Advice on quitting current job

[dent67]

To make a potentially long story as short as possible, I graduated university with an hBA and took the first job I could find, a lame desk job doing data entry.  Being a super active person before that, the job has killed the time I can dedicate to training.  I used to run half marathons every sat, now I don't have the time to dedicate during the week to training and weekends are spent catching up on everything.  I have been at this job for 4 months and my fitness has dropped a lot due to it.  A 16 k leaves me dead.  I've gone from 3-4 hours of exercise 6 days a week to about 2 hours a day 3 days a week.  That's not even getting into the lack of time I have for mental training (reading, writing, learning french etc) and for alt training (60 lb loaded pack day hikes, camping trips etc). 

I have always wanted to be in the Canadian armed forces, but life and school took priority and I put it on the back burner.  Everyone told me not to do it (I have a very liberal family and the girlfriend is worried about time apart etc) so I had kind of given up on it thinking I could survive the office world.  After 4 months of working a job I hate, feeling like a useless member of society I want to pursue my dream, I want to make a difference, I want to serve.  Having just applied (Jan 10th) I know that I could be looking at a year or longer before I am enlisted, but I feel that I need to dedicate more time to training so that I'll be ready when it's my time. 

My question is: Should I quit my job and focus on training to be the best recruit I can be?

Some additional info: I'm looking at DEO for infantry, which is part of the reason I feel I need to train more.  From what I've read, infantry training will beat you to the dirt and keep you there, so I want to be in peak condition.

 

[Smirnoff123]

My question is: Should I quit my job and focus on training to be the best recruit I can be?

Definitely not

 

[dent67]

I guess a smidge more back ground.  I have enough money saved/invested to live comfortably for 4 months.  As well I have a part time city job I could return to in order to make enough to pay bills etc while I waited.  The only risk I guess would be the 'what if's'.  What if I failed the medical, the CFAT, the interview.  That said, it's not like I'd be giving up a career, I'm working a dead end job that is taking too much time away and I'm worried that I wont be able to cut it when and if my application finally does go through.

 

[Container]

Its a bad idea.

 

[MikeL]

The recruiting process is not always quick,  so while you have enough money to last 4 months and can work part time.... how will that work out if you do wait over a year?.  Quitting a job just to devote more time to preparing for the CF could end up being a very bad financial(among others) decision.  Expenses can pop up that you aren't expecting,  investments can be lost, and so on.  Also,  what if you don't get accepted into the CF?  If you dislike your job this much,  have you looked at other companies to work for?

As for the loss of your fitness level,  perhaps you can adjust your time somewhere and get some more work out time in there.  Yes,  the training to become a Infantry Officer is physical and mentally demanding;  you should be as fit/ready for it as possible.

 

[Conz]

Well, look at it this way:

You quit your job and train like a bat outta hell for 4 months. Maybe at the end of those 4 months, there are no DEO Infantry spots. Then what? You're broke, you gave up full-time work, your gf thinks you're crazy to pursue the PROSPECT of a new career by quitting a stable job...if she's still with you after this maneuver. Let's say you have trouble for a few months trying to find work and then --Ring Ring -- the CF calls to inform you that your file has been closed...wait, they don't call to do that, they just close it.

Keep your job. Look for a new one if you're not happy. Just don't drop everything to get back into shape. Feel out how your application is going and try to find a couple spare evenings/mornings to exercise. The rest will fall into place.

 

[Remius]

Bad idea. 

Keep your job. 

 

[dent67]

Okay, okay.  Guess I'll stick it out, keep the job hunt going for something that doesn't kill my schedule too much and that I enjoy.  Thanks for the sound advice, I guess fitting working out and training in with work is better prep then committing my life to just training, and on these minus 30 days I can almost be thankful I've got a nice cozy desk...almost. 

 

[nelliott86]

Just to keep your hopes up. DEO Infantry Officer is hiring at the moment. Feb. 27th is selection date, so if you can, push you recruiters to help you through the process for then. Never know right?

I'm in the same boat as you and debating the exact same thing at this point. All I can say is come Feb. 27th if I get the OK, I'll be in full training mode as of the 28th, sans desk job. But practically speaking I have to suck it up until then (having been in the process for 2 years I can attest that quitting your job right off may not be the smartest). But really hope you hear some good news soon!

 

[daftandbarmy]

To make a potentially long story as short as possible, I graduated university with an hBA

What's an hBA?

 

[Ayrsayle]

While I would never discourage the attempt to become more physically fit, everyone seems to be telling you the same thing (for good reason). As far as getting accepted as a DEO Infantry, being physically fit is only one of the criteria that will increase your chances. Spend some of the time doing some research into what the "job" entails, ensuring you have no medical or financial issues (which quitting a job might cause), and a reasonable level of fitness should be enough to get you considered. You may want to consider talking to a current Infantry Officer or spend a while hunting through these boards for as much information as you can obtain, it'll do you wonders when you have your interview. Ironically enough, your actual physical fitness won't be assessed until after you've been accepted and shipped off to St. Jean (if you are going Reg Force, at least).

