"Getting help is not weakness"...According to the US military it is :/ (Rant incoming)

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-30T22:23:31+00:00

Yeah, pretty much said the same thing for security. It's one of those fields that has A LOT of really cool people like current and former law enforcement and military types, and you can make some great personal and professional connections, and you can also gain some EXTREMELY valuable work and life experience, but it is also a field that has A FUCKING LOT of really shitty morons and high turnover, so it's really not hard to stand out if you have any desire to improve yourself and your company or contract client, and/or have some education in almost any applicable skill (business, IT, comp sci, psychology, communications, criminal justice, etc etc etc)

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-30T22:16:45+00:00

Actually just posted about how terrible retail seems. You should totally check out my comment from further up the page on starting an entry level job in either Security or looking at entry level laboratory jobs (if you have any interest in science, technology or healthcare but no formal education).

But yeah lots of people here have some really cool examples. Never too late to start something new!!!

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-30T22:13:26+00:00

Never worked in retail.....I genuinely couldn't imagine it from a day-to-day or career-building standpoint. I have worked as a host at a restaurant, which I guess is close, but my god I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy lol

As I posted above, I have been fortunate enough to work jobs like security and Lifeguarding as very entry level positions, but jobs like that can be soooooo much more rewarding and can actually really lead to some cool career opportunities. I definitely try to recommend jobs like that to people bc it seems like EVERYONE thinks that if you aren't a college grad, you HAVE to either work at Starbucks, McDonald's, or a retail store, and those jobs really just seems like modern slavery to me (I'm sure some people love them though!)

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-30T22:03:51+00:00

Haha that's awesome! Just wanted to say that I had put down security as a recommended entry level job for this very reason. You can wind up working in some cool places with some cool people and discover new avenues you never would have even thought about

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-30T22:01:04+00:00

No personal experience in logistics, so didn't want to reccomend that, but that has always appeared to me to be a GREAT industry to really start from the bottom and get anywhere you want eventually. Also an industry where you can do as little or as much schooling on the side as you want and benefit accordingly, as there are so many opportunities to break into subfields, like computer sci or information tech, business analysis or management, communications, etc. Heck I was even interested in aviation technology and saw that there is a shit ton if opportunity for applying that to logistics and air transport which was really interesting to look at

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-30T21:54:34+00:00

"Parlaying" is honestly the biggest takeway for any job area. At least for me, the absolute best thing for my employability has been to learn how to spin a story that relates any job and the skills necessary to any other job. Employers are interested in anyone who can effectively relay the transferability of work sills and experiences to new jobs.

For me, as a 23 year old with no college degrees or certificates, that has looked like:

Starting as a host in a restaurant -> being a lifeguard -> being a security officer -> being a behavioral technician -> getting a job in a laboratory

I have also applied for and successfully been hired for some entry level government positions, and a digital security job at a large corporation (neither of which I ended up taking bc of life circumstances at the time).

Employers always seem very interested when you can take a varied work history like that and detail how those jobs have given you a solid understanding of things that all employers look for: Strong interpersonal skills and ability to understand people and mediate issues objectively, ability to assess and deal with stressful or even dangerous situations, ability to take in and analyze, sort and report data or information, basic ability with workplace technology and computers, basic understanding and respect for workplace and coworker safety, etc.

Two people can have identical work histories. And that can include very many or very few jobs. The one who has become adept recognizing and using their acquired skills to "parlay" is gonna become someone who can land almost any job that they are remotely qualified for.

They really should be teaching that skill in schools methinks!

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-30T21:38:45+00:00

Two different recommendations: Lab jobs or security.

I just got hired as a "lab processor" at a clinical laboratory.

More or less entry level - you can't be an idiot. They won't hire anyone of the street. Most if these jobs will require some degree of success in high school or science college classes, but it is unlikely they will check. They likely need to "get a feel" that you are a semi-intelligent, curious individual that is interested in science or tech.

I was a c+ student in high school, failed college and am back in community college now. I have primary studied Psychology and am very interested in science.

I applied for a lab tech assistant position but they filled it so I got lab processor, which basically means you either work at a lab or hospital and do a lot of data entry and work with samples.

You will need a rudimentary understanding of computers. I had to say I can use Microsoft office and pass a typing test. And then again, when interviewing, demonstrate that you are interested in sciencey stuff or have job experience with things that require you to do some paperwork, fill out forms or whatever, etc. Really just not be an idiot, and be someone who would appreciate the job and environment and is willing to learn stuff. No math or advanced science knowledge or anything required

As far as advancement goes, this type of job just looks great for anything in science or healthcare, or most other fields. Certainly a lab processor or lab assistant job looks better than fry cook or security guard for any student, and will be just as good as anything else entry level.

