College or military?

I went in as a guaranteed 0311 Ground Pounder humpalot and if I had to do all over again I would some of the best times of my life.

 

I am not so sure college is what it used to be. Id go military. But that's just me.

 

Thing about IBEW, You can get a withdrawal and stay in good standing. Lots of plusses to having a trade. I just wish unions would take a good look at the Democraps they support. Rank and file too often take the word of the leadership at face value and don't look at what is really happening. Ready to discard rights for beer and bread. Most times they vote pocket book and not principle.

 

My parents were willing to pay for college, but it would have been a sacrifice for them. I joined the USAF and worked in avionics. The bad thing I found in Airforce training is it is more specialized than other services. To have done in civilian life what I did in the USAF I would need to have trained in four other job specialties.
After being out for awhile, I reupped into the Navy. Training and experience was more generalized. Overall, I liked the Navy experience better.
In the end, neither were directly applicable to my eventual civilian career in IT. But my military GI Bill benefits did pay for my Vo-Tech IT schooling.
Essentially my military jobs were "hardware" oriented, while my civilian career was "software".

 

I think it depends on the young man or woman, joining the military is a good thing but not for everyone. If service is important to you I think the branches of the military offer good choices. Lots of rewarding jobs if you like helping people corpsman medic nurse. I think all the mechanics have been covered. Infantry is not going to get you a great job but combat engineer or military policeman better choice. Special warfare will not however get you a great job unless you want to be a contractor and again be away from home for long periods. College is a good choice but you must be choosey on your area of study. Have a plan work the plan. My nephew decided college and is 24 with four degrees and about to become a Doctor so college was a good choice for him

 

Nothing but love for my fellow maintainers!

Have your son look into the air guard or air force reserve. Get military training and he can use the money to go to a college or trade school.

 

Agreed. Get the military aircraft engine training in the Guard or Reserve and become a civilian apprentice millwright. The millwright trade needs new young blood and those kids are going to be able to write their own ticket.

Millwrights are a good patriotic meat and potatoes bunch too. He shouldn't have trouble taking off for drill.

 

As a civilian I have worked most all my life on machinery , just about every thing but aircraft.
Amongst all the coworker mechanics I've worked with the demand for air craft mechanics has always been high because their standards are high .
Good practical knowledge in the engineering of machinery ,more than merely swapping parts is valuable . Why something failed is more important than merely replacing a worn/broken part .
Like a doctor or nurse, when taking blood has to develop a feel for what they cannot see, your artery , in further, not push right through it altogether, a mechanic needs to develop a feel of the equipment he is working on, linkages and bearings vibrations and sounds that translate into future problems .
Till he is actually going to school/mil. or what ever he plans on he needs to invest some time in the simpler operations of working on machinery something simple like a lawn mower engine.
There are books a plenty on small engine repair .
Also there is something about having broken down something completely and then rebuilding it to see it come back to life is a life long memory .
Military will look at your mechanical aptitude . What real are you bringing to the party, it best not be a fantasy .
In the 1960s I had no one to ask no internet no books to fall back on when I got into mechanics , when my car broke down I had to fix it or go with out. Dad bought the parts I needed, but I had to do the work , including getting the wrong parts and having to start over.
In those days a small box of tools you could carry in on hand was enough to do most things but now days it takes roll away or two to get the job done.
Military is going to provide most/all of the tooling, where as civilian schooling may only provide a minimum .
As a civilian , most shops didn't care what brand tools I brought to use so long as I had all my own . Other shops have insisted on looking at what brand tools I used. They represent one's personal dedication to the trade , and cheap tools fail, wasting company time .
The discipline on keeping one's tools organized and some positive personal permanent identification is a big deal as well. I use my drivers license number.
I don't sell my tools ,but they are willed to my son.
Probably more information than you wanted, but it a reality I'm familiar with.
I knew some boys from the navy that worked with me in a machine shop that had their own ,but theirs was a skill attained long before joining the military .
You don't bring your own tools to the navy yard , they gain legs, you use the navy's tools .

 

I think young people are fools for not joining given all the bennies in the military these days. Yes, one must be careful to select the correct military school and might even have to wait but it will definitely be worth it. The military also gives youth a time to grow in adulthood, learn responsibility, leadership and adversity. Plus '3 hots and a cot', medical care and a small stipend to make ends meet. And, university/college when they are in and when they depart the military. It's a hell'va deal.

