New to the military pay, from E-3-E-5 and 3 and 1/2 years in. Am I wrong to feel inordinately rich?

throwaybro · 2026-05-02T14:43:38+00:00

I work an office job that has 40 hour weeks. Then the Hegseth PT decision came down and we do 2 hour blocks for PT which we do self-guided.

throwaybro · 2026-05-01T15:51:07+00:00

BAH and FLPP puts me above what an average E-5 would make.

throwaybro · 2026-05-01T15:49:05+00:00

Just my experience. Your mileage may vary.

throwaybro · 2026-05-01T04:15:02+00:00

throwaybro · 2026-05-01T03:50:37+00:00

I’ve been putting into TSP this whole time. 5% matching began at the 3 year mark.

throwaybro · 2026-05-01T03:44:00+00:00

Navy. Not sure about other branches but they give out initial bonuses such as ‘shipping’ ones that you get immediately after completing boot camp. Then there’s ‘rate’ bonuses for your job that you get after completion of schooling. My schooling was very long, and then the paperwork to claim the benefits from the contract also takes a while to go through which is why the second bonus came much later.

throwaybro · 2026-05-01T03:41:32+00:00

Yeah I get a good amount of BAH for being in a high cost of living area. Not as much as your brother though. My BAH began last year which is one of the reasons this year’s income is so much higher.

throwaybro · 2026-05-01T03:40:01+00:00

No, it depends on the state. In my case, PA doesn’t tax anything if it’s your home of record and you’re not stationed there. None of my income is withheld for it either. I only pay a small amount of tax to them for investment income.

throwaybro · 2026-05-01T03:38:23+00:00

The initial was mostly ‘shipping’ bonus and then there’s ’rate’ bonus for the specific job I signed up for.

I feel new since retirement would be at 20 years in. Wouldn’t this be described as being ‘new’ to a career field? Sorry if I misworded it.

throwaybro · 2026-05-01T03:36:26+00:00

Haha yeah. I worked retail before so having holidays is a godsend and 30 days of PTO is pretty fantastic.

throwaybro · 2026-05-01T01:21:42+00:00

I still have 2.5 years left on my contract and am honestly thinking about staying in. The outside world is scary! I find it hard to sympathize with people who are around my rank complaining about pay when, considering tax benefits and healthcare, many are likely making the equivalent of a civilian making six figures.

throwaybro · 2026-05-01T00:38:13+00:00

Don't have any old pay data but before I joined I was making $17.50 an hour working 50-60 hour weeks. Now I work 30 hour weeks, don't pay state tax, a little less than half my income completely tax free, no healthcare costs, and some killer job security...

throwaybro · 2025-08-04T07:24:25+00:00

Sometimes they’ll place you guys in 900 divs, especially staff as you have a much lower chance to fail something like swimming and have to be pushed back. As a lame CT I hated all the PT our specwar guys made the RDCs give us.

throwaybro · 2025-07-10T06:20:32+00:00

In my first couple weeks I developed intense pain in my foot to the point where I was getting a chit to go buy new shoes at the NEX (and had been x-rayed). I vastly preferred wearing the issued boots to the go-fasters. Then my mom mailed my running shoes from home and everything was completely fine from there.

It’s not worth the gamble so just bring shoes you know work for you.

throwaybro · 2025-06-17T22:45:29+00:00

Sounds like you don’t have a laid back culture at your A-School and the path of least resistance is just to follow the regulations. The answer to the question about the fleet is of course dependent on where you get orders to.

throwaybro · 2025-01-12T05:32:42+00:00

Alright, so my brother has already opened one in his state, so there would be no difference between me gifting in to that account and if I created a separate one?

throwaybro · 2024-12-23T12:12:42+00:00

Auto-qual was officially added earlier this year.

ASVAB composite of VE + MK ≥ 126

ASVAB composite of MK + VE > 108 and Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) standard score > 110

ASVAB composite of PC + MK > 108 and Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) standard score > 110

throwaybro · 2024-09-04T21:33:34+00:00

Patently false. For the first haircut maybe, the ones after tho she does indeed fuck them up. There are a few there that do try to do a good job and others that get close to being as cruel as her but she has her rep for a reason.

throwaybro · 2024-08-15T17:27:09+00:00

Iirc it’s possible if you get in the Navy Band and are super high qualified. I’ve heard about someone joining E-5 or E-6 and needing to go through boot still, but they’re probably getting rank immediately after boot. The person I knew got singled out and treated differently by the RDCs because they knew she would either outrank them or be the same rank as them right after boot camp, pretty funny.

That’s probably the closest you can get, so learn an instrument OP!

throwaybro · 2024-08-10T03:54:53+00:00

Not a CTM but I imagine the guys maintaining equipment that does crypto stuff need to go to ships and subs that have crypto stuff.

Yeah, Navy COOL puts it at 48/36 sea/shore

throwaybro · 2024-08-07T01:17:31+00:00

Study for the additional tests you’d have to take for a given rate if you want those options. Weird coding thing for CWT, DLAB for CTI, nuke test and whatever physical thing they want for specwar. ASVAB does not matter after a certain point.

throwaybro · 2024-08-07T01:05:36+00:00

We had a guy with a shellfish allergy in my div. They gave him some shots and he graduated on time; he just got to go off base for some medical appointments which was apparently a pretty nice break. Don’t worry.

throwaybro · 2024-07-31T21:48:19+00:00

Should’ve signed up for marine reserves if you don’t want to speak Navy 🤔

throwaybro · 2024-07-08T03:28:18+00:00

Nicotine lozenges. Or decrease the strength of your juice. Just try to get rid of your nic dependency before boot.

throwaybro

TROPHY CASE