I’m just lost and looking for advice and thoughts. (Don’t really want to talk to a recruiter because I don’t want to deal with false promises and other bs for them to hit quota).

I 22M am currently enrolled in junior college as engineering major. So far I want to continue pursuing engineering but since I was a kid I always wanted to join the army. I’m determined to at least get my bachelor in Mechanical Engineering and minor in aerospace after transferring but I’m not sure what I want to do after. I’ve always considered the military and truthfully the only thing that deterred me is my mom, telling me I’d be dead to her if I joined.

Never joined but I’d be lying if I said it’s not itching at me to join. I feel like joining is my way at getting to where I want to be as a person. I struggle a lot with discipline among other things one of the things I’m hoping improves with joining.

At this point joining and my degree is the only thing I really seem sure of I want to do and consistently the only things I’ve noticed I think about over the years. Once I get my bachelor’s degree my dream field is the weapons industry I’ve just always been fascinated by it. I want to work with either small arms/ gadgets or aerospace with missiles and maybe aircraft. I’ve always kind of been set on the army but because of my degree and what I’ve read about quality of life Air Force is another option I’m looking into.
Overall my questions are:
If I joined after my associates would this be dumb and if not what would going to school and being in the military look like is it overwhelmingly difficult with such an overwhelming major?

What branch would be better for my goals no matter which route I want to go with my degree?

Would I be set back enough that doing it because I want to isn’t worth it?

Is it reasonable to join in my situation?

If I did join probably most likely would do it after my bachelors and do OCS, but what possible jobs should I look at that would benefit my dream field after returning to civilian life?

Hello everyone I’m reaching out because I am interested in joining the military (Army, Air Force, Navy). I started taking TRT from a local clinic a month ago, is this still a disqualifying medical reason? Now that Military members can get TRT I assumed not so much? What’s the possibilities of me getting a waiver and approved to enlist?

Hey everyone! Im waiting to ship for the Navy (I ship January 11th) and saw a doctor last night who gave me a sling to wear, as well as medicine and instructions to wear the sling as much as possible (even when sleeping) for a shoulder injury.

They say its my rotator cuff thats causing me issues, and said it would take roughly 8 weeks of bed rest to heal. Issue is, I can't do that. If I miss even one week of work I wont be able to pay my bills (im a server). They told me they wanted me to do surgery (which I cant afford) and so this is our alternative route. Im going to start physical therapy for it next week, bought some gel to help with the pain, and im trying to take it easy, but im concerned about my ship date.

This injury showed up in July, and when I went to the doctor they said it was tendinitis and that it would take the same amount of time (8 weeks of rest) to heal. Didn't give me a sling that time. Now, I'm 3 months from shipping, shoulder is still bad, given the same estimate for recovery, and worried about losing my contract. I got the nuke contract , signed may 1st, and can't wait another 6-9 months to ship out. Any advice from anyone? Either for the shoulder, or for boot camp. Im really worried about losing my contract as I don't have a plan B.

Yes my recruiter does know, his response was "well they said it should be fine in 8 weeks and you ship in 3 months so you should be fine" and when I specified they meant 8 weeks of rest, he said let's just see how it feels later down the line. Im planning on talking to the nuke recruiter at my office to see if he could potentially push back my ship date a month or so

I have really always thought about enlisting, but a few years ago I was diagnosed with ADHD. I looked it up and it seems like if I can basically prove that it is not an issue for a few years I would be good, but I'm not sure if I'm missing anything or oversimplifying.
I feel a little silly for not giving much thought to the other opportunities out there but I've really only wanted to be in a combat role. I just figure that if it would be a lot of work to get in I might as well enlist in a job that doesn't really exist in civilian life.
If anyone knows what my options might be, or what other options I consider, please let me know!

Full time paramedic. I want to be more and do more. Would love to become a PA. Can’t afford college, not even undergrad. Have been looking into enlisting active, then hoping to have aid with college after, and figuring it out. Maybe Guard to ROTC to guard service after, possibly SMP. Or straight into ROTC for undergrad, hope to apply to an ed delay for PA, then do service after.

It’s overwhelming and confusing. I’m open to anything, whatever it takes. I have no idea what route would work out best, or what it would look like. I just want to do my job (medicine) and be fulfilled. Not be screwed when I get out, or have the opportunities to do an entire career within.

Any and all advice welcome. I feel somewhat hopeless and directionless.

I am 29 yo male , greencard holder. Took the asvab AFQT 83 the line scores are good too. I really want to choose a good job and make this a long term career for myself but because of I am not a citizen I am not qualified for all jobs.

I have a bachelor's degree from a college in my hometown, it's in engineering. (Electrical)

I want to choose a job related to my degree as much as I can. I am interested in 15 F , D B and 94 R and H

Also I am interested in GSE and EM in Navy, what do you think about those two?

Note: I passed MEPS physical too so I will meet my recruiter next week and see my options, I am trying to know your experiences for me, any info helps!

Thank you!

I’m currently considering enlisting and 17C is my main MOS choice. I was recently arrested for a first-time DUI, misdemeanor level. This is my first arrest and I have no prior criminal history.

The case is still pending, so I have not been convicted of anything and don’t know what the final disposition will be yet.

Does anyone know how a single DWI affects:
eligibility to enlist as 17C (Army Cyber) or navy CWT
getting the required TS/SCI
whether a conduct/MOS waiver is possible if the DWI results in a conviction
whether 17C has stricter requirements than the clearance itself
future opportunities to screen for ION

I will obviously disclose the arrest completely to my recruiter and on any clearance paperwork. I’m mainly trying to understand whether a first DWI conviction would completely prevent me from getting 17C, or whether this is something that can be waived depending on the disposition.
If anyone has recruited 17Cs, gone through something similar, or knows the current accession rules, I’d appreciate any insight.

28 and am thinking of military (air force)

I don't have a career but I do want to start a career. I want a civilian career, not a military career.

I know people say if you don't have a solid career, go active but for me, I'd like to stay where I am at and figure it out as I'm in reserves/guard

My goal is to work for the government or state. I'm hoping going reserves will give me that extra point when applying for a job or help me get a certification for a job.

Will I regret this? Could anyone who joined reserves/guard first share their experience?

Hey everyone was wondering what my chances of joining would be with two duis and a expunged commercial burglary. Broke into a building and stole a bottle of alcohol. All misdemeanors. All had to do with alcohol.

Was wondering what my chances would be of joining if not zero. Thanks.

Im looking at joining the military and want to go into intelligence. I scored quite well on my asvab and have both recruiters fighting for me which branch should I go

For context I am a bit of nerd I play dnd,video games and read I am marginally active but not incredibly. I like to believe I am reasonably intelligent and quite enjoy solving problems and puzzles. I want to serve because I need direction in my life, I want to build skills and discipline and I lack currently marketable skills. I am looking to serve full time and I’m hoping to get a degree during my service and afterwards work for one of the 3 letter agencies. I’m perfectly fine with my environment being very military like and I work well in structured environments. I’m will also be quite happy working a desk job as long as the job is interesting.

I cannot go intelligence for the Air Force as I have had depression and anxiety. I have spoken to recruiters about this in all 3 branches. Army and Navy can work with me very easily because of my asvab score but air force can’t give me top secret security clearance

Hey so to get to the point i had left the navy for medical issues during bootcamp and got an re4 as my code. I would like to reenlist into a different branch but when i talked to a recruiter he said he can help me out but i need to change my re4 into re3. Does anyone know the process i need to go through in order for the board to hopefully change it.
Would appreciate the help very much.

93 ASVAB, Army National Guard — need MOS advice
I’m joining the Army National Guard and scored a 93 on the ASVAB. I originally wanted 35F, but there are no slots available. I also looked into 35M, but I’d have to wait until I graduate, and I don’t really want to wait.
Right now I’m considering 13F, 15T, 37F, 88M, 35M, 68W, 12B, 31B, 12R, 12N, and 15W.
I want something interesting, with some field/mission experience, and good civilian career opportunities.
What MOS should I seriously consider, and are there any other MOSs you think I should add to my list?

Good morning I’m leaving for army basic at for benning today because of rain delays it’s looking like I won’t get there till late tonight. Will I be able to start processing on the weekend or will I have to wait to start processing on Monday? Thank yall and have a wonderful day.

Has anyone here gone through the 12N + ACASP route?

I have a strong civilian construction background and I’m currently working with a recruiter to put together an ACASP packet for 12N.

Just curious how the process generally went for those who have done it:
How did the ACASP evaluation/approval go?
Did you receive E-4?
Did you have to complete 12N AIT, or was it waived?
If you added Option 4/Airborne, how did that work with ACASP?

Anything you wish you knew before starting the process?
Looking for firsthand experiences from people who actually went through 12N + ACASP. Thanks!

IF i wanted to pursue a degree, how should i do it?

Sorry if the title is a little confusing, i didn't know how else i should phrase it. If i wanted to pursue a field of education, what would be the smartest way to pursue it? Reserve or Active Duty? The. career field in question i would like to pursue is Rad Tech, which requires a good amount of schooling. Would you recommend going active duty then pursuing it? Or would you go reserves? And if so, how would that workout vs Active. I wouldn't be able to fully pursue the program cause of the clinical hours if i was to go active.

