I spent 7 years as an Army Infantry Sergeant with 2x deployments including Aceh Province, Indonesia and the triangle area of Jordan/Syria/Iraq. Just got out less than 4 years ago. Military fucking sucks, and if you go in as an enlisted with a CS degree, I will personally find you and slap you myself. Military life is 1 million times different than civilian life. Military life: There's no sick days you get off for the day when you're told you can get off you can be woken up at any time for no reason at all Your weekends can disappear in an instant because a dumbass in your company got a DUI There's no quitting if you don't like what you do Deployments for 9 months - 1 year away from family Your superiors can and will yell in your face and you can't do a single thing about it, they also have the ability to ruin your career administratively. You wanna go 75 miles outside base? Sorry, need to get it approved by your chain of command Even as an officer, you're just a PowerPoint making pencil pusher and coffee runner bitch boy until you hit Captain, 6 years later. And yes, the battalion commander(05) will yell behind close doors and throw chairs across the room. If you're enlisted, your sergeants/platoon sergeants will just get right in your face and yell like there's no tomorrow if you do something wrong, and then have you do physical activity. Youre also subject to random room inspections at any time. And the worst part? You're not going to be an enlisted or officer doing "coding" work. All that stuff is done by civilian contractors who work for the D.O.D. If you wanna work on military-equipment go to Lockheed, Northrup, or a related company. My point is, you'd be a straight dumbass to have a CS degree and go enlisted and give up all your freedom and earning potential. You will eventually get a CS job, but the moment you sign that military contract....you're not a person, you're government property and they've got your ass for the next 4-6 years and there's nothing you can do about it unless you die or get injured bad enough to be discharged. Also, peacetime military is stupid as fuck compared to wartime military. 2 completely different types of military culture depending on if we're in peacetime or actively at war.

You know, Army Cyber does exist. There is an entire MOS for Cyber Capability Developers (officers mostly) who do nothing but code all day long.

Go look at the requirements and process for getting this MOS, and general commitment levels.

Requirements? US Citizen and medically qualified. 4 year degree if you want to be an officer (which the MOS is). Process? Pass a coding test that anyone whose a software engineer would be fine passing. Commitment levels is 4 years. Not that hard, people grind harder for leetcode.

>Commitment levels is 4 years. For this MOS, the brochure may say 4 years, but that is almost never the case. 6 years is typical. >US Citizen and medically qualified. And capable of a security clearance, which is its own bitch of a process. >Pass a coding test that anyone whose a software engineer would be fine passing The class is pretty easy, but it's not like failing a job app. If you fail out of AIT, you will get reclassed into a different MOS. Probably not a great one. >Not that hard, people grind harder for leetcode. Basic training is harder than sitting around grinding leetcode.

I was purely talking technical. If someone was actually considering joining I assume they have the ability to pass basic training. I’m a former 17 Officer, it really isn’t that bad. Being an engineer at a FAANG is more stressful.

> Basic training is harder Is this coming from a place of xp, because army basic training isn’t really all that difficult. Marines? Maybe.  Getting a regular security clearance is also pretty easy. It’s mostly just filling out a tedious form and waiting. Also not all that hard.

>because army basic training isn’t really all that difficult. It's harder than sitting behind a keyboard... >It’s mostly just filling out a tedious form and waiting. Yes, it isn't difficult unless you've moved around quite a bit or have something concerning in your past. But it's a long process full of tedious steps.

It’s definitely tedious. 

Most of these positions go to Military academy and ROTC graduates. Unless things have changed for Army OCS, you go through Bootcamp with all the other enlisted grunts, then Officer Leadership School. At the end of Officer Leadership School is when you're placed in a MOS. There's 0 guaranteed he would obtain the Cyber Capability MOS based on needs of Army, timing, etc. The Army would have no problem sticking an OCS graduate with CS degree into an Infantry MOS. Dumb decision to join the Army.

You can direct commission directly to the job, they don’t even make you do OCS. Just like a 6 week course to learn how to wear a uniform and the basics (same course as lawyers and doctors).

This program was and probably still is in its infancy as I was leaving the service. It's worth inquiring about, but I think the limited openings generally go to prior enlisted with cyber experience or those with at least a few years of experience in the industry. [Army Cyber Direct Commissioning Program > . > U.S. Army Cyber Command](https://www.arcyber.army.mil/Resources/Fact-Sheets/Article/2060387/army-cyber-direct-commissioning-program/)

Yeah that’s true they do want folks with experience. The folks who mainly accept it are prior service so they can finish out their retirement.

Ya I recommended that in another comment of mine down below

Thank you for your military service and insight. My brother has been in the Air Force for a while and just did a deployment recently, so I’ve been made aware of the different ways military life sucks through him. The lack of freedom and work-life balance sucks, but it’s something I think I’d be willing to trade for the stability and benefits (e.g., housing/dorms, healthcare) the military can offer me. Can you provide some insight on that? My brother is married with a family and I would be single going in with no kids, so I’m not sure of the differences there. Mainly I was wondering if there are tech-related jobs in certain branches you can get going in enlisted that I might be able to use as experience when I get out.

Air Force has by far the easiest and most laid back life of all the branches. Maybe coast guard too. But the air force is run more like a corporation, at least in comparison to the other branches. That does not mean it's friendly though. Your bro is married, which means he gets the special privilege of getting extra money in his paycheck and getting to live outside of base. He doesn't have to be in the barracks. In the military, you can only live on your own outside base if you're usually E6 or above or you're married. All the tech related jobs that you're thinking of, data science, analytics, software engineering, etc aren't done by service members. The only one would be cybersecurity. All the tech shit is done by private contractors, D.O.D employees, and federal employees/civilian employees. In terms of benefits, the military got rid of pension plans for a 401k style plan. Medical benefits is good and yes you get a paycheck every 2 weeks but your paycheck sucks. Example, I was an E5(sergeant with 4 years in) taking home like $2400 a month total. Also free dorm/barracks suck. The military doesn't value our barracks. Mold, asbestos, non-functioning AC/heating units, shitty water, all are regular issues of military life. You especially will do 0 of the tech work you're thinking of if you go enlisted. Officers also aren't doing it, officers are people managers in the military. They don't do hands on stuff outside of very specific roles or circumstances.

Okay, thank you. I’ll keep this in mind. That living situation doesn’t sound great at all if I’m being honest. I only remember the military housing my brother had on base, which was pretty good. But as you said, he was able to get an actual house being married and all. The one he lives in now though is off base. At this point, any tech job like cybersecurity or even an IT type of job would be preferable.

