haha thx wolf and mark. I made this post after I got a navy recruitment letter/brochure. The idea of me joining a military force keeps bugging me, sometimes I would daydream or lost focus when an Idea is presented to me. I dunno, maybe I like to daydream or I have too much imagination.

wolf, its okay to post all that text. I love to read (specially a long written ones. :P ) its kinda like one of my enjoyments in life (well as long as its interesting - wall of text with statistics bores me)

TheWolf

i went in the army at 17 and have NEVER been sorry [even tho i screwed alot of stuff up ...]!!! i had money to burn, it "manned' me up, i had money to burn [oh i already said that].

hyper_shadow

If it weren't for the fact that I got diagnosed with photosensitive epilepsy not long after basic training I'd probably be on my 3rd or fourth tour of iraq now.

I loved my time in the army, I never regretted a second.

Sit down when you have some uninterrupted quiet time, think deep.

Ask yourself, is it something I am meant to do?

I never got the opportunity to get out and do my duty and sometimes it grates on my what I missed. But then I think if not for that, the series of events leading me to my partner and ultimately our son (due in 2 weeks) would never have happened.

So for me it was not meant to happen. No matter how much I may have wanted it.

How about for you? Is it something you feel you may regret later on? If there is even a slight doubt then probably it is not. You need to be driven before the start for a good successful career.

But that's just my opinion.

Good luck whatever you decide. :)

Hentai_Mark_San

First of all you must figure out for yourself what do you want more? Both have pro and cons for sure.
(of course LOL)

I was never very good in deciding myself smiles but to help a little for a big decision like this... you should take a piece of paper and write down all pros and cons for each of them then take your time considering every point and sort thing due to their important value to you... after that compare the points take your time a couple of days.

Points like
######
-how much money do i get
-where do i work
-on a ship? Getting seasick easily?
-contact to friends/family possible like you want
-how is the long term situation in working in that job
(stable situation or will there be highs and lows which make you lose that job fast)
-And if it's military... do I have a problem if I'm involved in fighting or not?
-can I decide where I work (in the navy I guess they put you somewhere on some ship or whatever you can't say "no thanks")

With a little time gone by you might see things a little different.
That's the only really advice I can give.

wolfenspiel

Other things to consider-

joining ANY branch of military- what is the current world situation, and what is your country's involvement? For example, will you be shipped out? Will you be "state-side"? The US for example is involved over in Afghanistan,Iraq,Iran.... what is the likelihood you will be sent over there or off any coastal region in that area? What is the likelihood you will see battle of any sort? Do you have a girlfriend or wife you will be leaving behind for a length of time? Relationships are hard in the military, especially when you leave for a length of time, or keep getting shipped back and forth. I have an in-law who is on his 2nd or 3rd marriage (he's in the US Navy), and a couple friends in the Canadian military that have both lost their wives within the past couple years, both of them have also done more than one tour in Iraq.

What will you be doing in the Navy? every branch of service talks up a good show about "career opportunities" and "training", but hey, how much chance is there for a GUNNER to get a job OUTSIDE the military? Or a TANK DRIVER, for that matter? Hell, a sniper can't do much either, except kill from a distance...what's he gonna do, work as a hit man? Anything you get promised, GET IT IN WRITING! That's why I never joined. Had an army recruiter bugging me to "come down and talk" after I got out of high school. THEN he wouldn't take no for an answer and kept begging me to take this test...not the "official" test, but one that is supposed to guage how you'd score on the actual one....and my scores blew him away. He told me if I scored anywhere near what I scored on the one he gave me, I pretty much qualified for anything I wanted to do. I asked him for it in writing, and he refused. I told him wait a minute- I am supposed to sign MY life away for 4 years, and I am not allowed to back out at any time because I don't like it or didn't get what I wanted. If I can give YOU a guarantee in writing, why can't you do the same for ME if I scored that high? Well, the military doesn't work that way, he said....so I said neither do I, thanks anyways, and I walked!