All that being said, being fit will give you a leg up on your peers throughout your training - You'll be able to do tasks without being affected by exhaustion the way some others might be. In my opinion, endurance training will do you far more good then strength training (unless you had serious lacks in the strength dept).  The training will build you up to a certain level of fitness, if you put effort into it.

 

[PMedMoe]

What's an hBA?

Bachelor of Arts with honours?  Honours Business Administration?  ???

 

[shogun506]

Bachelor of Arts with honours?  Honours Business Administration?  ???

Bachelor of Arts with honours. Bachelor of business administration is BBA.

 

[PMedMoe]

Bachelor of Arts with honours. Bachelor of business administration is BBA.

http://www.ivey.uwo.ca/hba/

 

[Pandora114]

Keep your job,  apply for the military.  Give your 3 weeks when they book your BMOQ.  They do give you enough notice to do that, generally speaking. 

It is easier to get a job when you have a job.  The forces is no different in that respect. 

If you start squirreling away some cash now at your current job you'll have some form of nest egg to dip in to when you get out of BMOQ and into the main force.  Save it as a down payment for a new car or something.

 

[dent67]

What's an hBA?

Honors Bachelor of Arts, and thanks for all the advice guys.  It's nice to hear that there will be openings soon and hopefully I can get the process moving along soon.  Just got to keep pushing, spend my days typing away and my nights and mornings running.  I guess part of it is that I want to learn french to strengthen my application so I've got to find time for that.

 

[The_Falcon]

I suggest your read Arnold's Memoirs "Total Recall", if you want to get an idea of what making the most of your day really entails. 

 

[Danjanou]

Honors Bachelor of Arts, and thanks for all the advice guys. 

Really my otherwise worthless piece of parchment says B.A.(Hon) :

 

[Gunshark]

You probably already have a good idea of the best course of action for yourself, but I'll mention some things here that come to mind. I'm not an infantry soldier. I just have some thinking points.

Do you live at home? Under your parents' roof while they work full time? Do you eat free meals that they provide? If you answered yes to some or all of these questions, then it should give you reason to stay at your job and contribute to the household. Out of respect for your parents.

I'm not a workout expert, but common sense tells me you can be in great shape without putting in as much as 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I am not one for lowering personal standards, but perhaps in this case, in light of your circumstances (such as some time constraints), perhaps training hard for 1.5-2 hours 4-5 times a week will still yield great results. Just as important are your diet and sleep, of course.

Even having a full time job, you should be able to train as much as you'd like after work. This means a bit of time management and may mean cutting out some going out etc. Have to make sacrifices for the things that are important to you.

Don't fix 100% of your attention on physical fitness. Sports, leadership actitivies, volunteering etc are also important for your application and personal development.

The feeling of a dead end job is common. I can sympathize with it. It's tempting to just leave the job, and in some cases that's the best course of action, if you absolutely can't stand this place, and have a bit of money to survive for a while. But often a better course of action is to search for a better job asap, so you can have a smoother transition. Or sometimes it means changing your attitude about the current job.

In the end it's up to you. What I find helps is to set a definitive goal and work towards it. If you're just "going with the flow" and don't really know what you want, having a dead end job on top of that is definitely depressing. But if you know that your end target is to become an infantry soldier, everything on your road to get there carries a lot more significance and has a lot more reason for it. In your case, you are training and supporting yourself financially in the mean time, on the road to your goal. And from what people are saying here, your goal may be achieved sooner than laer.

Finally, I'd recommend talking to your parents and getting their advice, whether you live with them or not. Everyone has different family circumstances of course, but generally speaking family is closer than all of us strangers on this forum. Joining CF is a major life decision and your parents should be in on it. I bet for many people, getting their parents on board is the toughest test. That's definitely true in my case.

Best of luck.

 

[Noctis]

I'm not a workout expert, but common sense tells me you can be in great shape without putting in as much as 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I am not one for lowering personal standards, but perhaps in this case, in light of your circumstances (such as some time constraints), perhaps training hard for 1.5-2 hours 4-5 times a week will still yield great results. Just as important are your diet and sleep, of course.

Treat this as your mantra.  I work full time and have been training for 1-1.5h every morning before work and am definitely progressing. Training more than 10 hours per week would likely just damage your muscles and joints. Train less, keep your job, keep things interesting and, heck, put money aside for a rainy day. It's not always sunny under the sun, so it's nice to have a financial umbrella to keep you dry when shit hits the fan.
My  :2c: