If you are in the Army could you tell me what its like? I'd like to enlist out Highschool or College.
2007-08-08 19:22:55 · 19 answers · asked by Reggie #25 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
could you please tell me if you are in the army?
2007-08-08 19:33:05 · update #1
Enlist out of college. I am sure you will get more than the $76.00 a month I got when I joined, though my advice would be to get an education while you can! Though I was going to stay in the Army and make it my career (my father was a career army officer), but I got out after Vietnam. I went in in 1960 and got out in 1968!
The military is a good career for some, though the Army today is a shell of what we had during the 1960's!
2007-08-08 19:33:27 · answer #1 · answered by cantcu 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No one...and I mean no one..should join the military solely for the reason of making money. The truth is, even as an officer, you will not be paid at a level that would equate to what you would be paid for a similiar position in the civilian world. You have to want to serve your country and be willing to live with the challanges and struggles, getting paid far less than you ever thought you would, and love it. Yes, the military can provide you a stable, average income, housing and medical care for you and your family while you work on your degree and get some very valuable tech training and life experiences. A military career can help you get a strong job as a civilian and if you do a full 20, you can have your retirement pay and medical benefits on top of what you make in your civilian job (although this can change if you go to work as a civilian hire for the military or for the government). But to get there will take at least 20 years...and that is a long time to put in, in some dangerous situations, with a lot of stress to do something you don't love and believe in. Pay charts can be found online. It will give you a basic idea of how much you can bring home. You can get housing allowances if you are married or single and a certain rank. You will get a small food allowance (meant for you, and not enough to buy groceries for a family for a month at a time) and possibly other supplemental pays depending on what you do, where you are, etc. Officers naturally earn more than enlisted, but as you go up in rank, it is more competitive with fewer slots. You will have to study, test, pass PT, follow the rules and be exemplary to make the higher ranks. And military rules apply to your off duty life as well...so be sure you are ready to handle that. Do some research, ask lots of questions, talk to as many active duty as you can and then decide.
2007-08-09 00:40:02 · answer #2 · answered by Annie 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You make VERY little. The "upper echelon" buds I know max out at $40-$45K at the highest levels. Most make around $30K. If you are looking to join for the money don't - it will take you so many years to get what an office worker who puts in 40 hours a week can make. If you are thinking of joining for the sake of being in the US Military, then you shouldn't worry too much about the money thing. Depending on how many tours you do, you won't have much time to spend the $. I had a roommate almost a decade ago in college who was Army I havent seen since he shipped off to Iraq.
Again if you are going to college, then spend that education getting a good job. If you do it to fight so others can sleep peacefully at night, I salute you.
2007-08-08 19:32:09 · answer #3 · answered by wildhair 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
We don't do it for the money kid.
However.
You can make a reasonable living off of it. Starting out in the Army you will make about $450 every two weeks. Play your cards right and in two years you can be an E4 (Specialist) making about $650 every two weeks.
Then. If you get deployed you can plan on being there for about a year. Hazard Duty / Imminent Danger, etc. You can pull in about 32,000 in a year after taxes and with special pay. The up side to that is: No rent. No groceries. No clothes to buy. There will be minor expenses.. but if you run through 32k while you are deployed you are an idiot. I've seen it happen though...
But again. Do not do it for the money. You will regret it.
2007-08-08 19:38:16 · answer #4 · answered by Josh 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You won't make much at first. They tax the military a lot so my friend husband in the military they make about 600 a check and that's with the extra money that he gets for having a wife and kids. Once you get rank, you will get more money, the longer you are in the army the more you will make but you won't have any bills because the Army will feed you and give you shelter and your money is to do whatever with. Go to the Army website and go see a recruter they will help you.
2007-08-08 19:31:50 · answer #5 · answered by rashida_16 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Serve in the Army for about 10 years then join a Private Military Company such as Blackwater USA if you want to make big money in a military career. I believe they are offering contracts that average $550 a day as a Private Security Specialist.
If you stayed in the US Army you would be averaging about $15,000 to $20,000 a year if you came fresh out of Highschool.
2007-08-08 19:37:50 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
how much money you make is entirely dependent on several factors.. what job you get for instance, it's potential for promotion, if any bonuses are associated with it, etc,
Other factors include: family. do you plan on getting married and/or having children? that eats up a lot of money there. Do you have to have the fancy sports car and all 15 home game systems? more money gone. would you eat in the galley/mess hall for every meal, or will you hit Mickey D's and the bars every night?
How often will you deploy, and will it to be a tax free zone/Hazardous duty zone? that will net a few extra bucks each pay period.
Base pay is based on paygrade and time in service. everything else is fluid.
2007-08-09 01:17:26 · answer #7 · answered by Mrsjvb 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't listen to "BONEHEAD" He will probably die due to "Nintendo shock"
If you have any dough, the best bet is for you to put it away in an account and let it earn money for you. You won't need any money because the Army will give you all of the basics, chow,a place to sleep, uniforms,etc. Like they say in the commercials, they will help you with collegem, you can even take college courses there, it's all up to you as to how much you can accomplish in the Army, Good Luck!
A Vet.
2007-08-08 19:40:23 · answer #8 · answered by EddieX 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You get Base pay and BAH
Base Pay
Basic Pay Charts for Calendar Year 2007. Congress has approved a 2.2 percent increase in Basic Pay, as well as a separated "targeted" increase for some members.
Housing Allowance (BAH)
The 2007 Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH). BAH is payable when a member is authorized to reside off-base at government expense.
List base pay here
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/pay/2008pay/blenlbasepay.htm
2007-08-08 19:34:37 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's best to go in from college only because you go in a higher rank, higher rank more money any thing is better than going in as a private .
2007-08-08 19:27:28 · answer #10 · answered by morena_mocha 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