this post was submitted on 09 Feb 2024
137 points (92.5% liked)

Leopards Ate My Face

3296 readers
2458 users here now

Rules:

Also feel free to check out !leopardsatemyface@lemm.ee (also active).

Icon credit C. Brück on Wikimedia Commons.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] TheDoozer@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

As a person in the military, I disagree wholeheartedly. Military rates/MOSs are extremely diverse, and most have real-world equivalence (to some degree). A person with skills at stripping down a gun might not be apt for a mail merge, but they'd be good for law enforcement or security. A store keeper, on the other hand, would be pretty good for that. And most non-combat roles would likely be good at passive aggressive email banter. Especially good, in fact, because going to far with the wrong person can have serious consequences, so the "passive" in passive aggressive carries a lot of weight.

Combat specialties in the military account for less than 14% (it's slightly over if you exclude Coast Guard and Space Force, which would bring the percentage down a bit). So while there might not be 1:1 on military and civilian gun-related jobs, there's no reason to expect any given company having a low percentage of vets just because they don't deal with guns.

As a military member whose primary job has been working on the avionics and electrical components of aircraft while also having a lot of experience flying (as aircrew/flight mechanic), as well as general aircraft maintenance management, if I felt like getting out of the military right now, I could easily get a six-figure job with my experience. I know because several of my coworkers have been poached by companies offering exactly that, and they figured out how much they'd make would be worth more in the long run than getting a retirement check for the rest of their life starting when they retire at 40. Also, I can't speak to other branches, but my branch absolutely pushes us into getting higher education/training and civilian certificates. I can (and will) get an Airframe and Powerplant license, as well as several avionics ones before I retire. In my 40s. And walk into a pretty cush quality assurance job at Honeywell or Boieng or Sikorsky or Rockwell-Collins.

All this to say, I think you need to change your preconceived notions of what the military consists of and what training they receive.

[–] Cryophilia@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

I work in one of those industries that translates very well from the navy. About half my coworkers were in the navy, and we all make over 6 figures.