...is that you will not be successful in the military unless you are really doing something you love.
I agree with this 100%!
In my case, I hate math. Oh, I can do math just fine and understand math, but I realy hate doing math. I also hate being a mechanic, but I can do it successfully if I need to because I am an intelligent human.
That said, I talked myself into the Nuclear Power program, where I had no place being. I was not happy during the first 3+ years of my Navy career, and my grades during school refelcted it and my performance in the fleet reflected it.
Once I got de-nuked (for throwing the bi-annual requal test), I was much happier, but not enough to stay in for 20 years as a regular Machinist Mate. Now, had I joined as an IS or cross-rated to an IS, I probably would be a Chief or even an officer by now. I absolutely LOVE being in the Intel field, and it fits great with my interests in History and Geography. Love it, love it, love it!
A friend of mine told me that although he has a degree is biochemistry, he loves being in Finance, because it come naturally for him. If we truely enjoy a particular field, then it appears to be easy for us to do the work and put up with the set backs that will come.
I am pretty confident in saying, had I been in my present rate instead of MM, I would have been much more successful in my active Navy career. I would have been much more apt to excel and I certainly wouldn't have had a Captain's Mast for throwing the bi-annual nuke exam, just so I could get out of the program.
Of course, despite great LORs from my current chain of command, my Masters degree, and extra-curricular activities, I think my past NJP and average evals back in the early years of my Navy career severely hurt my chances of being an officer now. Of course, I accept that and plan to excel now to make Chief.
As a former divisional career counselor, I HIGHLY suggest that anyone joining the military, enlisted or officer, must spend the time to find a job that they like. Look to your hobbies to discover this field.
If you enjoy reading history, discussing politics, following current events, and/or staring at maps, don't be in the engineroom! :icon_tong Of course, if you love taking things apart, fixing up old cars, changing the brakes on your auto, and/or using a soldering iron then a mechanical or electronic field is the best!
If you prefer to break the laws of physics by lifting your heavy body into the air using a far more heavy machine, doing crazy acrobatics the body was not designed to sustain, and try landing on a strip of moving real estate the size of a strip of Double Mint gum, then perhaps pilot or NFO is your thing.
Bottom line, do what you love, or your military career will not be as rewarding as it should be.
Thats the word from the bilges. Thank you for your time. Please move along...
Let this be a lesson to everyone who wants to get out before you retire. It's not as rosey as you might think, because civilians are stupid and wander around without knowing what they are doing. They promote the slackers and idiots and keep those who work in one place because the work is actually getting done! They will downsize you without any support, so job security isn't. beware the civilian world. Stay in the cozy confines of the USN...at least until you retire and get that magic paycheck each month. :tongue2_1