 

I'd tend to agree for the most part.
I "fooled around" with college for couple years after high school because my parents were bound and determined that was the route I was going. Waste of time and money if you don't really want to be there, which I didn't, college will eat your lunch and send you packing.

Joined the Army, went into turbine engine mechanic MOS (68B20), got some schooling on the various turboshaft engines the Army used in helicopters of that era, but for the most part, you're a parts changer at best. Engines are rebuilt/overhauled back at the depo level (by civilians) in the States, shipped to you in a big can, and you remove/replace, ship the old one back to depo. Very little actual engine work went on by field mechanics....some trouble shooting, but if a component (say a fuel control) needed replacing....you R&R and send it to someplace they really know what they are doing. So from my experience (and maybe the Air Force is different), he won't get a whole lot of real experience in components....mainly R&R, adjusting, some trouble shooting, that kind of thing.

WE did not qualify for an A&P license, which is the real ticket to doing aircraft work in the real world.

SO, I got out....went back to college on my dime (along with the GI Bill), was a WHOLE lot more serious about it this time around (married now, working, school part time/full time winter quarters), took the max course load I could, and finished under 3 years.....the first two prior to Army counted for near nothing.

My advice would be pick a GUARANTEED specialty in a military mechanic area....not because he will get great training or experience, it does give him some of that, but more important, TIME to grow up, be on his own some, with the backup of a regular pay, always a place to lay your head, and always a chow hall to eat in....the downside is you have to be able to put up with military horse manure as a trade off. And you can get into a "hot" environment.....and I ain't talking weather.....ahahahahaaaa

Do 3-4 years (I did 4), then IF he really likes aircraft mechanics, come out with the intent to get into a good trade/vocational program geared toward getting that A&P license. (I went the route of construction trades myself, as that interested me more)

Edited to add: One thing I really did get out of my helicopter experience was a profound respect for what flying pieces of crap they are.....way too complex, way too many things that can break in flight, told my wife "don't EVER call a med-flight for me "

 

In my limited experience it is not really a choice. If he has been raised and has the mind set to do well in the military, willing to work, willing to follow directions, willing to postpone to days pleasures for a future goal, to get along with others, to set career goals and achieve them, etc, he will do well with either choice. It used to be that the skills you learned in the military, my basic electronics schools of 60 years ago still keep a few dollars on the table, and your ability to work for and with others, were a pathway to a lifelong occupation. If you utilized the post service training, GI bill, etc, it also opened an almost limitless choice in career paths. My limited contact with the present military has for the most part been negative. Too many of the same attitudes that are seriously undermining the work force of our nation seem to be doing an even better job of undermining the military. In the long run over 1 admiral for each commissioned ship is not sustainable. While I do not totally agree with ochit, there is a lot of truth in what he stated as well. The ones who will do well in the military have the personalities and abilities to do well with either its aid or in spite of the military.

 

Didn't read this until after I posted, so I duplicated most of Bandit's advice....but yep....it's a hell'va deal IF you avoid direct combat arms jobs. I get thanked "for my service" lot of times when I use military discount at places like Home Depot....yeah, it's auto respond like "want fries with that"....but I often say "No.....THANK YOU....your taxes paid for my education, my living for 4 years, a GREAT time touring Germany for a year.....really, just a great start in life....please, no more thanks needed"


My nephew lived with us during his high school years (closest thing to a son I'll have)....smart kid, but totally immature. He had a full ride scholarship to local State university because of his ACT scores....but I encouraged him to go Army to grow up some. He did....radio/electronics repair, plus jump school (82nd Airborne....hey, kids gotta have some fun too ! ), then he got out after 4, and teaches that stuff to Army guys now. Makes a decent living, married an Army gal, they have a good life.

 

Those were the good old days. From the first day I saw my stubbly head in a mirror with lint all over it from the brand new issue sweat shirt, til the day the band played Carolina in the Morning at my retirement parade. I'm very happily USMC retired.