What kind of pay, and what kind of schooling? Military also offers you all kinds of promises about paying for school...heck so does the reserves, but I can tell you all KINDS of headaches my buddy at school went through, and how he almost had to drop, and all the hoops he had to jump through just to keep a roof over his head, let alone finish school, thanks to our dear "Uncle Sam"'s promises!

If you are already in school, I'd finish school FIRST... but some of that also depends on your scores and aptitude...for example, if you are pulling C's and D's, I'd at least think about switching majors. Computers are the way to go, but if you don't have the patience or the ability, it's not necessarily a good idea to stick it out...and also, where are you intending to live and work? Let me tell you, the area I am in, is so behind the times in technology and opportunity it's worthless to me to get into Networking because frankly there's no job opportunities unless I move...and I just can't do that. If you live out in the middle of fockitall, Egypt, take a look at your job opportunities. Heck, you may end up wanting to not only join the navy, but to make a career in it as well....

What it really boils down to is your own life and desires. If you are having too many doubts, don't MAKE any major life decisions yet, and stay where you are. If it's depression or something bad making you start thinking about changes, don't. It's kindof like being on the run...once you start, you ain't gonna stop running away. A break-up, a bad relationship, or even lack of finding a relationship, should never be the cause of a life-changing decision either. Sure, you should think about it, but leaping before you look is never wise. So, if you just broke up with your girlfriend, and now yer thinking about joining the navy..... FORGET IT! However, if this is a serious consideration, and maybe one you have discussed with friends and family more than once already before you started schooling, well maybe it is something you should consider. Also- how much schooling have you had so far? if i8t's your first year and it's going poorly yeah....a career change MIGHT be in order. If you are doing ok or well, and/or have had a year or so into it....why not finish school and THEN join the military?

That way you have a decent education already, and anything you do in the military will FURTHER your education, as well as give you job experience. If you join the navy with a BS under your belt, or more, then chances are higher you will be placed "in your field" for your career, rather than being placed as, say, a gunner or a deck swab :D
Chances will also be higher that you can get the Navy to give you or pay for you to have additional training so IF you leave the military, you will come out not just with a BS, but with experience and a higher or a decent rank and pay grade that will help you command a higher salary outside the navy. If you leave it up to the navy to train and place you, good luck- you'll get put where THEY THINK they need you, not necessarily where you will succeed or excell. If you have a degree FIRST, chances are higher that you will get placed in a field where you can use your degree to their benefit, therefor to yours as well.

BUT...thats ONLY MY opinions, and bro...you asked for them so don't yell at me for "writing a novel" :D :D :D

Meri

A late reply from my side
It is special to join the navy.
It sounds pretty adventurous.
But it has a lot of downsides
You'll never really be able to have a family and see them often
if you get shipped around the globe for months

And, do you meet all the requirements to get in?
Probably you do, but you never know...

Quirk

I've got a friend in the navy, a more wild and idiotic fellow then anyone else I knew, but he got in and is going good. I also had an uncle who was in for 25 years as a naval cop.
In aussie, you can go to officers school, where you train for 18 months or so and miss out on years of bullshit from being a low ranker. So I don't know if your counrty has that, my country also has a offer where you join for 4 years do a degree in UNI, and when you have the degree, you have a choice of private or staying in. The only cost is that you are in the military for those 4 years, but you don't have to go into wars unless you want,
Also does your country have a reserve? That way you could figure out what military life is like without selling your soul first.
I've always considered a career in the military but the shouting always put me off! Why do I need to shout when I could whisper and the guy would still hear me? In a warzone or noisy place I understand, but not in a quiet field.

Anyway you should sit down and have a good long think, think of what you want in life, think can you follow orders blindly? I know I wouldn't. Whatever you do dude, its gotta be all for you, don't do things to please others when it is this big of decision.
Also pros to navy, you get to go all over the world for free, find great mates who will help during the bad times. Have an interesting job and get to hang around massive weapons of war!

sk8er431

do what you think you will be happy. that's all I can advise you