> This might look like a very traditional advice, but I think spending some time in the military is a pretty good thing to do. In particular, because it's really hard, and to someone who's more intellectually oriented, it's really alien and uncomfortable. You learn a lot about yourself when pushed to your limits, and then going back to normal life, everything looks very easy and achievable.
I... gave this more thought than you would have guessed, when I was that age. Yes, they will push you, and that is both the upside and the downside; The thing that really scared me about the military was that you can't quit - if a regular boss asks me to do something that pushes me too far in any direction I can walk with almost no consequences. Not so, once you are in the military.
My understanding is that you give up a lot of your rights when you enlist... for longer than your initial term. They can call you back afterwards, and sometimes do.
I mean, I'm not saying it's a bad choice... I have worked with a bunch of ex-military people (mostly air force) - and some people get a lot out of it. It's just that enlisting is a much bigger decision than deciding to bicycle across Mongolia or whatever. You can't just quit halfway through your military journey.
That could be seen as an upside, too... but it's a much bigger deal, a much bigger commitment.
That said, for me? the kicker was that I had a couple years as a reboot monkey/windows/netware admin and could spell a few programming languages. It was 1997, so I took the obvious opportunities... opportunities that would not have been there for me in 2001.
I'd argue the same thing is happening now. If you want a computer job, get it now, because the current high demand will probably not last forever.
I... gave this more thought than you would have guessed, when I was that age. Yes, they will push you, and that is both the upside and the downside; The thing that really scared me about the military was that you can't quit - if a regular boss asks me to do something that pushes me too far in any direction I can walk with almost no consequences. Not so, once you are in the military.
My understanding is that you give up a lot of your rights when you enlist... for longer than your initial term. They can call you back afterwards, and sometimes do.
I mean, I'm not saying it's a bad choice... I have worked with a bunch of ex-military people (mostly air force) - and some people get a lot out of it. It's just that enlisting is a much bigger decision than deciding to bicycle across Mongolia or whatever. You can't just quit halfway through your military journey.
That could be seen as an upside, too... but it's a much bigger deal, a much bigger commitment.
That said, for me? the kicker was that I had a couple years as a reboot monkey/windows/netware admin and could spell a few programming languages. It was 1997, so I took the obvious opportunities... opportunities that would not have been there for me in 2001.
I'd argue the same thing is happening now. If you want a computer job, get it now, because the current high demand will probably not last forever.