My oldest is about to turn 18 in a few weeks. For various reasons, he’s dead set against going to college. In his Junior & Senior years, he was part of a program his school offered called OSTC (Oakland Schools Technical Campus). He took computer networking and was top of his class-- he graduated with several computer certs and was inducted into the National Technical Honor Society.
He planned to take his success in OSTC and his connections with teachers to kick off his career by getting a job as a Technical Assistant with Oakland Schools right out of high school. It wasn’t a bad plan, but then the pandemic hit, so that opportunity didn’t materialize. He’s not having any luck finding an entry-level networking job-- he says they’re all looking for Bachelor degrees (well, duh-- we told him a million times he would have a tough go of it if he didn’t go to college).
Now he’s at home all the time, with no direction, bouncing off the walls, and he’s talking about joining the National Guard if he can’t find a job by his 18th birthday. Why the National Guard over other branches of the military? He’s cagey about his reasoning, but I think because after basic it’s part time, so he can continue to look for a civilian job, plus there’s less chance of getting sent overseas in a war situation. Also I did a bit of research and there are full-time job opportunities within the Guard as well.
So I’m interested in getting some opinions from y’all who have Guard, or military experience in general-- can you get good, marketable computer networking experience in the military that will translate to employment in the civilian world, or is the technical experience you would receive in the military so specialized it’s not really helpful on a resume, other than the fact of having served? Any other advice or caution is welcome. It would be the Michigan National Guard, if that makes a difference.
My son was in a similar situation looking at his senior year in high school. Smart kid but not academically minded. Forcing him into a college track would have been a huge mistake and probably done more harm than good as far as making him more academically minded or even giving him the sense that he is capable of success in a career based on a college degree.
So having thought long and hard, knowing that sitting at home and having an unskilled job as a shop clerk did not lead to a future he wanted, he decided on the military track. He is now in his second year in the US Navy. More importantly, much of it having to do with luck, he landed a job he really wanted, a Navy Medic (corpsman). Now to his credit, he held out for almost a year in the recruiting program waiting for a rate (military job) that he wanted. He passed on several, including becoming an unassigned seaman. That would not have worked out well. As it is now, he is thriving and loving his decision. Which is not to say that he thinks the Navy is everything he thought it would be. There is a lot of B.S. that comes with being in the military and he was smart enough to adjust his expectations going in and then having reality kick him in the ass through boot camp. That was a mentally tough place for him to be, based on our letters and few brief telephone conversations. But I cannot effectively describe the physical and psychological change we witnessed when we finally saw him at his graduation ceremony. It was night and day between a high school graduate at loose ends to a proud and self assured young man. And now he is looking to get his bachelor’s degree after he completes his first contract and possibly returning to become an officer in the Navy.
All this to say, I think the military path can make a significant positive impact in your son’s’ life but a lot of it will depend on him, his realistic expectations, mental toughness and a small amount of luck in him getting the rate (job) he wants and in which he can thrive. I’m not sure how the National Guard recruiting process works in that respect. Find out from his recruiter whether there are jobs in the field he wants and whether his military contract will guarantee that job. Unless he is open to other rates, I recommend he does not just go in “unassigned” or he just might find himself working in the motor pool or wherever it is the National Guard needs bodies.
Thanks QuickSilver! That’s the kind of personal experience and advice I’m looking for, especially the part about getting some kind of guarantee from the recruiter so he doesn’t just get stuck in a grunt job.
As he found out, it’s going to be tough to get hired with just a HS degree regardless of any certs. He should at least get an Associate degree. Companies have endless candidates to choose from with Bachelor degrees and are unlikely to hire someone without some kind of degree. I don’t think NG experience alone is going to help that situation. Even if the NG has great tech opportunities, the general public isn’t going to think that and aren’t going to look at NG experience as relevant to getting hired in a tech job.
A path that could work for him is to get hired at a tech company for a support job. The tech requirements are lower to get hired, but there will be opportunities to go into other directions as time goes on. It’s not uncommon for a person hired in support to move into development, lab support, etc. But regardless, the lack of a degree is likely to hold him back regardless of his job performance.
But going into the NG isn’t a bad idea even if it doesn’t lead to a tech job. Many HS kids are not ready for the real world. His time with the NG will likely give him a chance to mature and he’ll get a great perspective on life and what he wants out of it. If he wants to go into the NG, I think it’s worth encouraging that. It’s not a bad choice even if his path ends up being different than what he wants now.
If your son can deal with the rigors of the military then it’s an excellent option. I know a number of people who got technical career starts in the military, and several of them in various areas of IT. Even organizations that normally require college degrees for such jobs sometimes will be more flexible with people who have developed their skills in the military, but as mentioned above, other businesses do not. It might depend on people in that company who do have a military background whether or not they have a degree, or their past experiences with people who acquired technical skills in the military. And not something anyone should want to happen, but after active war there is sometimes an effort to hire more veterans.
Yeah, as mentioned he’s dead set against college. My wife and I have tried many times to convince him otherwise, at least get an Associates. Now that he’s seeing how difficult it is without a degree, maybe he’ll change his mind…
Thanks TriPolar; yes, whether he can deal with the rigors of the military is a big question. He was diagnosed with OCD in his pre-teens (yes, everybody seems to have it these days, but his has been pretty bad at times). But he has shown flashes of mental toughness with certain things, and though he’s very apprehensive to try new experiences, once he gets established in a thing he gets very comfortable with the routine. So I think if he can get through the first couple weeks of basic, the order and discipline of the military might be very good for him, apart from the potential career boost.
