4 million people serving in the military. Most of them are fresh out of high school and wondering what life is going to be like after their tour of duty. In the military, we have to do what we are told immediately. There are benefits, such as free medical and dental insurance, as well as three meals a day. However, after leaving the military there is a whole list of new worries that no one talks about. A basic example of worries is figuring out how to pay for every meal as a civilian. There are benefits, such getting to spend more time with your friends and family. Instead of having things such as long deployments and a 24-hour duty day, one might have a nine to five or just be a full time student. After leaving the military, I've learned that these changes have to be adjusted to expeditiously or a veteran will find it hard to survive, like many of them are already struggling, in our society today.
Occupational life is an example of the differences between military and civilian life. In the military, I did not get to pick the hours I worked and I certainly did not get paid overtime for any extra work that I did. To enlist in the military, all recruits must take a test called the ASVAB, which determines the branch of service and occupations within the branch that the recruits are qualified for. If a recruit scores high, s/he may be anything s/he wants to be, but if s/he scores low, s/he will most likely be put to maintenance work or be trained to shoot a gun. Compared to the military, citizens have the option to go to school for any occupation they wish to pursue. When someone graduates college, they can even select the city in which they want to work and live, and they get duly compensated for the hours they work. Civilians do have to pay for their medical and dental insurance, as well as basic living expenses such as rent and utilities. .
Freedom is another major difference between the two paths a person can choose.