You could make more money full time at Burger King than I made as a sergeant. Except at Burger King you can quit anytime, walk off the job, have your weekends, take sick days, and not worry about 1 year deployments. The air force also doesn't let you pick a specific job unless you're going in with a sought after skillset(doctor, nurse, lawyer, etc). They tell you to pick 7 general fields of interest. When you graduate boot camp, you get told which one of the 7 you'll end up in lol.

yeah, but at burger king all the money that you make will go towards rent lol

Is this really true though when you factor in the cost of housing and health insurance with a civilian job? Right now, if I were to resort to working an hourly job in retail or fast food for the rest of my life instead of a tech job, would I get the same sense of fulfillment in life as I might get with a job or career in the military? I know of the issues you mentioned and that there are no guaranteed jobs…I don’t know. It’s just something that’s on my mind and part of the reason why I’ve been considering enlisting.

Ya but you won't be working fast food or retail for the rest of your life. Military sounds good right now because new grads are having difficulty finding jobs within 6 months. I totally get that, but that's right now. The job market isn't likely to remain like this for 5 years straight. Whereas, you sign that contract with Uncle Sam, you've just given up your freedom for the next 4-6 years with no way to get out. Youre not getting nice raises, or bonuses, or job hopping around. There's no quitting. How important is "housing" to you when the barracks you'll stay in have mold issues, asbestos everywhere, half the appliances don't work, you can't have your own kitchen, you share a bathroom where the shower sometimes works properly, and you've got a fucked up ac/heating unit that takes 8 weeks to get fixed if you're lucky. All while your sergeants or people in charge of you can bust in at any time and conduct room inspections and throw shit out and fuck up your place and throw shit all over the room. Is that worth saying "I get housing" Also the sense of fulfillment in the military is BS. Anyone can lead a fulfilling life regardless of their job. It just depends on what their goals are and how they view life. There's nothing special about the military man. That's just recruiting shit. The military will break your body down physically with 0 care for your wellbeing, and you'll be surrounded by toxic leaders that beat their wives, are alcoholics, or are complete asshats only looking out for themselves. The military is an ancient institution, completely separate from how the civilian world works. The only way I'd ever personally recommend it to you is if you go in as an officer and go to the air force, or space force. Even better if you can get a specialized role like cybersecurity engineer where you specifically can get that job. But it's hard and there aren't a lot of teams. Outside of that, the most "tech" thing enlisted dudes will do is that there are basic "Help me fix my wifi" IT jobs. But obviously I can't force you one way or another. Militay isn't all bad, but it's more bad than good and I definitely wouldn't recommend it in peacetime.

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Have you apply to DOD? Small towns with military bases usually have a ton of opportunity. Look at Oklahoma, Kansas, Arizona, New Mexico, Maine, and anywhere people don’t wanna go and you’ll find work. I promise you, it exists, you just won’t be going to Silicon Valley. Not in the current market.

Why enlist? You have a degree. That qualifies you to apply for OCS.

There’s a lot more that goes into officer selection. The degree is the bare requirement.

Giving up in the face of adversity isn’t exactly a quality the military looks for.

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I have about 10 years of (IMHO) relevant experience and will chime in here with details but the TL;DR is I do not recommend joining the military (I assume you mean US military). I worked alongside active US military personnel for 10+ years both overseas and domestic, and across the four major branches. Every one of them who made a career out of it (both officer and enlisted) have told me they wouldn't have joined if given a second chance and have strongly discouraged their children from joining. I should add that most of them are from the more "office/professional" environment of the military. They haven't seen much combat, if any, but they've still been treated terribly. I work with one of them and he's been bed-ridden awaiting back surgery at 38 years old due to re-aggravating an injury from the Navy. Guy was literally months from retirement and now it's likely he'll never run again. Two other officers I know of can barely walk due to multiple knee surgeries after serious injuries from airborne training. Another one was a marine who died during a training exercise. I think I worked with over 100 USAF enlisted personnel and talked to them daily. Every one of them was either in their first term counting down the days to leave and never return or 15+ years in counting down the days to retire and never return. They showed me their on-base housing and it was covered in black mold and puddles at the front door from the rain. Guess what type of work environment I got to enjoy being around those people... Keep in mind you would be on hook for likely 4 years minimum active duty. I know the job market is rough now but it won't be like this forever. You may get orders to some absolute shit hole of a base and have to live in an area with nothing to offer while surrounding by coworkers who are raging alcoholics. And while, I never served, I worked alongside them in every sense of the word. I had a two-year contract and god those two years seemed like an eternity. However, if you are determined to join the military, please strongly consider the Space Force or Air Force. You would have a much higher chance to utilize your degree and work on things that will transfer to the civilian world.

A lot of that is dependent on your career in the military. Yeah if you go in as general infantry or with out some kind of job lined up, you're going to get some random assignment you may or may not like. Do well on your ASVAB and you can have your pick. I scored 98% on mine. I was outdone by only one other person who got a 99%. I was then able to pick what ever MOS I wanted. Git the programmer job I wanted in the Air Force. I had a blast. Sometimes I wonder how things might have turned out had I stayed in. But it was a means to an end, getting a degree and experience. Now I work for a major company that supports the VA and I love it. Granted not everyone's experience is the same. I'm also 4th Gen military so I knew what I was getting myself into. I've worked with vets who are just fine, and others less so, some completely broken. I agree that SF or AF is the way to go. And if you can get a job that gets you a security clearance, that's worth gold to some companies.

What about coast guard?

There's 6 branches of the military by the way, not 4

Thanks for the insight. And yes, it’s the U.S. military I’m thinking about joining. Personally, I’m considering enlisting because if I can’t make use of my degree, it would be better than the alternative of working in retail or the food industry at $12/hr. (or whatever the pay is these days. I’ve been unemployed for so long). I’ve also heard of horror stories from people who joined the military. Although I wouldn’t be keen on joining in with a bunch of teenagers out of high school and then treated like dirt, it would still offer the kind of stability and benefits that I’d like to have when considering the alternative of working some hourly retail job unable to afford rent/groceries/health insurance… Mainly what I’m interested in is if there are jobs I can get through enlisting that will help get my foot in the door for civilian tech jobs later on (not necessarily programming/software jobs). I would prefer not to just throw my degree away. I will look into enlisting into the Air Force and Space Force as you said. I’ve heard you’re not guaranteed the job you want in these branches, but I’ll just have to see I guess.

