Which of the Armed Forces is Better for IT-Types? 45
tang asks: "As a Computer Science major who will be graduating this year, I wanted to know the experiences of any slasdotters who have been/are in the military. I'm exploring my options after college, and wouldn't mind serving my country. The question is, which branch of the armed forces? Physical shape is no problem, I just wanted to know which branch would have the most use for a computer programmer. The army seems to have only slightly interesting computer positions, while the navy has some better ones. Will any particular branch give me better training for when I get out?" We've already argued the point of whether it's better to go to college or sign-up, so if one had their heart set on joining, which service is better if you are planning on a career in IT, afterwards?
Consider the Army (Score:2, Insightful)
1. They will pay off your college loans while you are in. The unbelievable weight that gets off of you is staggering. Although the pay is not great, if you include the roughly $15,000/yr that they pay off, it ain't shabby.
2. Promotion is much faster than in other services. That means that, if you are single, you will get out of a double room that much faster or, if married, get a larger house.
3. This may not sound like a pro, but: the competition is less severe. I mean, the AF and Navy have all the best and brightest, so, in the Army, if you aren't lazy and don't mind running, you will stand out immediately as someone who knows something. You will be a larger fish in a smaller pond.
4. If you are perfectly clean, you will probably get that NSA or whoever job anyway, because they are all joint service staffed.
5. It's a lot more sexy to say you program AND shoot AND blow sh*t up.
My experience: in four years, I learned two languages, got out of debt, payed off student loans, finished my degree, AND got C4 training, 2 weeks sport climbing training, worked with SF, and fired virtually every weapon Spec Forces had. Not a bad way to spend four years.
Email me if you want to talk more
Re:Navy is the way to go -- NOT! (Score:3, Insightful)
The branch you select depends on what you are looking for: job training & experience that's usable in civilian life, college money, quick promotion, quality of life & working conditions, or adventure.
If you are after the adventure factor, the Marines have the market on macho bullshit pretty well wrapped up. The Marines' reputation speaks for itself. Remember that the USMC's philosophy is that a Marine is a Rifleman first, and a $WHATEVER second, and plan accordingly -- don't be suprised if you spend more time doing grunt work and PT than you spend doing your nominal job. Probably not the best choice if you value physical comfort or independent thought. From an IT perspective, the USMC is probably the worst choice you can make.
The Navy likes to bill itself as high-tech, and while they do have pretty good training for basic electronics, general IT training (that would be applicable to a civilian job) is marginal at best. Quality of life and working conditions are the worst of any of the branches, however, particuarly if you are single and enlisted. Promotions can be pretty rapid if you stay out of trouble and are reasonably smart; the people you are competing against are (ahem) generally not of the highest calibre. Based on my personal observations (I did several TDY's to Navy facilities) and the experiences of family members who served in the USN, I would have to say that you should avoid the Navy like the plague.
The Army is the biggest branch, and probably has the most choices, career wise. Living & working conditions are (on average) a bit better than the Navy, but not nearly as good as the Air Force. They can give the Marines a pretty good run for the money in the Macho Military Bullshit department when they put their minds to it, but this is minimized if you are in a non-combatant job. Army IT is generally pretty close to what you'd find in the corporate sector, except the users are dumber and will usually outrank you.
The Air Force is probably the best choice from an IT perspective. The working and living conditions are the best of any of the branches, and the Macho Military Bullshit is barely noticable once you are out of training. The downside is that it's harder to make rank than any of the other services. IMHO, the USAF is the best choice if you want to prepare yourself for an IT career in the corporate world. (It's a pretty good choice if you are planning on a military career -- they are more family-friendly than any of the other branches). My experience was exactly the opposite of the parent poster's: I too had to work on some Navy systems and I found them far worse than ours. The people I worked with were generally top-notch. (although I was in a software development shop, not lan & desktop support)
Definately heed the advice in the parent post: DO NOT TRUST RECRUITERS. They have a quota to fill, and they could care less what happens to you once you sign up. Enlisting with "Open/General" as your job choice is like putting a "kick me" sign on your back. However, at least in the Air Force, if you have good ASVAB and EDPT scores you have a very good chance of getting an IT job. The EDPT -- electronic data processing test -- is (or at least was in '89) the test you must take to qualify for any computer-related job. The higher your score on that test, the more likely it is you'll get an IT job -- they have a very hard time finding enough people who can pass the test to fill all the available slots. The EDPE doesn't test any technical computer knowledge -- it's actually an IQ test (identifying patterns, sequences, etc). To prepare, do tests like the Mensa Workout [mensa.org].