I just turned 30 and I've done nothing with my life. Now that Trump is president and the future is uncertain I'm thinking about military service. I'm a bit older now but I'm still in good enough shape to meet physical reqs (I've timed my runs). My only real skill is programming, I'm not amazing and don't have a CS degree but I'm good enough with JavaScript to pick up occasional web dev work and I learn new stuff fast.
I was thinking about something in the Navy or Air Force since I know they still take recruits up to 35. Would there be good career paths for me there? I can probably nail the ASVAB if I try my hardest. Is this a good idea?
You know JS is pretty much the most sought after webdev skill in the job market, right?
Ian Hernandez
Get out of here leafs
Jacob Williams
Likely your programming background will not be relevant, but it could point you towards a specialty that you could aim for. No guarantee you'd get it though. Also depends on if you are going to enlist or, assuming you have a college degree, apply to OCS to become an officer.
Jacob Brooks
Speak with a recruiter as the first step. Call your local recruiting office and ask to set an appointment to meet and discuss the basics about service.
I am studying for the asvab and it is not too bad. I know for a fact the Air Force is actively looking to recruit programmers, I'd say that is the most sought after so you are in luck. Air Force is definitely the way to go for anything technical
Charles Perez
I have an Associates', I don't think that counts does it?
Samuel Jackson
Yes I know it pays well is fine, in fact usually the easier stuff is what most end consumers are familiar with, hence the demand.
But, for Navy/AF, they're into much lower level languages. You know any C, fortran, or lisp?
Juan Perez
Asking a leaf for xer input was your first mistake, shitlord
Levi Nguyen
Has to be a 4 year. Something I'd consider would be to get accepted to a college and apply to join the ROTC program. You could get a full degree in 2 years and commission as an officer. A few years ago the military was being cut so spots in ROTC were slim, but I'd assume with Trump there will be more available spots
Hudson Morgan
With an associates you automatically reach an E-3 rank after basic military training (AF bootcamp). You can only become an officer if you have a bachelors degree and complete officer training.
Jackson Thompson
What if I'm a fatass who has a phd in math, would I be accepted?
Isaiah Gray
>that webm What was his endgame?
Ethan Perry
don't do it
Ethan Hernandez
>fatass Probably not. There are physical fitness requirements. I didn't see any fatties in basic and the borderline people got knocked back. Dunno if they ever got out of basic. (If you perform poorly enough in basic training they can knock you back so you have more time to get in shape aka get yelled at.) If you were serious about joining, now is the time to start getting your ass in shape.
Ryder Lee
Nobody in the air force uses fortran, fuck off with your Sup Forums memes you autistic leaf
Isaac Wood
I know they don't use fortran, but I was just wondering how familiar you are with more useful languages besides pajeet webdev JS stuff
Isaac Cruz
I would say no...we don't know how the geopolitical spectrum will change. It's too soon. Wait for at least one year after Trump takes over. Don't be deceived into thinking that troops wont be sent to war just because Trump is in.
Jonathan Mitchell
>useful
None of the languages you listed are useful to anyone except /dpt/ faggots and their fizzbuzz meme solutions.
I do know some C for your information and have literally never had a reason to use it outside of a classroom.
Wyatt Gomez
honestly as long as you're in decent enough shape the air force would be happy to take you.
then once you're in they might even pay for you to go back to school to get a bachelors, at which point you could become an officer
Thomas Morales
Talk to a recruiter. There are tech career paths, especially in the AF. I was a computer programmer in the AF for 4 years.
If you really can't get a full time job and see no future then I guess enlistment is a way to go.
It should be a last resort though. I fucking hated it. Once in a while I actually start to regret not staying in and I have a dream that I rejoin the military, like my brain wants to remind me exactly how much I fucking hated it. Do you like assholes overseeing your every move? Do you like being told what to do, when to do it and how? Then the military is for you. If you have the slightest anti-authoritarian streak in you then you'll hate it like I did.
But it did start my career. I am making $125/k per year now and that's after shitting it up in college and having no clear future before the military. So as a last resort, take it.
You should apply for a full time dev job though and play up your past web dev work, though. Sounds to me like the problem may just be you write a terrible resume. Nobody cares if you have a degree. I don't. They just want someone who can perform and if you have job experience saying you can perform, you should be able to find something full time to start your real career.
(On my resume I just list that I went to a college and what my major was. I leave out the fact that I didn't graduate and have no degree. That's just like 2 lines. The rest is job experience.)
Lincoln Thomas
join up, do online school to get your bachelors, OCS... wala an officer and a gentleman
Jackson Diaz
Thanks for this post user.
I've been trying to find full-time dev work for over a year now and have only managed to land a few short contracts. I don't know what the problem is. I think my portfolio is pretty good, I have a working geo-projection I built in d3 and some (in my own opinion) good looking sites on there. I've got Angular 2 projects in my Github. I manage to get pretty regular interviews, I trim my beard and make eye contacts and joke with them and solve the whiteboard puzzles and they smile and say they'll be in touch and then I never hear from them.
This last week was especially demoralizing since I was waiting to hear back from a junior position, after solving their week-long code challenge in a single night and doing a good interview, I even had the person who was in the job before me recommend me for it (they're a friend) and I haven't heard back. So at this point I'm starting to think I'm just unemployable for some mysterious reason. On bad days I want to blame social justice or whatever or being white or being older, but the fact is I have no idea what it is and I'm looking at the military as a last resort.
I'm tired of living this way. I just want to work and be useful. I'm not lazy and I'm not stupid and I'm bending over backwards trying to produce something and no one will even throw me a junior position. I don't know where else to turn at this point. I doubt I can pay for another 2 years of school to finish a degree so I guess being enlisted is okay with me. I realize the pay is lower but goddamn it I just need to do something before I lose my mind.
Andrew King
fpbp
What about the Merchant Marines?
Cooper Cooper
Shouldn't he just get a full time job and join as a reserve for the weekend shit (if he really has a hard on to "serve")? I think you get paid a few hundred bucks a month + benefits? I considered this once...
Ryder Ortiz
You don't get the benefits they say you do in the reserves. You have to sign atleast a 6 years contract for benefits and spend 3 of them on federal orders for 100% benefits
Michael White
I hated every second of it. I came out with an all-encompassing disorder. I participated in a war I never agreed with. You may find yourself in a situation where you MUST act against your morals. You may end up becoming something you hate. It's a crap shoot. You won't know how you will feel until you're there. But, in some respect, you will know that our wars are just a sham for the bankers and that you're a fucking cog in that gear. You'll either have to lie to yourself, or face that fact...and it will drive you fucking mad.
I always thought that I'd take to the military like a duck to water. I assumed it would be a perfect fit. Combat aside (and all of the hell that still haunts me) day to day life in the army made me fucking miserable. The bureaucracy drove me almost as insane as being a line infantryman.
Good luck and God bless.
William Baker
You could have any job you want, 300k starting. Why would you join the marines?
Jaxson Reed
If you go navy, go for CTN. They got rid of rates so IDK what it is called anymore.
Jose Hernandez
29 year old vet here. I don't know if you're married or not (doubtful its 230 am and we're on Sup Forums), but do you want to deploy? You don't have to go as a hardcore grunt. You can go get the most slack ass job in the military, it all pays the same. I would say it depends on what you want to do. At 30, stay away from anything combat arms. Unless you are special ops, you aren't going anywhere, and will train your life away as a grunt. Get something that translates into the civilian sector well. Buddy of mine was in air traffic control. Didn't do shit but stare at a radar and tell planes where to land. Got out and landed a solid 55k job doing the exact same shit.