Keep in mind that recruiters are basically used car salesmen. They have quotas they have to meet with respect to how many asses they get on that bus every month/quarter. So they will tell you, and more importantly your son, everything he wants to hear. To a large extent I don’t hold that against them. Recruiters don’t get to just put a recruit in a job he or she wants. They have no control over what jobs become available. They have no control over which available jobs are sent to which recruiting area. That’s military efficiency for you.
So the thing is to have your son be very clear with his recruiter (who may not be his recruiter two months from now) that he will only sign his contract for a very specific pick of jobs he wants. Now, he may need to compromise in that he may not get his top choice. He will need to wait. He may have times of doubt as he is waiting or seeing the job that he wants go to recruits that were in the queue before or even the same time as him. It’s all part of the process and it’s not going to be easy for him because the recruiters will be pushing him to take what they have because, again, butts on seats.
What may help him to some extent is for him to show up to all recruit training, volunteer and check-in events that his recruiting process demands. Your son will need to show a level of commitment that they want to see and more importantly that separates him from other recruits. Mostly it’s bullshit stuff but he’s got to make sure he is foremost in their minds when it comes time for them to link the job he wants to him and not some other recruit who has put forward more of an effort.
Thanks again, QuickSilver. There’s the fact too, that the National Guard is not full-time, like other branches of the military-- as I understand it, after basic training you go on standby and get your civilian life back, except for one weekend of training a month and two weeks every year. There are full-time job opportunities in the Guard, but I don’t know how exactly that would work out for him. As I replied to TriPolar though, I think the order and discipline of the military would benefit him in general, even apart from any direct career boost.
Then he’s going to top out, because past the mid-level positions, they’re all going to require a bachelor’s degree. And almost no network engineering / design or security type positions are not going to require one.
From what I can tell, the military enlisted networking MOSes are not far off from the civilian ones for the same amount of experience. I’d think that if he really wants to get experience and training, he’d be better of enlisting in the USAF active duty to do the same thing- jump in with both feet, so to speak.
Sometimes I think that the challenges of 8-12 weeks of bootcamp would benefit every single high school graduate, regardless of academic track. As would a year or two of service. But I’m likely in the minority there and I say that as someone who’s not served.
That tangent aside, best of luck to your son and all of you in this process.
Yeah, I suspect he might eventually end up doing night school down the road to get a degree in order to advance his career. And I do kind of suspect joining the Guard may prove to be only a half-measure that doesn’t really get him anywhere; so I take your point that if he does go the military route instead of college, he should commit with a full-time branch.
I was in the Michigan Guard for about 16.5 years including nominal enlisted time before heading to the Army Reserve to take my promotion to Major. There is a lot I could tell you including things that contradict some of the Active component based advice already given. We’ll stop for now because of the quote above.
That is bad for his plans. OCD is a disqualifying disorder according to DoDI 6130.03 (dtd March 30, 2018 in case I missed a more recent change.) There is the possibility of a waiver if an argument for why the it would not impact his performance under extremes of stress when in unpredictable situations like combat. In the Guard, company commanders are involved in the accessions process. I have been in that role twice. The bolded part would make me slam on the breaks and want more information before I would have given your son a slot in one of my units.
“Pretty bad at times” is pretty bad for being able to enlist. It is not necessarily impossible if that overstates things but it is not looking good. If nothing else the process just became more difficult. If you want to talk more about the details of his condition in PM I can at least give you my assessment. If he given the bad news he is still interested in trying then we can look at the other important information before going to see a recruiter.
@DinoR, damn, I was concerned that might be a dealbreaker. I had heard that being on psychiatric medication was a dealbreaker for joining the service, but he’s not- he’s been treated in the past with Cognitive Behaviorial Therapy. And most of his issues date back to years ago when he was 11 or 12. He’s much, much improved now.
I appreciate your offer to discuss it more via PM, and I wouldn’t mind learning more. Your public profile is hidden, so please feel free to PM me when you have a chance.
You may still be able to send him a PM. Click on the three-dots icon at the bottom of his post, to uncover the Flag icon. Click on that. Then you get a bunch of options, one of which is to send a PM.
OCD issues aside (I can’t speak on his actual diagnosis/treatments/whatever), I second enlisting in the USAF active duty (if medically able).
Hold out for a computer job. If he gets it, it’s automatic TS clearance (if he is adjudicated favorably). During his 4 years, use Tuition Assistance to at least get an Associates Degree. Try for a BS in a computer field.
After 4 years, if he doesn’t like it, separate. With a degree and a clearance. Guaranteed job anywhere in the country.
They are going to want to see a full medical history as part of his recruiting process. They’ll contact doctors and request that you provide letters from his physician(s) clearing him of any extant medical issues. It may or may not be a disqualifier but I would think that going that far back will matter much less. My son was on the wrestling team and sprained his thumb the year prior, and there was no end of doctor’s notes required to clear him of any sign of injury that would prevent him from entering and completing boot camp. It was a PIA.
Thanks! It sounds like the USAF would be the way to go for him, though I’m concerned about the OCD history now. I guess we’ll see. He might just change his mind in a couple weeks and decide on going for an Associates degree.