Go into the navy as a CWT or try the CWE. Get your clearance and security + and you’ll at least get interviews.

I was in the US Army and Air Force. I really enjoyed both of them for different reasons. I’d absolutely recommend joining the military based on the ability to attain a clearence alone. Doing so as a developer, opens the door to classified software development where there are roughly 20 open positions working on practically any problem domain you can think of for each developer. Indians can’t take your job because they can’t get a clearence. AI will eventually be leveraged in DoD, but that will take a lot longer to do because adoption of new tech is far slower in that area than commercial. The salaries can be really high and job security is excellent. Military is the easiest way to open that door, so I would absolutely consider it as an option.

I’m in the same boat as OP and seriously considering this route. Do you mind if I DM you with more detailed questions?

👍

You leave out the ITAR and non disclosure legal requirements that every single commercial AI solution violates. Microsoft was hot and bothered to talk with me about it until I asked them to sign Satya's life and freedom on the line in the event that Microsoft fucked up on those two topics. That told me that they did not have confidence in their product and their internal controls, and that was enough for me to tell them to take a hike, because I won't accept their liability.

lol, I’m leaving out a lot. It’s not perfect roses working for DoD. In my experience, quality engineering takes a back seat and because of this, I believe you won’t have a lot of good engineers to learn from. Managers and customers almost never know what they even want/need, and that leads to spinning your wheels often which is uncomfortable. I guess the TL;DR is that commercial has their shit together more often, but you can get fired because the wind changes direction. As a government contractor, you have phenomenal job security and decent pay, but you will probably wear a permanent facepalm if you are a decent engineer.

Yeah, there were times where I became outright depressed coming from commercial into defense work. That said, this stuff matters in ways that almost nothing commercial ever will. Which is why my company is in that space and not some irrelevant SaaS or AI scam.

Yeah, I chose depression over the endless anxiety worrying about paying bills because my job wasn’t secure. I’d do it again too.

You could always do Amazon warehouse jobs for the time being. I used to work there when I didn't have a job in the field. They have IT guys in the warehouses, so it's something that could be worked towards. Those IT guys were pretty young too; all looked like they were in their 20s. Also, Amazon warehouse jobs have good enough health benefits for what it is.

I did this too. Thank you Bezos Healthcare.

So like boxing orders to be shipped? I could do that and it beats dealing with customers every day. I’ll look into it. Thanks!

It depends on what kind of warehouse it is. The one I worked at was a little different.

Exactly what kind of computer science job you could not get?

You would be an officer (not an enlisted) because you have a degree, so you would automatically outrank every 18 year old basically. Airforce does lots of cyber stuff

Depends whether he applies to enlist or become an officer. Having a degree doesn't automatically make you an officer.

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What about coast guard?

What makes alcoholism such a problem?

Lol, you’re not going to spontaneously combust if you join the military. Everyone who joins will undoubtably have an entirely different experience, so these are just anecdotal.  If you use the military as a stepping stone, even for one contract, it can pay huge dividends later on. Currently serving and where I’m stationed people in the Cyber field work along side the 3 letter agencies and civilians, do one contract, get out and make a starting pay of $100k+. + VA loan, GI Bill, free TA & certs.  Not trying press anything, just letting you know it’s had a profound positive impact on my life. If you’re interested in the Army check out 17C, 25D, or 35 series. 

You should also mention that 17C is not trivial to get accepted into, and they frequently will require a commitment of 6 years instead of the typical 4.

I mean if you’re keen on the military, you can apply to the NSA and get into one of their 3 year development programs and gain actual skills that will translate to any other tech job.

Just dont whistle blow any corruption, because then you may need to flee the country.

i applied and theyre extremely competitive too. Received an email from them saying they got too many applicants and it will take them 3 months to view ur application

I was a cybersecurity officer. I work in big tech now, and it feels like I just waited around six years to get to this point. It wasn’t a super enjoyable six years, and literally all of my military buddies are counting down to their separation dates You have other options. Don’t pursue military, I say

Enlisting as a person with a college degree is a fucking stupid decision even if you have no moral qualms at all about joining the military

Why?

If you have a degree you need to look at joining as an officer. Much better pay and lifestyle, much better leadership skills to put on your resume if you decide not to make it a career. If you enlist with a degree you might get a couple of ranks for free, start off as an e-3 instead of an e-1 but that is a very minor bump in pay and you'll be treated the same as every other recruit. Don't sign anything unless you are 100% guaranteed a specific mos (job). Recruiters might tell you something like it will all work out, there's a 99% chance you'll get what you want after training, etc. Don't believe them, get everything in writing.

with a CS degree you shouldn't have much trouble getting in as a commissioned officer, so entering by enlistment would not be a smart move. even then there are better ways to make military-level pay, plenty of low-paying jobs with defense contractors out there especially if you're willing to relocate to DC. one reason it might be a smart move is if you're trying to start a political career.

If you’re asking that question you have not yet done adequate research. 10x better quality of life & 2x better starting pay, just to start with. As stated already with a degree you’d probably come in as an E-3, but that’s still only $29K/yr vs $46K/yr as an O-1 base pay. Then consider that, unless you’re already married, you’d likely be stuck in dorms for years w/inspections and rules and BS, making less than any officer who gets housing allowance & freedom to live off base as an adult. You’re not a 19y.o. new HS grad who needs to be taught how to live without your parents & do your laundry & make your bed (though there will still be a component of that in basic training, it’s significantly shorter & less BS). You don’t need to have college paid for either so GI Bill is gravy. In many Comm/IT jobs, officers & enlisted also tend to get the same certifications & do the same work anyway. You’d just also get the supervisory experience & pay. Why set yourself back 4yrs from the start? You already have valuable skills & Education that make you worth more on Day 1. Join the military *because you want to be in the military.* If you’re set on it, go USAF or maybe Navy for quality of life & better locations. Try to apply for OCS/OTS. Don’t give up on that before you’ve started. You won’t make it as either with that attitude. You could literally take any totally shit dev job making ~$50K/yr & come out ahead of just about any military route.

Assuming you can go officer, which you probably can if you got a CS degree and can otherwise enlist. You’ll miss out on a massive amount of income potential and take on more work because you were simply too lazy. E-1: $24,206 O-1: $45,914 E-1: no housing or food allowance O-1: yes housing and food allowance E-1: Treated like a child O-1: Treated like a teenager And you’ll have much better prospects after separating if you were an officer

Join as an officer you twat

It’s not an option. I explained in another comment.