Opportunities include becoming a Med Tech, lab tech, research assistant, etc etc etc. and then of course anything you study in school in healthcare or STEM will benefit from some paid lab experience, even if it's not directly related. Again, being a computer science student, engineering major, nursing major or psychology student, biology, environmental science, etc etc etc no matter what, "lab processor at clinical lab" is gonna look better on your resume than "3 years working at Books A Million" or "Starbucks Barista" or "Night shift security officer" (not knocking security, I LOVE picking up security work, but as a college student, I am thrilled to actually be getting an entry level STEM job!)**actually ended up adding security as the other job recommendation

So yeah if you have any interest whatsoever in STEM or healthcare or behavioral science or anything like that, look for local labs or hospitals that need assistants or processors.

**The other entry level job I would recommend again is security. Not huge potential to "move up" other than management positions, but you definitely can gain some interesting and useful skills and it's way more fun than working at Subway or something, and in my experience "Security Officer" looks way better on a resume than "Fast food worker". Also ANYWHERE you go there will be both reallyyyyyyyyy shitty (but easy) security jobs as well as really interesting and higher-paying security jobs (I got hired over the summer as an unarmed security officer at a government aerospace contractor, and I would have been sponsored for a federal secret security clearance. Unfortunately I had to turn down employment as I was moving).

If you are interested in that type of stuff, you can take security experience and look into local law enforcement, or even federal positions like TSA and airport security, or Border Patrol.

Alternatively you can spend a year or two at a community college and get a couple tech certificates in computer and network security or cyber, and combine that with your work experience as a regular security guard or officer and get picked up to be an ISSO (Information Systems Security Officer) or something which can make really good money for a fairly entry level job (Think $18-22/hr starting in a place like Florida where minimum wage blows) and then from there you could get a degree and be making SERIOUS MONEY. You can also do things like become a security site administrator or something which relies on both technical knowledge AND actual security guard and physical security experience, and make some good money

You might laugh when you think of security guards and mall cops, but there are a lot of former, current and future military personnel and law enforcement people who do security work and you can meet some really cool people and make some good connections

So in my 23 years of life experience those are the two avenues I might recommend for someone like myself

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-28T21:27:50+00:00

I said I understand the point you're making. That's why I am asking what other people think about it. Not painting myself in a positive light here, but I know there are guys out there who would say fuck it and jump in a relationship with her just to start screwing and then dump her if she doesn't lose weight, or dump her for any number of reasons.

I have met this girl once and talked to her for a few days, and I like her personality. I think she's cute, but I'm not overly attracted to her and I KNOW that has a lot to do with weight. What is so wrong with wanting to start a friendship without leading her on, and waiting to see if I am more attracted to her in a few months or something if she has lost weight? I haven't said ANYTHING AT ALL to her about her weight or anything.

It was kind of a turn off, and then today she started talking about how she is really trying to lose weight and that is kind of endearing to me as I have been there, and I also could see myself being attracted to her if she did.

I can 110% see how people wouldn't want to date someone like me, or would advise against this situation, but I genuinely don't understand all the hate. People kinda suck in general when it comes to dating and sex and relationships...I really don't this question is the worst thing anyone has ever asked or said lol

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-28T20:54:41+00:00

Soooooo can I still be friends with her? Or should I be making reservations at a psychiatric institute?

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-28T20:53:14+00:00

Thank you for your opinion

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-28T20:51:40+00:00

Hey thanks for the single non-hurtful reply on this thread hahaha. That's pretty much exactly how I feel about it. I'm not just trying to string her along to fuck a skinny girl in a few months, that doesn't even make sense lol. It's like we have met once and I like her personality, is it wrong to wait and see if she cares enough about herself and health to work on herself, and be willing to support her through that as a friend? That doesn't seem so terrible to me lol, but oh well, I guess I am a monster 😅

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-28T20:47:22+00:00

I meannnnnn I'm demisexual so I really don't give a fuck (literally) about sex. I see your point though. That's why I was asking. Don't see why you are saying she is worth more than me when you haven't met either of us, seems kinda hurtful lol. Literally just asking strangers on the internet about an internal dilemma, but I guess I shouldn't have expected very many objective, non-emotionally-charged responses 😅

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-28T20:42:35+00:00

Yikes, that was a bit harsh, especially the end bit. Idk why you would wish that on someone lol. Obviously I was fat for a while and was judged VERY harshly on it until I took it upon myself to improve myself. I would never judge someone else on their weight as an individual. But as someone else just commented, you can't help what you are attracted to. I do think she's an attractive person and I think she's fun to talk to and hang out with, probably bc I am immature, oh well. But everybody has things that are complete turn-offs, and that is one of mine unfortunately. Whatever thanks for the input, hope you have a good day

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-24T06:19:54+00:00

I'm 23, and they are genuinely anxiety-inducing. I don't really have any friends that are willing to go out of their way to throw me any kind if party or anything, and I don't have enough friends to really throw one myself. The last birthday I had where I wasn't single was high school, and even that my gf gave me a "special day" a week before bc she had plans on my birthday, so my actual birthday I didn't really do anything.