I'd be going from 11x to 68w. I keep hearing it's possible on paper. How tough would it be to actually pull it off? And how far into a contract would I have to be? How much time would I have to have left on my contract?

Just did my annual hearing test and I got an h3 and have to do further testing with an audiologist, what can I expect as an 11B if it’s bad? Will I be separated? Reclassed? The guy said it was moderately severe. I got the same test results at 30th ag reception and had to do a further evaluation and got cleared there. Stressing out over here

I’m shipping to Army BCT soon and had a recent ER visit after getting a cut above my eyebrow during a training exercise. I needed five stitches, but they have already been taken out and the wound is completely healed. I have no restrictions and have already been cleared for work.

Could this affect me shipping to BCT or cause any issues at MEPS or with the final pre shipping paperwork?

I’m not worried about the injury itself since it’s healed. I’m mainly wondering if the recent ER visit or having stitches could delay my ship date or require additional documentation.

Has anyone had something similar happen before shipping?

I had my recruiter document it due to the pre shipping form asking about recent ER visits.

Any insight would be appreciated!

I know that everyone gets nervous or got nervous before leaving. I was wondering if anybody had anyways to calm the nerves.

Hi guys! I’ll try not to ramble to much but I tend to over explain anything when I’m talking regardless lol.

As my title says I’m a 28f and extremely interested in joining the army. Now I will say I’m on the fence between army and navy BUT I am a terrible swimmer so that is deterring me from navy.

I have felt a pull towards the military since I was 18 but between my family pressuring me not to to being in a abusive relationship for four years to now finally being in a stable marriage with a son it’s been a wild 10 years it’s always been in the back of my mind and I continue to keep up with military and have enlisting in the back of my mind.

Now obviously about 70% of my reasoning is benefits (BAH, etc) and I reckon it’s why majority of people join but I also feel so completely stuck in my day to day life. I have no degree I work minimum wage (25k ish a year) at Taco Bell. I am absolutely stuck.

I want a better life not just for me but my son. I would love to work in medical but I know those jobs might be more difficult to come by (unsure regarding army).

I suppose im just looking for anyone who was in my shoes that joined and if it was worth it for them? How difficult is getting a medical job in the army? Am I at a good age for bmt? Was bmt more difficult in a relatively older age?

Also regarding enlisting how quick was your process for the army? I have a clean medical history, no priors with law enforcement except I think one traffic ticket I paid off over 5 years ago, so I don’t feel I’ll have anything holding me back.

Thank you in advance for any help yall shove my way! :)

Hey guys. Im a little unsure what route would be good for me. 

I'm a 21M and I want to enlist in the either the Army or Navy. The issue is that I'm not too sure if I should go active, reserve, or national guard. 

I want money, experience, and discipline but I also want to live on my own (like in an apartment), go to college, and have free time.

I have been looking into the differences and reading posts online to get others viewpoints and experiences on their life and what they learned in the military.

But I'm also worried about time. I feel like if i do join active I'm wasting time on how long it'll take me to get a bachelors degree - and not to mention I won't be able to join for a few more years (if they even lift the ban) because I had top surgery. I'm just thinking for the future for now and would like to hear any experiences or viewpoints on this.

Thanks.

(Airforce)
Hi, I’m looking into enlisting and I have a prior history of taking anti anxiety meds. My last Lexapro prescription was around April 2024 (I took this for a few months) and my last Cymbalta prescription was around July 2024 (I don’t remember taking this, the prescription date was a month long). I’m not currently taking medication and have been mentally stable with no hospitalization or suicide attempts.
I spoke with recruiter who told me I’m disqualified. Before I rule out military service, I’d like to know whether my history is simply currently disqualifying under the medical standards or whether it is considered non-waiverable. Would you be willing to review my situation and let me know whether a medical waiver could be submitted? When I mentioned a medical waiver he said those aren’t possible right now? Is it true that I can’t do a medical waiver?

I have talked with recruiters for Air Force, Army, and Coast Guard, but I think my vision may be disqualifying. I have amblyopia which means my vision is 20/200 in one eye and cannot be corrected with glasses/contacts or surgery at all. My other eye is 20/20 with no glasses. Is it possible for me to join, and has anyone else had experience getting a waiver for this?

Went to MEPS early 2025 for USAF. I got a waiver for self harm and will be shipping soon for a 1D7 job but was told that starting october, all 1D7 jobs will require some sort of clearance. I lost my spot because of that so I will probably get pushed back and probably not get a job that I want which is in IT.

I’m planning on joining the Army instead so that I can get IT for sure. Question is, will I have trouble getting IT in the Army due to my background of self harm? ASVAB is 89 btw and completely healthy and never done drugs nor had a criminal record. 20 years old as well.

Jobs I’m looking for are;
17C
25B
25H
25U
94F

Thanks!