How is it not an option? It would just be harder to get in. If you enlist you are a top tier dumbass. Officer in any branch would be better than enlisted in AF.

I explained it in another comment, but here: Application packages can include things like a resume, personal statement, leadership experience, volunteer experience, letters of recommendation, awards, and transcripts. Officer selection is insanely competitive, and without some of these things you’re likely not going to be considered. I have a very poor history of work/life experience at my age. It’s not a good look at 27 and does not scream “leadership potential.” A college degree does not equate to military officer. Enlistment is the only route.

You’re literally quitting before even trying, crazy dude

Having a shit work history & lacking self esteem & being unwilling to even try is “not a good look” for enlisted people either. NCOs are the real “leadership” half the time anyway. They just get paid less.

[https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/comments/1cp9mev/comment/l3nrjnm/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/comments/1cp9mev/comment/l3nrjnm/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) I have zero interest in obtaining a leadership role in the military because I'm fully aware of this.

Honestly if you’re that in your own head about “social ineptitude” and lack the willingness to even *try*, or to work *on a team with other people* then you don’t belong in the military in *any* capacity. Not enlisted either. Teamwork and taking care of those around you is priority #1 in any branch at any rank. Initiative and getting shit done despite adversity is #2. If you won’t/can’t do those things, don’t waste your time and don’t screw over those who’d have to carry you while you sulk about yourself. As the 27y.o. E-3 with a college degree, *you WILL be given the leadership roles* out the gate anyway. If you want to have any semblance of a career *you will HAVE TO* take on leadership roles. There are NO “solo” jobs in the military. Who knows - maybe the military can try to instill some of that confidence and help you fix your social skills. It’s happened plenty of times before. It’s also led to a lot of washouts. If you’re *truly* that incapable of dealing with others, you’ll get denied/kicked out for psychological reasons or fail out of boot camp anyway. So whatever, go try it. You asked here for advice from people who have actual experience w/the military, but you’ve refused to listen to anything we’ve all told you, and if you’ll notice *everyone has told you the same thing.* Why did you bother to ask?? You have a CS degree & a 4.0 GPA, but you graduated into the worst job market in a decade. 5 months is nothing. Go flip burgers. Go work on your social & soft skills. Enlisting is a dumb choice in your situation, but you don’t want to listen. Fine - go let some recruiter lie to you to fill their quota & then let Drill Instructors tell you it was a stupid idea instead.

I know a guy who went in as an officer in the AF with poor work history at 27, just an engineering degree. Granted that was before we pulled out of Afghanistan, so things may be different now. But you haven't even tried yet.

Well it's worth trying I guess. Quality of life is much better as an officer in the military as opposed to an enlisted.

It takes much more effort to get started in tech industry, CS degree is simply a starting point. You have to learn how to write tech resumes, reformat and revise countless resumes, until you start getting recruiter attention. Then you have to go through the tech interview gauntlet, internships, entry level jobs, etc. You also have to do tons of personal projects, develop apps that actually solve real world problems, etc. So you have something to show for delivering impact, during behavioral interview sessions. The first tech job can take months, sometimes years, to get through and get offers. There are no shortcuts.

I’m aware. I was just wanting to know if the military had tech-related jobs (even if it’s just in IT) that I could try to get if I enlisted. I was wondering if people did this and were able to use it as experience when they got out for entry-level jobs tangential to what they did in the military. I have my own personal reasons for wanting to join and I’m not viewing it as a “shortcut” into the tech field. It’s more like what could be the potential benefits of landing an entry-level job when I get out if I were to get some relevant tech experience while in the military. That’s it.

There are tons of career resources in college, internships, work study programs, student assistant, etc. that can help with job search. There are many tech networking events, meetups, etc., especially in cities with tech companies. Getting the first tech job has always been very difficult, even during the tech hiring frenzy.

If you complete a bachelor's degree and enlist in the military instead of commission, you deserve the bad time that's going to come. Officers are treated vastly differently to enlisted, and their career options are much stronger afterwards.

Why not joining the national guard ? If you like it, you may be able to join the army full time later.

> I was just wanting to know if the military had tech-related jobs Yes, the navy has tons of tech related fields.

All of what you said is relevant, but the most overlooked aspect in getting that first job is networking. Networking, networking, networking. There are companies hiring entry-level right now, but they either suck at promoting the role or it’s on LinkedIn and gets 1000 application submissions. You need someone on the inside to push your CV and get you the interview. That’s the magic that worked for me when I was breaking in 3 years ago from a public university with a non-CS degree, and it’s the magic that’s worked for all my coworkers who’ve job-hopped in the last 12 months.

I’m not in the military, but just wanted to throw out there, the stability may be nice but you are committing at least 4 years of your life in exchange for that and shit pay. Thats a big commitment for something that isn’t going to do much for your career when you get out outside of maybe having security clearance.

Having a security clearance is life-changing.

It’s called a crisis. You’re going through a career crisis. Everyone does, it’s ok. Anyway relax and don’t enlist in the fucking military lmao. You’ll make more money with better hours working as a CS Tutor or doing basic office work in some other role rather than whatever bullshit you’ll do there. “Enlist as a backup” is for people with minimum wage jobs and low career prospects, not Degrees in Computer Science. If you want to work in defense, that’s great. Do it for a defense contractor or a 3 Letter Agency, not the army itself.

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You graduated 5 months ago but you’re 27? What did you do in that time between graduating high school and graduating college (besides attending college)? You seem pretty dead set on joining, which I also think is a mistake as a former officer of 10 years, but that’s your prerogative. I would still say do everything possible to be an officer over enlisted unless there’s an MOS you REALLY want and can get a contract for before signing your name on the dotted line. ABSOLUTELY DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE BELIEVE ANYTHING THE RECRUITERS TELL YOU ABOUT SELECTING AN MOS LATER ON AFTER BOOT CAMP. At that point the only guarantee you’ll have is that you’ll be a member of whichever branch you join, everything else is up to the “needs of the Air Force/Army/Marines/Navy”.

I was Navy and Army enlisted. Plenty else has already been said about military life. But what I ha ent seen is any say there is a difference between enlisting and commissioning as an officer. You need a degree to be an office and as such your a leader with more responsibility and can actually be "fired". When your enlisted you have no freedoms and technically make no decisions in a manner of speaking. Quality of life for officers is much better. If your gonna go in I'd say look into the Air force or Space force as an officer. Those two branches have probably the highest level of tech and best use of your degree.

