I’m pretty sure most people know that I’m in the Navy and that I have been for some time. While I was at KU there were also at least 2 other students in the School of Engineering that were Nuclear Prospective Officer Candidates. What it meant for them is that they were paid full time while they were in school and basically had to get decent grades and do little further while they were in school. The total monetary compensation for these students was large, and made college a little less financially tight for these individuals. We have a saying in the Navy that goes “no good deal goes unpunished,” though. I jokingly say this because they do expect time in exchange for the college payments. In my case my obligation is 5 years, of which I’ve already finished 2 and a half. That time can be spent in two communities of the Navy, submarines or nuclear surface ships (carriers). There is also an option to teach nuclear power to students in Charleston, SC. I’ll tell you if you want to do something cool, sign up for this program and go submarines.
Right now half way through my service obligation, I’m serving on the USS Key West. It is a fast attack submarine currently forward deployed in Guam. I never in my wildest dreams saw myself here, even just a few years ago. My job as a division officer is challenging every day of the week, and I have yet to go to work and find myself bored or unchallenged by what I’ve been assigned. One of the first things I was tasked with after I showed up was to get physically ready to report to the Navy’s SCUBA school in Panama City and train with the Navy Divers for 5 weeks so I could conduct SCUBA dives on our ship. I’ll actually write more about that later, but for now it’s enough to say that it was just another amazing opportunity that I had in my line of work, and it’s something that I don’t see a lot of other entry level engineers doing, yet it counts everywhere as engineering experience. I'm also responsible for about 10 people in my division, which not only allows me to develop professionally, but it also gives me experience in leadership that is valued and recognized by many companies. I am also a program manager for several programs on the ship both inside and outside my division. While challenging, this does give me a lot of exposure to the way the management side of engineering can work and while it's not all easy work, I do value the experience. I hear a lot of negatives though, so I’ll actually go through some reasons I’ve heard about why you shouldn’t’ serve and explain why I’m still doing what I do and why I think it’s fair to check out the opportunity.
1. I couldn’t handle the structure of the military. I hear this one a lot from people outside the military, and I don’t think it’s a very fair assessment. First, anyone that can make it through engineering school should be able to handle the structure of the military. Many of the same skills I used juggling my schedule at school I use now. I also think it’s important to realize that any job you get after school will demand some level of structure, whether you’re at an engineering firm working against project based deadlines, or working on a graduate degree in the same structured environment you just came out of, or especially if you’re working for yourself as an entrepreneur. Life in general demands structure, and the military is no different.
2. The military doesn’t pay very well. This argument against service I actually hear a lot from inside the Navy, although I’ve heard it enough from outside I feel it’s worth addressing briefly here. I’m at the same career point as an entry level engineer and my salary right now is about twice what I would make anywhere else I was looking on the civilian side for work at the similar career point. Many people talk about military pay and they only talk about base pay. By the time you add in the housing allowance, subsistence allowance, special duty pays and especially health care and dental (which are covered completely for the member with no co pays), the compensation starts to look a lot better. Better yet, part of my pay isn’t even taxed. Sometimes this is easy to forget when I’m putting in a long day, but it isn’t something I forget when I look at my pay stub.
3. The military is hard on families. This is one of the harder one’s that I deal with, especially here on a forward deployed asset in Guam, but you have to step back a bit and see the whole picture before you just decide that the military is in the business of separating families. Many companies demand anywhere from 25 to 50 percent travel for some of their best paying jobs. From what I can tell, any company simply pays their employees some dollar amount less than the value they bring to the company. And that is to say that if you’re paid well in your line of work, you had better bring something of greater value back to the company you work for if your company is to be profitable. I see my job in much the same way, and try to appreciate that fact when I deploy and find myself wanting to be around my family more.
Furthermore, the time that I do have with my family I go out of my way to maximize. We’ve become a very “work hard, play hard” family, particularly stationed here in Guam. Any time I get away from my job I try to spend with my family in quality ways. We’ve become good hikers, my son is SCUBA certified, and we’re all pretty good at swimming and any other beach activities. I know not all families go through the kind of adventures we do, so I really do try to make my family’s experience as fulfilling as possible. I hope that being a good officer makes me a better father, and vice versa. Since I’m kind of new at both, I’ll have to let time tell. It would be no different if I lived in Olathe and worked at Black and Veatch though. Your time with family is important, but I don’t think it’s fair to blame your employer for why your family life isn’t the way you want it. If your time is managed appropriately, the time with family should be prioritized right. That’s important to think about wherever you’re working, but it’s particularly important in my line of work where days off come a little less frequently.
Like I said earlier, the military isn’t for everyone, but I think it’s fair to give it an honest look when doing a job search, especially for entry level engineering work. While I support all branches of the military, I'm of course a little biased toward the Navy and Submarines, and if submarine service is something you’re thinking about, I advise you to apply early, since the benefits are maximized the earlier you apply. If you have any questions feel free to get in contact with me and I can talk further about it. Take care everyone, and congrats to all the graduates.
Adam