Which National Guard career is best for me? How am I ever going to settle on a position that I will enjoy? You don?t just join the National Guard. Upon doing so, you will need to choose a career path. While this may complicate things upfront, the ability to choose a job is one of the biggest benefits of joining. After all, you don?t want to be thrown into a situation that you will not be happy in.
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Below are five reasons why you need to explore multiple National Guard careers before deciding which one is best for you.
1. With so many choices it can take time to make a final decision. Some people think that all National Guard jobs are based around fighting the enemy. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are many career fields that you can get involved with including: Infantry, Aviation, Armor and Field Artillery, Military Police, Medical, Logistics Support, Transportation, Signal and Military Intelligence, Mechanic and Maintenance, Administrative, Engineer, Special Forces, and Interpreter/Translators.
It may take a while, but if you learn as much as you can about each career path you will eventually narrow down your options so you can make a confident decision.
Don?t be surprised if a career that you thought was right for you will end up being a bad choice based on your research.
2. ?You need to settle on a career that you will enjoy. Joining the National Guard is a huge commitment. Not only will you put a lot of time into defending your country, but this will consume a large part of your life for many years.
You are in the enviable position of having the ability to choose your career. Since you will be working your job, day after day, make sure you settle on something that you know you will enjoy. The last thing you want is to choose the wrong career, go through the training, and realize that you want to make a change. It is possible to change careers in some instances, but not all the time. It is best to make the right decision the first time around.
3. Feel like part of the team. As noted above, joining the National Guard is a big commitment. You are giving a part of your life to your country. This is a huge honor, but at the same time you want to make sure you are getting as much as you can out of the process.
Will your career field and job make you feel like part of the National Guard? For example, some people have to be in the action, on a regular basis, to feel like they are actually in the military. Others, though, do not have any problem staying behind the scenes.
Even though every National Guard job is very important, you need to choose the one that will make you feel like a part of the team.
4. Before you get involved with your specific job you will go through training. It goes without saying that National Guard training is intense. You will start with 10 weeks of Basic Combat Training ? and that is just the start. From there, you will take on many weeks of Advanced Individual Training.
The length of time you spend with Advanced Individual Training depends on your job specialty. Some only require a training period of a few weeks, but other jobs call for one year or longer. Since you are going to spend so much time training for your new job you need to choose something that you are excited about.
5. You want a job that will prepare you for civilian employment in the future. Do you dream of becoming a dentist someday? If so, you want to choose a National Guard career path that is going to give you the training and experience to make this happen.
There is nothing better than on the job National Guard training. Once your time with the Guard is complete you will begin your search for civilian employment. If you have training and experience in your desired field it will be much easier to get the job of your choice.
Even if you consider the five points above you may still be confused. There is nothing wrong with that.
You will have the chance to speak with a National Guard recruiter about your likes, dislikes, and future goals. Along with this, you will take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery which will help you determine which type of job is best for you.
As you can see, choosing a National Guard career on a whim is a big mistake. Instead, focus on the five details above while also getting the help of your recruiter.