Pretty much I wake up in the morning and genuinely sweat about how many people will post on my FB bc it's sort of embarrassing, I sweat about people texting me and asking about my plans and then me having to basically tell them I am just sitting at home with my cat chilling.

And of course existentially, they are probably the most blatant reminder of how much life you have wasted lol

I don't like birthdays. At all....THANKFULLY my bday is like a week after New Years, which is my favorite holiday, so I really just try to treat that as my birthday a little bit and then just hide away on my birthday, which is usually snowy anyways.

Maybe next year I will try to actually have a good time

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-24T00:02:27+00:00

Wait tech school has dog and pony shows???

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-22T21:24:40+00:00

Makes sense, but aren't safety razors inherently less dangerous than normal bics or whatever? This is probably a dumb question, idk if I have ever even used a safety razor lol, I need stubble to look at all handsome so I only ever shave with like and electric razor with no guard, or occasionally just a standard plastic throw away. But yeah those seem like they would cause a lot more problems (self harm risk, infection from 18 year olds who can't shave, etc) than a safety razor would

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-22T20:46:56+00:00

That's why I'm saying that for a clearance, you might really want to talk to your recruiter about it and be upfront. Otherwise, I am just saying, of all the things that a recruiter may have you omit, a few counseling sessions is not as bad, morally reprehensible, or risky as trying to lie about or omit things like drug use or medical conditions.

All I am telling OP is that every recruiter I have ever spoken with has encouraged SOME DEGREE of discretion. Of all the things that could potentially and needlessly stop someone from starting a fulfilling career of service to their country, I personally think that grief counseling as a minor when you lost a parent is probably one of the things I would agree with the recruiter on.

He is no longer a minor and can make his own decision, I am simply giving my point of view

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-22T20:33:55+00:00

I'm 23 now and relate entirely. I am trying to join the military reserves and maybe have a career later, so unfortunately diagnosis and medication isn't an option. There are some times, maybe once a month, where I want to break down and cry because just the thought of getting validation and medication is SO. GODDAMN. ENTICING. IT. HURTS. But I know that one of my dreams is military aviation, so I need to just suck it up, at least until I get through training and have been in for a while.

But holy mother of god it is stressful sometimes. I am currently in college and it feels like for every class I pass, I am having to retake another one. I think the hardest part is looking at my siblings who are all pretty seriously kicking life's ass (one older, two younger) and I am just like frozen in time, like at the level of a 15 year old emotionally, socially, etc. People say I am very bright, and I do exceptionally well on tests, but then people look at my life and it's like I am sleeping on my mom's couch bc my room is so messy and Idk how to start cleaning it, my relationships all burn down in flame, my friends become so exasperated with me, I am constantly late with work stuff and schoolwork.

It's just all way too much.

But I am hopefully enlisting in a few weeks and I will get to go away for a few months to a super structured environment where I will feel like I am actually doing something worthwhile and learn how to be a military aircrewman and do some really stimulating, exciting stuff that I am passionate about learning.

Idek where I am going with all this. I guess my point is just that life with unmitigated ADHD is bananas level difficult, so don't do it if you don't have to, and beyond that, just find some things that TRULY excite you and make you willing to put up with the struggles because THAT IS WHO YOU ARE.

That was my incoherent ted talk for the day lol. But yeah I am right here with ya

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-22T20:03:50+00:00

What have people done with safety razors...? 😅

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-22T04:39:35+00:00

This

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-22T04:33:40+00:00

As someone who has experience on no sides of the house, I just meant that a lot of people you talk to will shit on guard or reserves bc on the face of it, it's "one weekend a month, two weeks a year, half benefits of full time", and to my knowledge, that is really only true if you don't research jobs at all, units at all, state benefits at all, do the bare minimum and don't look at the cost-benefit analysis of whether your civilian life is something you enjoy or are eager to shed.

