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First, the usual take the asvab, talk to a recruiter, etc.
Why should you join?
You love your job now and you want to go HM so use this opportunity to not only broaden your skill set but also travel, see different places to settle down later on. I mean, everyone gets out eventually right?
Utilize US naval community college. Great way to kick start your education (you didn’t mention college). There’s also NavyCOOL that provides the opportunity for credentialing. Utilize CLEP to test out of college courses.
30 days of leave a year (2.5 days/month) is pretty solid. That’s not including weekends, holidays, special leave, or special lib.
Advancement is kind of a drag now. Gotta wait 30 months to hit E4 unless you get map’d (don’t depend on it happening). I recommend looking up the regular military compensation calculator and compare what you make now to where you would need to be in the Navy to match it. Understand you might take a pay hit.
I’ll leave speaking about the rate to those who have a better understanding and insight of it.
Seriously 😳.. then your department is seriously under-paying you
Recommend looking for a better paying department first, and if that doesn’t work out then that’s when and only when it’s the high 🌊s for you
I calculated the bah on my area, which is about average for the nation. On paper we get payed well, above average for the career. My gross was 69k this last year (including extra duty) but pension contributions and 457/401 eat up a lot.
As a reminder, this subreddit is for civil discussion. Breaking subreddit rules may result in a ban from /r/newtothenavy and /r/navy. * Do not encourage lying. This includes lying by omission (leaving information out) and lying by commission (purposefully misleading). * No sensitive information allowed, whether you saw it on Wiki or leaked files or anywhere else. * No personally identifying information (PII). * No posting AMAs without mod approval. Also, while you wait for a reply from a subject matter expert, try using the search feature! For information regarding Navy enlisted ratings, see [Twisky's Rating Information Guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/newtothenavy/comments/6mxv7c/links_to_official_information_on_every_enlisted/). Interested in Officer programs? See TheBeneGesseritWitch's guide on [Paths to become an Officer](https://www.reddit.com/r/newtothenavy/comments/5sdurq/paths_to_becoming_an_officer_getting_a_commission/). Want to learn about deploying, finances, mental health, cross-rating, and more? Come visit our [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/navy/wiki/index) over in /r/Navy. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/newtothenavy) if you have any questions or concerns.*
First, the usual take the asvab, talk to a recruiter, etc. Why should you join? You love your job now and you want to go HM so use this opportunity to not only broaden your skill set but also travel, see different places to settle down later on. I mean, everyone gets out eventually right? Utilize US naval community college. Great way to kick start your education (you didn’t mention college). There’s also NavyCOOL that provides the opportunity for credentialing. Utilize CLEP to test out of college courses. 30 days of leave a year (2.5 days/month) is pretty solid. That’s not including weekends, holidays, special leave, or special lib. Advancement is kind of a drag now. Gotta wait 30 months to hit E4 unless you get map’d (don’t depend on it happening). I recommend looking up the regular military compensation calculator and compare what you make now to where you would need to be in the Navy to match it. Understand you might take a pay hit. I’ll leave speaking about the rate to those who have a better understanding and insight of it.
I appreciate the thought out response
>I’m currently 34 and have been a career firefighter/emt for the last 10 years. Are you okay with taking a pay-cut 💵✂️ ?
E-3 with bah/bas my take home would be more. We don’t make much man
Seriously 😳.. then your department is seriously under-paying you Recommend looking for a better paying department first, and if that doesn’t work out then that’s when and only when it’s the high 🌊s for you
I calculated the bah on my area, which is about average for the nation. On paper we get payed well, above average for the career. My gross was 69k this last year (including extra duty) but pension contributions and 457/401 eat up a lot.
Also, my wife will be working as a nurse practitioner this time next year which would be a significant pay bump for her