so i thought about the army dad said son, youre fucking high
Talked to my boss's boss today, Jeff Skilling (i think he's the leader of some 3 departments or something, one of which is IT). had a long talk with him about how things were going, and additionally we talked about his experience in the army. i've been thinking more and more about the armed forces lately, specifically the army and the navy. and here's the reasons why i think it might be a good fit (and these ARE in order of most importance/weight with 1 being the most important/weighted):
1) Discipline. I know that I have much more potential that what I am currently achieving right now. I know that I am too smart to be so lazy and discount my future. However, I still do dumb things like not turn in homework just because I dont want to do it, or call off work because I am playing warcraft. My parents see my potential, Sham sees my potential, and I see my potential. We are all in agreement that I am wasting it. The armed forces can help me achieve the goal of being more disciplined both mentally and physically.
2) Career. I have had 3 internships now in my field, plus a job that was somewhat related (at the laptop guy). NONE of these jobs have been even close to the fun that I had when I first started programming. So I begin to wonder if this is really what I want to do. I want to go to work and be happy. I want to be excited to go to work. What happens if I get my first job and I hate it? Move on. Get my second job and I hate it? Move on. After 2 or 3 of these kinds of things, people start looking at my resume and wondering. In the armed forces, I can move around and find something that I really enjoy doing. That is NOT to say that I WILL find what I love to do, just that the opportunity for movement is there. In all fairness, this opportunity is also at a large company where it is also easy to move laterally through the company.
3) Leadership. I have always felt that I was a natural leader because I understand human interaction well. I have always studied my previous bosses (there have been many many) and note to myself thier good habits as leaders and thier bad habits as leaders. With the officer candidate schools option, I could go into the army or navy as an officer. Note that this bypasses all the enlisted ranks, and would put me in an immediate leadership role.
4) Opening Doors. There are companies out there that look specifically for officers from the armed forces. They do this because of the fact that these candidates will have the experience in leadership roles and have the discipline that is required in the business world to be successful.
5) Travel. Ohio is great. I love Ohio. At the same time, however, I am immensely jealous of those who have gotten to go places such as Europe, Scotland, India, and hell even Mexico and Canada (I've never even been to Canada!). I feel like if I get a job out of school, I will be stuck in it and can't ever get the opportunity to travel and see what's out there because I will be too busy paying off college loans and what not.
I'm glad I took the time to write these down. I am going home this weekend, and will be sharing these ideas with my parents. IF I decide that this is the path I want to take, I will continue my education and graduate. Subsequently I will go to basic training and Officer Candidate School where I will be taught how to lead. IF I decide this is not the path I want to take I will continue my education and graduate. Then, I will search for a job for full-time.
One final note that I would like to make. With the Officer Candidate School, you sign up for a 3 year commitment. When I graduate I will be 24. Three years from that point, I will be 27, should I decide to NOT continue my career in the army. 27 is not very old. In fact, when you think about it, 27 is still in your prime. And I would have all of those experiences under my belt.
If there anything that I am neglecting please let me know. I want to take as an objective look at my options as I can. To me, the program that is set up seems to match my needs at this time. That is why it is under consideration.
1) Discipline. I know that I have much more potential that what I am currently achieving right now. I know that I am too smart to be so lazy and discount my future. However, I still do dumb things like not turn in homework just because I dont want to do it, or call off work because I am playing warcraft. My parents see my potential, Sham sees my potential, and I see my potential. We are all in agreement that I am wasting it. The armed forces can help me achieve the goal of being more disciplined both mentally and physically.
2) Career. I have had 3 internships now in my field, plus a job that was somewhat related (at the laptop guy). NONE of these jobs have been even close to the fun that I had when I first started programming. So I begin to wonder if this is really what I want to do. I want to go to work and be happy. I want to be excited to go to work. What happens if I get my first job and I hate it? Move on. Get my second job and I hate it? Move on. After 2 or 3 of these kinds of things, people start looking at my resume and wondering. In the armed forces, I can move around and find something that I really enjoy doing. That is NOT to say that I WILL find what I love to do, just that the opportunity for movement is there. In all fairness, this opportunity is also at a large company where it is also easy to move laterally through the company.
3) Leadership. I have always felt that I was a natural leader because I understand human interaction well. I have always studied my previous bosses (there have been many many) and note to myself thier good habits as leaders and thier bad habits as leaders. With the officer candidate schools option, I could go into the army or navy as an officer. Note that this bypasses all the enlisted ranks, and would put me in an immediate leadership role.
4) Opening Doors. There are companies out there that look specifically for officers from the armed forces. They do this because of the fact that these candidates will have the experience in leadership roles and have the discipline that is required in the business world to be successful.
5) Travel. Ohio is great. I love Ohio. At the same time, however, I am immensely jealous of those who have gotten to go places such as Europe, Scotland, India, and hell even Mexico and Canada (I've never even been to Canada!). I feel like if I get a job out of school, I will be stuck in it and can't ever get the opportunity to travel and see what's out there because I will be too busy paying off college loans and what not.
I'm glad I took the time to write these down. I am going home this weekend, and will be sharing these ideas with my parents. IF I decide that this is the path I want to take, I will continue my education and graduate. Subsequently I will go to basic training and Officer Candidate School where I will be taught how to lead. IF I decide this is not the path I want to take I will continue my education and graduate. Then, I will search for a job for full-time.
One final note that I would like to make. With the Officer Candidate School, you sign up for a 3 year commitment. When I graduate I will be 24. Three years from that point, I will be 27, should I decide to NOT continue my career in the army. 27 is not very old. In fact, when you think about it, 27 is still in your prime. And I would have all of those experiences under my belt.
If there anything that I am neglecting please let me know. I want to take as an objective look at my options as I can. To me, the program that is set up seems to match my needs at this time. That is why it is under consideration.