I think I need to explain why I'd recommend the Air Force. I served alongside every service but the Coast Guard. Lived in Army and Navy barracks, and ate in their mess halls. Compared to them we didn't have it too bad. The Navy had the whole Chief thing that I found annoying as a Staff Sergeant. The Air Force had enlisted quarters, we had squadbays and later cardboard walls in these same squadbays. The Air Force housing was co-ed. Ours was separated by a whole neighborhood. Their dining facility was amazing and their club system, exchange, and housing were awesome! They even made more money than we did. Same rank, same time in, and they got allowances that we couldn't dream of. It was all quite legal, they just had their overseas duty designated as a hardship tour. It looked like some terrible hardship from my barracks.

I recommended the Air Force to a young man about 15 years ago, and he called to thank me and ask my advice on investments.
He said my advice on the Air Force had been so spot on, he wanted to get the same kind of advice on investments.

 

That is the issue that I have. It is a life style. My son is a thinker. He is smart and draws conclusions that most of us do not see. I wonder if opinions are welcomed in the service. College welcomed ideas and insights but does the military expect one to follow orders and do as instructed even though you see an easier way things could be done? One has to be more then who they are? What?

Last night he finally fired up his go-cart. For the last week he swapped out a motor, carburetor and something else. He did it all by himself and it worked!! His mechanical knowledge is self-taught and his smile when the engine fired up was amazing. Basically he is teaching himself small motor mechanics and he likes it. We have a two-car garage and it is his domain.

 

@hot diggity I agree with you. The Air Force always had a better 'quality of life' - meaning - better barracks, better housing, better food, everything - even some of their deployments were shorter in the hot spots. They use to have better training also but I think that has degraded some, like all the services. I did 8 years Army, Signal Corps (electronics and communications) but if I had it to do over again, I would chose the Air Force. One didn't make rank as fast as in the Army but life was much, much better.

 

No, no, no... It is hard to explain but it isn't like that. Ideas and insights are definitely welcomed and probably will make him noticed and he'll make rank faster. Yes, one must follow orders and do as they have been instructed but you are not a mindless lemming either so if you see an easier way to do something one is encouraged to speak up and put the idea forward. They use to even have a cash reward program for it.

And, "One has to be more then who they are" that is correct because you are part of a team, people depend on you and, later on, you will be responsible for others. It is not enough to simply coast along but many do. Military members are constantly given opportunities to improve themselves, such as, university courses/programs at night, right on base given by reputable universities. And, they are scaled way down in cost even for the graduate courses.

I realize, as a parent, you are probably afraid that your son might end up in combat but consider that for every combat soldier there are ~7 support personnel. Normally support troops don't get involved in combat especially the technical fields where it takes so long to train them. My school was almost a year long, that's ~8 hours a day, 5 days week for close to a year and some are even longer. And, if he goes into the Air Force then there is even less risk he'll see combat.

The military opens many doors for a young person so much more than civilian life.

 

All I can say is free thinkers don't generally do well hence My way, your way, The Navy Way! insert which ever branch that is needed of course

 

The military has THEIR way of doing things. They don't like it when you do it a better way.
In the Navy, I went to the fleet after A-school in communications electronics. I got to my ship to find all seven UHF radios torn apart by the guy I replaced (already gone), and two weeks til our next cruise. I busted my butt getting thoseradios working, and the two big amplifiers I hadn't trained on. OJT to the extreme! I got them all working. Later on our seven month deployment, I kept those radios going after using up all the spare modules in supply by literally rebuilding them at component level using the spares I had gotten from Surplus before shipping out. Got an "attaboy" Letter of Commendation" from the Captain. The guy before me had all seven radios broke when he got back from deployment,I had one down because I simply ran out of components! I was doing depot level work, though only cleared for module swapping. My scale model experience paid off!
When they finally sent me to C-school on those radios, I aced it. I could have taught that course.
Of course, no good deed goes unpunished. I was the repair guy for the ship's office computer. Same thing, a board went bad, the spare was broken too. So, I did component level repair, swapped a couple components from one board to the other. My mistake was in writing up what I did. I got royally chewed out by the Lexitron tech later for doing "unauthorized depot level repair". But when the XO wants his computer up, you do what you have to. I made it a habit all six years in the Navy to bend the rules when necessary. Got chewed out a few times, but always got the job done.
I continued that trend in my IT career. I was doing things some coworkers thought "impossible". Just gotta think out of the box. Military hates that.