Military Careers

If you know anyone who works a 9-to-5 in an office, you’re probably heard them complain about their job. “They make me work too much overtime.” “My cubicle is too small.” “I have to walk like fifty feet to the break room.” Aw. Poor babies.

Clearly, these are people who have never held a job in the military, and have no concept of how much rougher things could be for them. We’re talking not just long hours, but long years. Interminable periods of time during which you are continually at work, often in physically uncomfortable circumstances, on call to engage in conflict at a moment’s notice. You have little freedom, you may be asked to perform impossibly difficult missions, and there is the chance that you could become maimed, disfigured or killed in combat. Sort of puts the whole “cubicle” thing into perspective, doesn’t it?

To many of us it’s a wonder that anyone wants to perform military duty…which makes it that much more admirable when someone is willing to make the sacrifice. To potentially lay down his life for the rights and freedoms that we hold dear, and to protect his loved ones’ way of life back home.

But…it doesn’t have to be volunteer work. “Going after the bad guys” might be a nice motivator, but getting paid to take such great risks…helps. And the money can actually be quite nice, if you’ve put in your time and have a uniform littered with badges. In the military, your pay rate is absolutely commensurate with the time you’ve put in, as well as your rank. You can make more if you’ve spent a lot of time overseas, or in especially hazardous situations, or on flight duty… the more danger, and the more specialization, the greater the compensation. Plus, because the job is so physically demanding, you can often retire after only 20 years or so. Which means you may still be young enough to enjoy the occasional round of golf…sans cart. Provided you still have both your legs.

There are plenty of other bonuses and benefits as well. You’ll be housed and clothed as part of your service, and you’ll be granted access to more affordable education (thanks to the GI Bill), as well as medical care. Although have fun on hold with the VA. We estimate your wait time at seven months.

It really isn’t about the money, however. When someone goes into the military, it’s motivated by the pursuit of certain ideals that do not include the making of a quick buck. It takes a passionate, principled and selfless individual to want to bypass a safer, more secure livelihood in order to fight for and defend their homeland.

After all, if there weren’t people out there working to preserve our rights, we might not have the freedom to complain openly about our difficult working conditions. Another office-wide meeting…really? What torture…

Careers In This Field