A Guide on How to Choose Career Paths in the Armed Forces

If you want to serve your country without drifting far away from the routine of civilian jobs, you can find your own unique mission. Some of the military jobs are close to the civilian sector, entailing accustomed working hours 9 to 5 and conventional working days Monday through Friday. All that you should do is to discuss with a military resume writer how your future resume should look for the Armed Forces. 

Learn About What You’ll Get

The Armed Forces have always been an attractive career option for various reasons. You can combine your patriotic call of duty and a great feeling of being part of a powerful structure with various perks, exploring the following branches:

1. Air Force where enlistment age is 17-39;
2. Army where enlistment age is 17-34;
3. Marines where enlistment age is 17-28;
4. Navy where enlistment age is 17-39;
5. Coast Guard Army where enlistment age is 17-31.

 All of them offer incredible professional life. Whether you choose a life full of challenges or a balanced career, in any case, you’ll get paid vacation, generous health care, guaranteed retirement plans. The Military supports servicemen and their families both now and in the future. 

Employment Benefits

If you join the service, along with higher education financial aid, housing, and food allowances, and special home loans, you will get the following perks:

• Signing bonuses up to $40,000;
• Pay for one of 2,300 colleges and universities;
• Tuition assistance up to $250 per credit and $4,500 per scale year;
• The POST-9/11 GI Bill for you and family members;
• Forever GI Bill with transferring its perks to the spouse or children;
• Retention bonuses for qualification in a critical military skill;
• College fund programs/A community college for the Air Force;
• Life insurance for a family’s financial stability;
• Veteran Affairs home loans with federal government guarantee;
• Earlier retirement after 15-20 years of service;
• Nontaxable investment earnings with the Thrift Savings Plan;
• Special discounts and Space-A flights at no cost for traveling.

Grades & Education

Your personal goals are helpful to choose a profession according to the received education and get the promotion, serving at different grade levels:

• Commissioned Officer (college degree required);
• Warrant Officer (high school diploma / GED + SPC / E-4 rank required);
• Enlisted Service Member (high school diploma / GED required).

Either officer or enlisted personnel careers provide rewarding experiences, training courses, high compensation, and educational benefits. But their requirements, commitments, and responsibilities are different. If you have no college degree, you will join the Military as an enlisted service member and get the specialty within the chosen branch. 

Enlistment will let you move towards a college diploma. After earning military rank E-3 within the current grade you can progress towards a Warrant Officer grade if it is on your agenda. Promotion supposes passing the Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery test with a score of 110.  

Feel called to lead, influence, and solve problems? As an officer you will be able to manage enlisted personnel, plan missions, provide orders, and assign tasks. The best way to join as an officer is to earn a college degree first. When you’re already in the military, you can also take up an MBA to help advance your career even further. For more info visit https://online.carrollu.edu/military/

Salary & Allowance

The U.S. national average salary for a Military is $63,336 or about $40 – $43 hourly. Your rank, years spent in the Armed Forces, location work on the earnings. An E-5 serviceman who spent six years in the Armed Forces earns $2,761.80. The same years of service will bring $5,469.60 to an O-3 ranked officer. Warrant officers’ Base Pay is in-between both grades.

Besides, location and rank partly determine a Basic Housing Allowance (BAH). And all military men get clothing allowance and a separation one, being stationed away from the families. In some cases, incentive pay is provided for several criteria: specific job, flights, serving in a definite location, such as the sea, a combat zone, or submarine. 

Components Required for Successful Military Career

You can explore different roles with earning potential to see which vacancy best fits your goals and experiences. Service allows gaining leadership skills and a work ethic that comes with a military background. Some jobs require credentialing, which means a license, certification, training to perform a certain job. The good news that you can get both skills and credentials on the spot while servicing the Armed Forces.

Skills

As there are more than 150 military career paths, it is impossible to nail down all related skills. But some skills listed below will be valuable regardless of the job type, environment, or branch you choose:

• Team player;
• Patriotism;
• Adaptability;
• Empathy;
• Tolerance;
• Stamina;
• Physical fitness.

Credentials

More than a hundred jobs get credentialed in the Armed Forces alone. The recognition of some credentials is limited within a State, and others are recognized nationally and are great for a civilian sector. You should know, that credentialing certain military skills saves time and money, granting a benefit while transition after leaving a military career.  

A dental assistant or an x-ray technician position needs healthcare credentials, which are easy to get with military tuition assistance. Certified experience of working in a nuclear plant control room or a Cisco or Microsoft certification will be highly valued by civilians. These are two types of credentials that can get obtained exceptionally through your military service. And don’t forget to mention for a military resume writer your expertise in operating commercial vehicles. Getting a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) will be easier then.

A military resume writer can give you a framework for success in finding the job that’s right for you. Your next step is contacting a recruiter to become a member of the 1.2 million active-duty population.