Honestly, the military is the best gig going for any young man that doesn't have appropriate connections to obtain employment after college.

I agree with you sedetrad.

Quote from: Capt McQuigg

I would discourage the military as an option, unless you wanted to excel at some exclusive military skill like flying a fighter jet or some military activity.  

Someone advised me the opposite was true. He said for every pilot in the air there are  200 people supporting it. He said get a math or engineering degree and go in the AF, they have the nicest facilities for families.

I wish my former husband would have joined the Army. After college he did require service in his native country's military and the same position here was really in demand.

What country is that?  I didn't know there was mandatory service--is it a draft?

Tiffany,

What I said, or meant to say, that if someone wanted to excel at something (like being a fighter pilot or shooting someone in the head from 400 yards away) then the military would be a place to do such a thing.  The best flyers in the world are in the military so if a guy wanted to excel at such a thing, the Navy or Air Force would be the place.  As for target practice with a rifle, the NRA marksmen are probably a big step up from military snipers in shooting proficiency.  

Yes, 200 people to support one wasteful fly guy.  I am fully aware of all the fraud, waste and abuse in the military in addition to the moral repulsiveness.  From a purely material point of view, the military is a very nice deal - good pay, little real responsibility, great benefits and a great retirement plan.

Quote from: Tiffany

Quote from: Capt McQuigg

I would discourage the military as an option, unless you wanted to excel at some exclusive military skill like flying a fighter jet or some military activity.  

Someone advised me the opposite was true. He said for every pilot in the air there are  200 people supporting it. He said get a math or engineering degree and go in the AF, they have the nicest facilities for families.

I wish my former husband would have joined the Army. After college he did require service in his native country's military and the same position here was really in demand.

What country is that?  I didn't know there was mandatory service--is it a draft?

Many countries, even today, still have a peacetime draft.  However, some permit draftees to perform some time of alternative service in lieu of military service.  For example, in Austria all men must serve in the military for six months when they reach 18 years old, or they can choose to do some type of civilian service for nine months (e.g. working in a retirement home, hospital, etc.).  Other European countries that have a peacetime draft include Greece, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Russia, and Switzerland.

Remember, the military is not a democracy. You take and obey orders
without question.
You will have carry out orders that may be against Church teachings and
and your correct formed Christian Catholic conscience.
If there is sin is involved, you are not excused.

You question is if it makes a good career?  To that I couldn't help but say no, since you'll be moving all the time and away from your family.  

I wouldn't want to go at all because I wouldn't want to swear an oath to defend the country's laws, which are godless and liberal.  

Quote from: Iuvenalis

Even as a noncombatant, the military is a sea of immorality, sex, even drugs, and women in the service are implicitly encouraged to be (and often are) whorish.

You should not seek a wife there unless you find quite the exception.

The military is not interested in your desire to access *Catholic* sacraments or clergy. You will, at least, have access to a 'chaplain' who may or may not be a Catholic, and they need not even provide you with Catholic 'Mass', and will tell you your spiritual needs are accommodated by the offering of a non-denominational "Christian" service.

This may or many not happen, but be aware it is a possibility. This particularly complicated confessions as well.

Lastly, you will have to endure immoral men in your unit, who will be the norm, as well as an insistence you tolerate now-open ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity.

These things would be true of almost any job, although the military magnifies these issues of immoral, unCatholic coworkers by also controlling where you live and in what situation you live (until you decide to get your own apartment off base).

So, it can be endured. You'll have to endure the world eventually anyway, but the military is different from being a waiter at a Chili's while you work your way through a community college, because you can go *home* at the end of the day instead of rooming with degenerates (possibly, although there are good people who are not Godless in the military). You can attend Mass on Sunday if you work at a restuarant, retail store, fast food, etc. The military you may get deployed and have to rely on the Mass options (or lack thereof possibly) available where they deploy you.

So, it has pluses and minuses. You will certainly make more money in the military from a lifestyle perspective  than you will working entry level jobs while you go to a junior college.

Another option is a skilled trade apprenticeship. People say these require connections, and while knowing someone in a trade union helps, you can get an apprenticeship through diligence, especially since most entrants into apprenticeships "washout", that is, they do not finish because they are unmotivated or uninterested.

You can literally call unions and/or go to their websites to inquire about apprenticeships, or ask a local licensed tradesman (depending on the state you live in) if they'll take an apprentice or know someone who is.

There are more than plumbing, electrician and carpenter.

There are millwright, elevator mechanic (the highest paid bar none), structural steel, various portworkers like the longshoreman, boilermakers, etc all of which have unions and training programs.

Good luck, and pray for St. Joseph's intercession. Set yourself up to be able to afford a family by getting a skill.

You will find the sea of immorality just about wherever you go. God has given us the grace to be Catholic and we have to live that holiness that God calls us to. And who knows who you could be a vehicle of conversion for?  

"Try and be a witness to the Catholic Faith to your buddies while you're killing women and children in the name of Fɾҽҽmαsσɳɾყ and Zionism."

Great advice, poche.