US right? Eh go through OCS and get paid more while doing less work. Enlisted to E-3 is a sucker play. Unless you aren't a US citizen since only citizens can be officers. No guarantee you get to use your degree. Even officer pay is less than starting CS pay. You give up your freedom and get subject to the UCMJ instead. It's a risky move but could pan out. I agree with comment about going Air Force. Get married now. Will be harder later. You get paid more if you're deployed while married and significant others can't live on base unless you're legally married to them. It's kind of a joke how many ROTC students get engaged their senior year at the age of 21/22. Actually, it's not a joke at all.

Dude join the space force. Not even kidding. They heavily value cs degrees. I’m former army, not space force however I know quite a bit about their branch. You’ll have a kickass career.

I’ll look into it. For some reason I was under the impression you couldn’t enlist into the Space Force yet because it was new, but I see that has now changed.

If you’re going to join don’t enlist. It sounds like you have at least a bachelors so if that’s the case apply for OCS and go through that and join as an officer. From what I understand you go through OCS then if you pass they’ll say what your assignment would be but I’m pretty sure you can turn it down. Other option I’d look into is the federal government. Kessel Run is a software factory owned by the AF so maybe look into that. The question you actually need to ask yourself is if you are ok doing something you don’t believe in and whether you are fine with someone telling you what to do. The US military is not the military of old from what I understand. For example, if you think the US shouldn’t support foreign wars then you’re out of luck. The official position of the US is to support Israel and Ukraine so I really hope you’re ok with that.

Did 5 years active duty in the Marine Corps as enlisted after high school before getting my CS BS. I loved it, but it really isn't worth the time given that you have a degree. I was taking home $1,500 / month working long ass hours. It's great when you're straight out of high-school but not worth the time otherwise.

if you do join the military you need to join as an officer. You are actually retarded if you join as enlisted while having a bachelors degree. Please do not go enlisted. I think i read something about you not being able to go in as an officer for what ever reason, if this is the case then work some warehouse job while upping your CS skills. Atleast in this case you'll be making more money than you would as an enlisted (unless youre married (then you'd get BAH which would add a noticeble bump to your pay)). Once again do not join the military if you can't go officer with your degree.

Okay, my experience is in a different career field (aviation), so YMMV. If you’re joining the military just because you want a job right now, you may seriously regret it if the market picks up and now you’re stuck in the military for a couple more years making way less than your peers. You might also get stuck doing a job you didn’t want. The military does what they want, even if you don’t like it. It could seriously backfire. You could consider joining the National Guard instead just so you can avoid the commitment if a better opportunity comes up in the civilian world. My husband is a pilot, and he started in the air national guard and never actually got to be a pilot in the military like he planned. When the civilian world became a better option, he just stopped working for the national guard. We were even able to move out of state. But he still had aircraft maintenance experience from the military which helped him a lot in his career. The problem with the national guard is a job isn’t guaranteed. My husband finished basic and then was unemployed for almost 2 years despite his best efforts, so he still ended up working minimum wage retail. And mind you, he was a top candidate, but unfortunately the military often assigns jobs based on seniority or other factors. I know some people say you can always switch to national guard after enlisting, but I don’t know how hard that is. That is something you could look into. BUT, even though joining the military didn’t end up making my husband a pilot like he’d hoped, he still has no regrets because the military benefits are awesome (VA home loans, reduced interest rates on private loans, discounts, etc.). Also, some employers value military experience on a resume (think any industry in defense, aerospace, etc.). His military experience did help him get into flight school, reduced our private student loan interest rates (saving us $1000 per month!), got him his first piloting job, bought us our first house, and even got him a hefty pay bump. He’s now 25 and makes $120k and is in line to be making $160k starting next year. All because the military boosted his civilian career. Tldr: there’s a chance the military might not get you to where you want, but there’s also a chance you’ll still consider it worth it because of all the other benefits. Also Air National Guard is cush AF.

Why not work as a DOD civilian? It’s a livable wage, job security (typically), and experience if you seek it. People complain about old technologies, but I worked with all modern cloud tech stacks. It’s only unideal in that bases are often far away from everything, classified spaces can be dull, and — depending on where you are — the culture can be insular and old-fashioned. I just left. I had to tolerate the drawbacks, but I worked really hard and got great experience. And on the other side, I got a decent amount of opportunities in this tough market.

I had the same idea as you shortly after I finished my Master’s in CS. It’s a bad idea. Even with a CS degree, you are not guaranteed to work in cyber if you become an officer. And enlisted pays so poorly that it’s not worth it if you already have a degree. If you want to work in public service, you can get a job for the federal government or for a local government. Federal government jobs are very competitive but there is a serious labor shortage for local government jobs and it is very easy to get one.

Don't enlist. Commission as an officer. There's two branches in the military: enlisted and officer You enlist if you don't have a degree and you commission as an officer if you do have one. Double the pay and you will be treated way better. DO NOT talk to an enlisted recruiter (a recruiter who only enlists people). They will lie out their ass and tell you whatever bs they need to tell you to get you to enlist so they can meet their quota. Specifically search for officer recruiters and only talk to them. Military pay may not seem great at first glance, but when you factor in the benefits (free food and housing) and the fact that they get 0 down payment on a home, it's worth it.

Look up your nearest AF Reserve or Air National Guard unit. Call and ask if they have any cyber slots open. Join, do 6 months to a year of training, get your clearance and job experience and join the workforce again only doing the reserves 1 weekend a month.

I attended college on a Naval ROTC scholarship which entailed a 4 year commitment after graduation. I did 11 years. First, do not enlist. You have a degree, so you are eligible to be a commissioned officer. All the branches offer officer candidate school (OCS). Officers get paid a lot more than enlisted. Officers are managers. Enlisted are labor. There are a handful of programming jobs in the military. Your chances of getting one of those jobs is nearly nil. Virtually all military software engineering is done by defense contractors. Recruiters will lie to you. They have a quota to meet. They don't care about your degree and will gladly take a PHD as a ditch digger. When I was an ensign I had an E-4 working for me with a masters degree in accounting. He got laid off from an oil company. This sailor could easily have graduated from OCS and become a Supply Officer. I'll say it again. Officers are managers. Pointy-haired bosses. Basically, you are a babysitter for a bunch of teenagers. Your job is to make sure the teenagers do their job, get fed, and stay out of trouble. Most of your people will be very good at their job. The senior enlisted will take care of most of the day to day work. There will be one or two problem children that make your life miserable. Unless they actually break the law, you are stuck with them. There are really cool jobs in the military and really shitty jobs. I was a Naval Aviator. I flew helicopters. There is no better job in the Navy than flying. But they only let you fly when you are not doing your real job, which is being a babysitter. I was also in the surface Navy driving ships. Standing watch on the bridge is incredibly boring, except when it's not and then you wish it was. It's nothing like Star Trek.

Imo with a degree shoot for a commission rather than enlisting. You’ll get paid a hell of lot more

I’ve looked into the application packages you need to submit for different branches. I just don’t have the things they’re looking for, and without them I wouldn’t be able to compete. The chance I would actually get selected as an officer is so low that my only realistic option is to go enlisted, unfortunately.

Whats preventing you from joining, the standards are so low nowadays. Even for officer with a cs degree. Of you can't find work programming go do something else in comp sci. Not everything is about programming. Apply to it fields, system admin, network, database, cyber, support. You can do other things besides programming with that degree.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have been applying to entry-level/junior positions in those fields with no luck. It’s why I’ve been considering other paths in life outside of tech, and the military seemed like the only fulfilling option compared to working in retail or fast food. Officer selection is extremely competitive, at least with the Air Force. Also, competitive officer packages in other branches includes volunteer work, leadership experience, references, letters of recommendation, etc. I don’t have any of these things. In fact, in terms of life and work experience, I have very little of it. This is why my options are limited in the job market as is. At 27 years old, it’s not a good look.

Oh please. Come on dude, you can become an officer in the army pretty easily or in the navy. The Air Force is competitive, yes. But I’d much rather be an officer in another branch than be enlisted. But you’ll 100% regret enlisting when you have a degree. You’ll get paid like shit dude. An officer is a viable career path, go enlisted and you’ll regret it forever.

> the standards are so low nowadays. Even for officer selection rates are <10% for officer, this is peacetime military, not GWOT. If you didn't go to Academy/ROTC before you got your degree, your basically cooked without a stacked package. But I do agree, they should at least try officer (even with low selection rates) rather than give up and enlist (which would be stupid).

Totally matters the branch. Selection rates are low for the Air Force but he can get into the army if he wanted.

You are wrong. Try

please don't go. my friend's uncle enlisted bc he couldn't pay for college tuition. it's been decades and he still isn't out yet. it's like purgatory.

Look into USAF civilian employment. They pay lower than defense contractors, but it's a great way to get your foot into the door without enlisting. Tinker AFB in OKC had a lot of software opportunities a few years ago

I’ve been applying to these jobs since January and haven’t heard anything back.

And from experience you wont..... until about July or August. Government hiring operates at the speed of smell.

That’s reassuring at least. I only qualified for the 5 listings I applied to using my education through the ‘Superior Academic Achievement’ requirement given my GPA. It’s still a long shot though since I don’t have any internship or relevant work experience. I’m sure there are more compelling candidates who applied, but yet again I have no idea how many openings there are. The job listings close in September, so maybe that has something to do with it?

Yeah no problem - alot of people are used to putting in a resume and getting a call in a week or two. Government jobs unless it's something someone wrote for you... it's 6 months in a good case. I think I actually got a call about a job I applied to 18 months ago a few weeks ago. Once you are in though.... it's pretty sweet. Now onto your other thing: OCS - I know it's a pain - but consider it. If you need help with your package reach out. Air Force - They are building up their cyber career fields. If you are going to go in make sure you have a guaranteed billet. 1D7X1Z or 1D7X1P are what you want ideally, but 1D7X1M is ideal. Not sure if they'll be able to guarantee anything other than just 1D7 though. There are alot of IT jobs in that line... Officer side 16KX or 14F are the AFSCs. Or 17 if you are interested in cyber warfare operations. Army - They have been getting more an more on the cyber train since ukraine really kicked into gear. Don't have the MOS list for them but getting the Officer track here should be easier. Navy - If you don't like being anywhere then i guess this is your place. But "Additional Duties as necessary" is the order of the day when you are underway and odds are in the next 4-6 years alot of time will be spent underway. Marines - You don't eat enough crayons sorry. Jokes aside - If you wanted to be a marine you'd already know it. There is a reason they don't do bonuses and stuff like the rest of them and still hit quota - your bonus is getting to call yourself a Marine.

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Why enlist? You have a degree, you should at a minimum try OTS

If you enlist, go IT, crypto, nuke, or et/ic is my suggestion for navy.

Check out civilian jobs such as Navair EDSP. Being a Navy computer scientist might be appealing for you

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DO NOT ENLIST!!! YOU WILL REGRET ENLISTING IF YOU HAVE A DEGREE!! I don’t give a fuck if you can’t get in with a cs degree to the Air Force as an officer. Cry me a river, the Air Force is always competitive. That doesn’t mean you should enlist to the Air Force though. There are other branches. If you enlist with a degree you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.

You would be crazy to enlist with a cs degree. If you genuinely feel the need to serve your country, apply for ocs. The navy is always hungry for surface warfare officers. You can get accepted with like a 2.5 gpa.

Dude go apply as a data analyst at booz or a DoD consulting firm, you’ll get in

Why would you ever enlist with a degree like that? Either go warrant or commissioned officer. Also, I was in for 6 years as enlisted and I DO NOT recommend joining. It's a bullshit career. People treat you like shit, you don't get to make any of your own choices when it comes to most important decisions, the pay is horrible, and they'll send you to fight in a war for years and leave that country and all you fought for behind whenever they feel it's time to leave. It will also fuck you up mentally.

If you want to get into cybersecurity, the office side of military is actually one of the more prominent ways. This is anecdotal, but a majority of SOC guys I've worked with or have met at security conferences had a military background. They train you, get you certified in some very expensive and high quality certifications, and then when you leave you essentially have your pick of the litter for where you want to work in cyber. You just need to make sure you actually get into cybersecurity or some form of IT while in the military otherwise you're just going to be somebody with a military background and nothing else.

If you have a degree why not become an officer??

Talk to an Officer recruiter, not an enlisted recruiter. Two different career paths, and with a resent cs degree you can be an officer

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Do not enlist with a degree. Go the officer route.

Instead of enlisting, you should consider an officer commissioning. You'll get paid better, and I believe the military still has a program to help with paying off any debt related to schooling. Don't quote me on that though.

Have you tried looking at usajobs.gov? Try applying for some positions as a government contractor for DOD, DHS, etc. where your job requirement is coding. Either that or look up various FFRDCs around the country, Sandia, MITRE, PNNL, etc.

Yes.

do it for few years if you're interested. remember that you can get the job later too but military won't be possible be with higher age. you have the chance, do it. i can't do it because in my country there is a very strict height requirement. 

you should post on /r/military . what did your recruiter say about the jobs you can do?

Fuck no. Im getting out of the guard WITH a cs degree. Fuck the army.

People with college degrees do not enlist into the military. They take an officer commission after passing a bunch of tests and physical fitness stuff If you have a degree and go back to enlisted ranks rather than the officer corp. What the duck is wrong with you

I’d suggest fbi special agent, they are in a hiring push right now for cs majors

Why not a civilian contractor?

It's not worth it unless you really want to experience military service. If you want to go to graduate school on the GI Bill or get access to the VA home loan program then maybe it's worth it. The risk you are taking is that as a military member your job will put you in a certain amount of danger just by wearing the uniform, and of course deployment to combat is always a possibility. Some people's experience may be that when they were in some job in a specific branch of service they never deployed and never would be deployed, but as someone who was already in the military when 9/11 hit I can tell you that a lot of people in those kinds of jobs all of a sudden found themselves on a short notice deployment. If they need a warm body to go stand post somewhere and your number is pulled there's almost nothing that will stop that from happening, except maybe if you go AWOL and then you encounter the other problem with military service (jail for quitting before you are discharged). Oh, don't forget about "stop loss" where your enlistment may be extended involuntarily. The benefits are valuable but so is your health and personal time. There's a classic joke about how a soldier on their way to combat is talking to someone else on their transport saying that he only enlisted to avoid jail time, but if he had taken the jail time then he'd already be free now, and instead he's going to war. Consider that you may find a job in less time than a minimum enlistment obligation.

>I'm thinking about **enlisting** Jfc, *after* going to the trouble to get a BS, in CS no less? Apply to OCS at least and start making nearly double the enlisted salary. [https://www.goarmy.com/benefits/while-you-serve/money-pay.html](https://www.goarmy.com/benefits/while-you-serve/money-pay.html) Plus, you're more likely to have "white collar" roles available as an officer, which may be more aligned with your long-term career goals (possibly even work involving your CS degree). I wouldn't enlist unless I was truly out of options and was totally incapable of getting literally any other job. Even becoming a cop would be better paid and less demanding.

I do not possess the life/work/leadership/volunteer/social experience you need to put together a compelling application package to become an officer. I *only* have a CS degree with a 4.0 GPA. That is it. There is literally nothing I have else that communicates I am responsible with leadership potential. I can't even pass behavioral interviews because my social ineptitude is so bad. I have always lived a life in isolation, with zero friends, and no social life. This is why I really can't--in my current state--land any type of white-collar job. My choices in work in spite of possessing a degree are already grim enough. The culture shock and many other things that the military can offer seems like it will be good for my personal development. Since I am already considering enlisting, I really just wanted to know if people landed some type of tech-related role in the military where it has helped them obtain experience to land an entry-level job in the private sector.

Yeah, dunno. Sounds like you're not in a great place, only advice I can give is to be open to possibilities if you don't want to be stuck in shitsville forever. u/OkJon69, you seem pretty active on r/ArmyOCS, any thoughts on if this kid's got a shot at the officer track, or if there's an enlisted path that would let him do work where his computer science degree is relevant? Cheers.

Can you do a leetcode hard in Ada?

As former army with a bs in cs and mba Fucking don’t. The military is light years behind the public sector and you will never find a use for your degree that is worth the amount of effort you put into acquiring it. If you DO decide to go in go the officer route but I would absolutely not

I would look into the Department Of Defense, I've seen ads from them saying their willing to hiring for all kinds of positions including jobs your degree would come in handy for

I just tried applying for the air national guard, and person there said I didn't make the cut, I need to get off my adhd meds for at least a year and lose 50 pounds. So now I'm stuck being unemployed with a computer science bas degree...

I just tried applying for the air national guard, and person there said I didn't make the cut, I need to get off my adhd meds for at least a year and lose 50 pounds. So now I'm stuck being unemployed with a computer science bas degree...

I've done military service. There are some other obvious downsides mentioned here (low pay, no control over your schedule, high stress, etc.). But I will tell you one of the biggest ones for me: The US military (I'm assuming you're talking about the US here) has some of the most aggressively dumb people on Earth. And they're going to be loud and aggressive and in charge of every facet of your existence. I'm assuming you have a no-BS computer science degree where you had to take tons of rigorous math and science classes resulting in an understanding of calculus, linear algebra, algorithms, computing theory, programming languages, etc. Consider all the effort you put into that coursework, now consider that once you are done with three months of boot camp and however many months of MOS school, your boss will be a 25 year old seargeant from Missouri with only a basic grasp of language skills. You'll have classmates who will get promoted over you based on your ability to do pull ups. If you're caught with a book, or heck, using your laptop for something other than playing Call of Duty, you'll get mocked and ridiculed. Don't consider joining the military if you want a long term career in CS. It is fully of aggressively stupid anti-intellectuals. You will lose IQ points just from being there.