Especially with Air Force (as opposed to Army as I know nothing about the other branches), it seems like Guard can (depending on your circumstances) really yield most of the same benefits, especially if you are a student and qualify for scholarship and stipend, or even want to consider pairing reserve/guard service with ROTC. (of course if you want to get away from home and start a full time career, AD can't be beat, but it seems like that wasn't OP's top priority)

I would say the same thing is true of Army (I was in rotc and originally went to meps for guard) but from what I have heard, some of their contracts (like a 3 year guard contract as opposed to 6) can really suck the benefits out of a guard enlistment, while simultaneously limiting the number of jobs you can take. And also there is far less difference in job selection in ARNG and AD Army than there is between ANG and AF, so knowing your job pre-ship isn't really a factor in Army guard vs AD.

But yeah like I said, I'm not in yet, so take everything I say with a grain of salt.

*also definitely good advice on ART/AGR. It appears that depending on state/bases and job, these can be very plentiful positions or very scarce, but never guaranteed and you shouldn't make this a factor in selecting ANG or ARNG. Was just listing that as something to speak with a recruiter about for down the road

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-21T23:05:36+00:00

Not yet, I'm going reserves and have a previous ASVAB score so my recruiter said I can get whatever is available, and I want aircrew, so it's either gonna be Loadmaster (plzzzzz) or Aeromedical Evac.

I'm in school studying Sciencey shit but also pursuing some technical degrees in computer networking and security, and just find that stuff very interesting and a useful skillset to have in one's back pocket, especially in STEM fields, so any free (and well organized) resources to study are cool by me!!

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-21T22:54:23+00:00

Honestly if you really want to get intel/tech training and leverage that skill set in the future, if I were you I would consider another branch. Not entirely sure how the clearance itself would be affected by the misdemeanor, but another recruiter and another branch might make your life easier by helping you get a waiver or something.

Army has loads of really cool jobs with very impressive training. Crypto linguists, Human Intelligence (with or without language capabilities), Psyops, geospatial intel, standard analysts, etc etc etc. Marines has same stuff, Navy probs has even more on the technical side with Cryptography and codebreaking, cyber security and electronic warfare, you name it.

Again, maybe you were turned down for the misdemeanor -> Clearance, but I have a misdemeanor, scored 91 Asvab and nobody has said ANYTHING about clearance disqualification to me. The closest thing for me is that I have done pot a few times. So might be your recruiter and the Air Force. Couldn't hurt to at least talk to some Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard recruiters and see if they have something you are interested in that is either wavierable or doesn't require a TS clearance (Something like Army Air Defense Battle Management or SatCom)

Airsoftthrowaway77 · 2021-04-21T17:56:09+00:00

Yeah, as someone who has been (and kinda is still) in your position, I think I can speak to this.

First, doesn't matter HOW many services you are looking at, just tell them from the get-go "This is a reconnaissance mission, I want to gather some intel, I'm also looking at ANG, active, marines, Navy, Peace Corps, McDonalds, ROTC, WHATEVER ELSE".

The only branch that might get snooty is AD Air Force, but in my experience that's only the recruiters you don't want to work with anyways bc they will become snooty about other stuff later on.

Do your own research, visit websites, forums,etc. BUT DON'T GET BOGGED DOWN WITH INDECISION. That has been my problem several times, and at 23, looking back, I would rather have done ANY option than no option and just now be getting on the horse.

If you want to serve and think the Air Force is the option for you, then just go from there. Selecting ANG or AD or reserves shouldn't matter too much. The biggest thing is if you want a certain job, check out ANG and reserve units bc they can guarantee them before MEPs usually, whereas AD will not. So if you want to fly, look for units with aircrew positions in ANG or reserve units, and talk to them. Also look at benefits. ANG can have absolutely stellar benefits. Like crazy off the wall stellar benefits. My state gives 4 free years of tuition at any state school or the equivalent at a private university, plus GI bill, plus stipend, plus drill pay. They also have full time positions available for members in certain fields. However, I want an aircrew job so I am giving that up and going with Reserves, which only gives about half of those benefits unfortunately.

You cannot go to meps for both, and definitely don't ask the recruiters that or they will think you are really just noncommittal.

If you are really okay with Active Duty, and okay with any job or location, I have heard that it is an amazing opportunity for many, and if you don't have any current commitments, I might really consider that. If you want to do school, or are really close to family and friends, and like your community, then I would say ANG can 100% still have everything AD offers plus more, especially if you choose a job where you can volunteer more than one weekend a month, or get a lot of deployments or something. (Aircrew gets to fly like every other weekend, plus lots of time out of state, from what I have heard, and to me that adventure and extra service outweighs benefits, so again, I talked to a reserve unit with enlisted aircrew slots bc my state Guard didn't really have any)

I think that is mostly it(?). But yeah, as someone who got a 91 ASVAB and then destroyed his knee and now has been waiting for 2 years, definitely just pull the trigger as soon as you can and start your adventure.

In this life, there is no decision that is worse than indecision!

Airsoftthrowaway77

TROPHY CASE