Thinking about joining the military maybe?

Question

I’m 20, I recently just found out I was pregnant and decided to not have it due to just really the way life is for me right now. My kind of boyfriend? I don’t know what to call him. My boyfriend that I haven’t talked to in a week because he “doesn’t know what he wants right now”, anyways is in the military and he doesn’t really do anything. He is in the air force and just plays on his phone and watches videos and does maybe like one job a day, I wouldn’t want to do what he does more than likely he just works on jets I believe. I’m in school currently but I am not entirely sure as to what I want to do career wise. I was doing nursing (switched), then dental (switched), then now pharmacy soon. I was wondering what it’s like to be in the military? Is it hard? How is basic training? What are your jobs? I don’t even know what you can do in the military, I know you can have whatever job you want basically and you can go to school and whatnot. I guess just tell me your experiences? Would it be possible to do pharmacy if I decide to go into the military? And what branch? So many questions.

Answer

Your experience in the Air Force will never be the same as the next person. It all boils down to your job, flight, leadership, duty station, deployment schedule, etc.
Basic training is a tool to transform ordinary people into airmen, soldiers, sailors, etc. It varies between 6-10 weeks depending on branch. Physical standards also rely on branch. If you’re in shape now and can follow orders without question, you’ll be fine. 
You are not guaranteed any job you want, no matter what branch you decide. Each have a system for assigning AVAILABLE jobs. The Army will give you a list of jobs you qualify for and are available, then you reserve one. The Air Force has a lottery system where you pick 10-15 jobs and they give you one of those options randomly. You could end up with your first pick or your very last. The Navy and Marines you pick a rate and they assign you a job within that rate. For example, if you pick medical, you’ll get assigned any job in medical that has an opening. 
Pharmacy is a VERY small field in all of the branches due to working alongside civilians, so it is highly unlikely you would get that job, no matter what branch you decide because it is never available. Medical is currently pretty much closed for the Air Force and has been for awhile now due to the fact in 2016 they had a surge of medical jobs open and now they are all fully filled. They’re always in desperate need of mechanical and electrical jobs, as well as security forces. The Air Force is based around the integrity of its air craft and the protection of it, so if you enlist in the AF, that is likely where you could be placed as a first term applicant. Many who enlist in the Air Force do not get their dream job their first term due to the lottery system of job selection, so that’s why they offer retraining opportunities towards the end of your first contract.
Of course there are other jobs that randomly come available in the AF like intel, admin, etc but your ASVAB will ultimately determine what you’re qualified for, then you’ll be able to see what exactly is open for you to list.
Also, I’m sure you already know, but you will not be given a chance to be stationed together unless you are married. So depending on your job, you could be stationed literally anywhere on the globe, so that’s something to bear in mind as well since enlisting could lead to an even further distance apart.

Answer

I was in the marine corps for 5 years and I love everything it’s taught me. Boot camp was more of a mental challenge than a physical challenge for me in the beginning. Once you learn to embrace the suck, it becomes fun. Almost like a game. I was an aviation technician and I loved every aspect of my job. Definitely look into every branch and don’t ever doubt yourself just because other people say it’s tough. You are stronger than you think!

Answer

Talk to a recruiter and fact check

Answer

I’ve been in the Navy 4 1/2 years now. Personally I love it. I’m an aviation electronics technician I primarily work on the jet but right now I’m on shore duty pushing paperwork. I have seen HMs working pharmacy but only when I was stationed on a smaller base with only a branch clinic otherwise it’s mostly civilian. Just like the other person said corpsman have terrible advancement. 
Boot camp wasn’t hard for me but I have 0 problems taking orders and doing what I’m supposed to.

Answer

Best bet would be to talk to a recruiter. It’s kinda hard to tell you all about the military on a post. 
My husband and I are both active in the Navy and I can pretty much only briefly explain that 1) you should go into MEPs thinking of a list of rates you want bc honestly, they might not have the rate available for you at that time. Plus your ASVAB will definitely affect the rates available. It’s possible for you to change it but I wouldn’t go in undesignated (no job) or even choose to just be undes until a job is available. 
I went in pretty much looking up what I wanted to do as I was on the way to MEPs and didn’t get the rate, not bc my ASVAB scores didn’t qualify, but bc it just wasn’t available. I just took the next job they offered me (not smart but I honestly don’t regret it). Some rates don’t have specific fields. A lot do, my rate does, but I can still do the most generally jobs in my rate. There’s certain schools I can go to that broaden my opportunities as well.  
If you want something in medical, you don’t have to choose exactly what you want right when you enlist. HM is hospital corpsman and they generally do a bit of everything compared to say the Army medics where they’re trained to do one specific job. I knew a girl that went to the first school for being an HM, and she didn’t choose which field yet so she went to a medical facility to work in multiple areas and then decide which she’d like to do (if it was available) then she’d go to school for that field. I will say that if you want to rank up, HM is miserable for doing so. I’m pretty sure this most recent exam cycle for ranking up had like maybe a dozen people advance out of the WHOLE Navy (and I’m high-balling). 
You can always change your job after I believe after at least two years of being in that rate. But that also depends on the rate you already have, sometimes they won’t let you or it’s hard to change. I know a guy that did MA (master at arms, basically military police) switch to intelligence after I think almost 10 years, if not more of being MA. Not sure how he landed that but he loves it way more now. 
There’s soooo many different jobs but a lot of what you do in the navy is basic seamanship. You’re gonna learn how to basically live and work on a ship. You’re pretty much guaranteed to go on shipside deployment at least once in your career (my husband is on a ship but I’m not, I have yet to even go on one, but there’s still time 🤷🏻‍♀️). 
Basic isn’t that bad. Yeah you’re gonna get yelled at and yeah you’re gonna get beat (forced to exercise as punishment). You’re gonna be exhausted and sleep deprived. You’re either going to hate it or learn to live with it. I, personally, didn’t mind it. Sure there were days where I just didn’t want to even deal with it anymore but it’s only like 2 months. You don’t get a phone, but you will be allowed to make calls every now and then, you will get cussed at, you won’t have much time to write to family, you stand watches, and you will be rotated like cattle in the shower (which is like 3 minutes). Food is great there though. I swear you’ll be in the best shape of your life and eat like you’ve never eaten before. As long as you just do what you’re told and don’t fuck with other people, you’re fine. Girls can be brutal though. They will try to get you kicked out even if they don’t even know your name. You’ll meet a lot of crazy people I swear. Sounds bad but it’s like a strange form of a sad summer camp lol. It’s all worth it in the end. 
You’re like, 90% unlikely to be stationed with or near “boyfriend” and honestly, by the time you go to boot camp, you’ll probably already want to do your own thing. I broke up with my abusive ex before I left and it made the whole experience so much easier. I was able to focus on myself which I really needed. 
AF boot and Navy boot are NOTHING the same. AF gets it easier than the rest of the branches. 
Yes, the Marines are part of the Navy, but their boot is VERY different as well. Marines get it a bit tougher (and trust me they’ll let you know). Marines also don’t have rates they have MOS’s. It’s their version of a job. Ranks are all different in every branch. You don’t HAVE to learn all of them but it’s good to know. You will have to learn every rank and how to identify them, chain of command, creed, general orders, etc. 
The strictness of boot camp is only to get you into the mindset of the military and following orders. The fleet is wayyyy more relaxed. 
I love the Navy. NEVER in my life did I think I’d ever be joining the Navy, much less the military itself, but I’m so glad I did. 
 If you’d like to know more you can PM me. Everyone’s had different experiences in each branch.

Thinking about joining the military maybe?

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