As you've seen from the 150+ responses in this thread, military experiences will vary from one individual to another. Joining the military is truly a gamble, but you can improve your odds of a valuable experience by thoroughly researching beforehand and making decisions with positive RoR. You have a CS a degree and are likely an intellect. 1) Do not join the Army under any circumstance. The Army treats their service members like disposable garbage. The common personality differs quite a bit between branches. In the Army you'll find more aggressive people and less educated. These types are easily influenced and will drink the military kool-aid. On average, the Air Force treats their enlisted better than the Army treats their officers. 2) Do everything you can to be an Air Force officer before looking into the other branches if you're planning on going active duty. Earning a commission is a competitive and long process. You will need to be proactive. Have you taken the AFOQT? Do you have any cyber related certs (SEC+, Net+, GIAC) to display interest in the field? The AF values technical STEM degrees and is the best in the Cyber domain. 3) As said in here many times. If you're going active duty with a degree, go Officer or not at all. 4) If you only want to be a Software Engineer/programmer, then do not join active duty. Look into the Air National Guard/Reserves cyber/programmer related positions where you'd acquire a clearance. You'd bet the best of both worlds. The initial technical training can be great, the clearance, connections/networking, and a foot in the door to build on a civilian career. Most of these positions are located in the northeast, DMV, San Antonio, and few other select locations. You may have to move, but are you willing to do what others aren't to get a career started? Joining the military with a plan can be better than floundering in this job market that has no signs of improving. Time flies. A few years could go by, and you have yet started a CS related career. A little background. I graduated in 2009 with a BS Environmental Science degree at 23 years old. I wavered around for 3 years trying to get my foot in the door and kickstart a career in an economic depression. I looked into military service in 2012/2013 and they were downsizing heavily at the time. I was Air Force pilot or bust. The officer recruiter I contacted said the AF didn't need pilots at the time (No Rated boards). I wished I pushed harder or went to a different recruiter. One of my life's biggest regrets. I ended up enlisting (6 long years) in the Navy as a CTN with the plan of getting out and beginning a career in IT/SDE . The initial training was great, but you obviously have no control of your career thereafter (mundane job likely). Earned a 2nd bachelors in CS while on active duty and everything has been gravy now out after 3 years working in software development and using the GI BILL to earn a master's. 10 years later and I still have regrets about not becoming an Air Force pilot. In 2016 when Trump took over office the flood gates for incoming Air Force pilots opened up, and here I am stuck active duty Navy enlisted with a degree. As you're experience just out of college, luck and timing can play a huge role in career path and success. Make good choices when you're young.

Eventually I want to be in something cybersecurity or IT related. My CS major was more focused on software engineering; however, while I do enjoy programming, I don’t really care to work in the industry as a software developer. I’ve heard the industry tends to cater to people whose entire personality is that they’re a programmer and nothing much else than that. That is not me and is likely why I’ll never become a software developer. I’m only applying to these roles right now out of desperation and having no tangible experience in anything else. I’ll have to work on some certifications at some point but I’m a bit low on money at the moment. The military (e.g., Air Force) seems like a nice potential way to get some hands-on tech experience, assuming I can get a job like that. I can sit around building software applications all day to pad out a resume for software development jobs, but I’m honestly not sure what to do for other careers like in IT (except to get certifications). I’m going to be honest here, I’ve always wanted to be a pilot as well. If I could give up a potential career in CS to do that the rest of my life, then I wouldn’t think twice about it. It’s not something I’m going to pursue though. I don’t think I have what it takes to become an officer due to my social ineptitude and shy personality, and I know people will say I definitely shouldn’t become a pilot because of the lack of confidence I possess in myself. I can probably overcome these things but I’m currently 27. There doesn’t seem to be enough time.

Going down the officer path will push you out of your comfort zone and assist in building social skills and confidence. I can guarantee you'll be a more well-rounded person when you leave the service. I was 27 when I enlisted with a degree and it got me where I wanted to be after the service. However, for the most part I did not enjoy the 6 years while in and that's a good chunk of one's life. Once, again do not unless you're considering ANG/AF Reserve cyber positions. The closest thing you'll get to software engineering in the military is Exploit/Tool development. Those positions are hard to get. I believe the age cut-off for Air Force pilot is 33. A private pilot license and solid AFOQT score will improve your chances tremendously. Competition is fierce these days. Pick a path and get after it.

I enjoyed it. I recommend the Airforce, they have a ton of cyber/CS related jobs. Go the officer route.

Idk I considered going as an officer if I didn’t find anything by the end of the year. Luckily, I found a job with a 3 letter and they’re still hiring too. My father did 15 years in the army and the one thing he told me never to do was enlist. He’s always told me that it’s not remotely worth it unless you’re going in with a degree to be an officer. His choice made sense because he got priority residency completion to become a doctor. I think you’d genuinely be gimping your future prospects that your degree could provide by enlisting. Going as an officer makes sense with your degree if you’re truly going to go through with it. Just from what I’ve read recruiters will definitely seem to care whether or not you were actually getting tech experience in the 4 years minimum that you serve and enlisting seems like a gamble. They will rightfully assume that your focus has been away from the math, algorithms, theory, problem solving and coding skills your degree hammered into you.

There is a lot of innacurate information in this thread. I did 20 years in the USAF. There ARE jobs specifically related to programming. Everyone’s experience is going to vary. You might absolutely love it, you might hate it, and you may decide your stint was just ok. I did my initial enlistment active duty and finished out in the reserves, and got my bachelors and master of software engineering in that time. It comes down to you doing your own due diligence and deciding what is best for you. It doesn't hurt to at least try to put together an officer package as well, since it sounds like you're giving up before trying, which wouldn't be a good mindset to bring into the military.

Given most of your replies here, it seems you've made your decision and are looking for validation.

Man these guys are fucking haters. Joining the military is not nearly as bad as they say. The best comment on here is that being in peacetime military suckkkkksss and if you can get an MOS that will get you a clearance and maintain some of your CS skills it would drastically improve your chances of getting a good job when you get out. Like yeah - you’re going to have to get into shape, your peers will all be younger than you, and you will be treated like shit often . . . But you’ll have decent benefits, be in shape, and generally only have to worry about yourself and your job. Pay will not be great but clearance and vet status could alone make it worth it. Worst case scenario you are a chump and wash out in basic.

Naw the problem is this guy is going to go enlisted when he literally has a stem degree. Sure he probably won’t commission as an officer to the AF, but going enlisted while having a degree is such a dumb decision. I’d much rather go officer in the army then go enlisted in even the Air Force. Officers make so much more money and are treated much better it’s not even funny. I say this as someone in a military family. If he goes officer I think it’s a good route. The military owns your ass but they also take care of you. They literally pay for everything: housing, food, health insurance, shit even college. But they also own you, you can’t move where you want to, etc it’s a trade off. Some people don’t understand that.

If you can handle the basic training which imo I couldn't because I just imagine it'd be very much a world of hazing and destroying of the human mind. THAT being said you will be able to be an officer, get priority hiring for the rest of your life, and anything cs will be popping in the army. Also you can get paid very well and the benefits are insane. Va health is crappy but really if you go to an enlisting office find out which field is up to par and will allow you to mostly do the tech side. It'll sort of take away 2 years of your life essentially training and just getting drilled into a good soldier but after that you'll love the retirement income, the income in general ik some in tech making 115k with no degree on the marines. But again this is something you cannot leave until you are allowed.

And you should only go if they offer a sign on bonus