D
DMeNTED
Guest
Good day,
As time passes I find myself more and more intrigued with the thoughts of a career in the military. However, having no military experience and knowing no one with military experience the only knowledge I have is that which the media is so kind to formulate for my mass consumption.
We all know how accurate they tend to be.
I‘m relatively fit, not all that bad a shot, and have a Bachelor‘s from McMaster U. I‘m currently a systems analyst... but sitting behind a desk fixing inconsequential problems and compiling reports is getting a tad stale.
I realize the armed forces are not the action-adventure flicks Hollywood puts out at those patriotic times of the year, but I can only hope its somewhat more rewarding and physically and mentally involved.
I have 3 questions --
A) Where can I get more information on what life in the military is like, on what I can expect as a new recruit, on what kind of positions are available to me, etc.
B) Is it worth it?
Now --- I have a healthy respect for the vast majority of people who serve, and serving our country is certainly a big part of the answer to B. But then... we all have bills to pay and making 20-30k a year is not a pay cut I am willing to take.
The DND website seems to have a wealth of very generic -- and completely optimistic -- information on joining. I suspect, however, that it reflects reality much to the same degree that the CBC and SUN do.
It seems that my degree, along with qualifying me for a decent signing bonus, means I might very well have the opportunity to enter officer training.
This leads to my last question -- C for those keeping track -- would entering officers training position me for a leadership role on the ground, or would I find myself sitting behind a desk fixing inconsequential problems and compiling reports?
Thanks in advance for your help.
RG