An Honor to Serve: 7 Benefits of Joining the Military
You’re aggressively searching for the right career path for yourself in 2019, but you keep running into roadblocks and dead ends. You just haven’t found “the one” yet — you know, that job that you’ll be glad to get out of bed for each morning.
Have you ever considered joining the military?
Research shows that the military currently employs a little less than 1.29 million people. That’s under 0.5% of the United States’ population.
If you’ve considered joining the military in the past, it may be worth a second look. If you haven’t, you might change your mind after finding out the many benefits of joining the military.
Here’s a rundown on seven reasons you should seriously think about serving your country this year.
Let’s get started!
1. Benefits of Joining the Military Include Feelings of Patriotism
If you are passionate about serving other people, the military offers a time-honored opportunity to do so.
As a member of the military, you are given the important job of helping the weak and defending your nation. It’s a calling that can lead to a great deal of personal satisfaction and help you to be an example to many.
2. Job Opportunity
During the past several years, the United States economy has been volatile, and it still is. As a result, finding good jobs today may be challenging, and rising costs are only making matters worse.
The great thing about the military is that it continues to provide job opportunities even when the economy is down. You can easily get your foot in the door if you qualify academically and medically, and if you don’t have a criminal record that is extensive.
3. Health Care Coverage for the Family
Another benefit of joining the military is that you’ll immediately be eligible for medical benefits for yourself and your family members.
In addition, if you remain with the military until you reach retirement, these benefits will still be yours when you leave. The benefits extend to your spouse, your children and perhaps even your dependent parents.
4. Travel Opportunities
Military installations are present around the globe, so as a member of the military, you have the opportunity to travel the world and learn other languages.
The best part? You’ll be paid to get to and from each destination.
Also, you’re given 30 days of vacation with pay each year, plus federal holidays and weekends. And when you’re off duty, you have the freedom to travel.
A perk of being a military member is that many military installations offer hotels for military members that cost less than off-base hotels do.
In addition, the military has multiple resorts you can take advantage of globally, including resorts in Hawaii, Florida, South Korea, Japan, and Germany.
5. Being Part of an Exclusive, Long-Time Club
When you become a military veteran, you automatically become a member of one of the oldest clubs in the world.
You’ll find it easy to exchange recollections and stories with other veterans. And the pride of being a veteran of the military is something that nobody can take from you.
6. Pay Plus Benefits
In the military, an enlisted individual earns $1,680 per month, but this can jump to as high as $8,241 for a senior military member who has been on the job for around 40 years.
In addition, you’ll get monthly allowances as well as enlistment/re-enlistment bonuses.
Yet another benefit of joining the military is that you can get as much as $65,000 of your student loans relieved. In addition, you can enjoy a full pension following two decades of service.
Let’s say that you’re an officer who served in the military for 20 years and you earned more than $100,000 per year. It’s possible that your retirement pension could be more than $48,000 a year for life.
The great thing about this is that you could start collecting this pension in your 40s. And since you’re still relatively young, you can start a brand-new second career.
That means you could rake in millions of dollars in pension payments, plus your second job’s income, plus health care benefits over the years following your military service. An added perk is that you’ll also receive pension increases to account for increases in the cost of living annually.
Also, note that at tax time, you’ll qualify for tax deductions that are military specific — deductions that ordinary taxpayers cannot take advantage of.
These include, for example, haircuts, uniforms, travel and moving expenses. Companies like Precision Tax Relief can go over all of these benefits with you.
7. Training and Leadership Opportunities
Finally, the military offers advanced training in various fields, along with extra training opportunities when you’re not on duty.
As we alluded to earlier, many members of the military can complete their college degrees for free thanks to tuition assistance. In addition, training opportunities can help them to advance in their career fields. For instance, they can earn certifications.
If you’ve been in the military for a few years and are ready to leave, you can even complete training designed to make your transition into civilian life as easy as possible.
One of the hugest benefits of being in the military is that you get to hone your leadership skills. Plus, you can include your leadership experiences on your resume, which will make you attractive for your post-military career.
How We Can Help
Here, we’ve highlighted the benefits of joining the military, which can enhance your life in a number of ways. However, we also offer a wide range of tips for improving your quality of life in several other ways as well.
For instance, we offer advice on healthy hobbies to adopt. We also discuss how a performance coach can add value to your life.
Take a peek here to find out more about how you can make the most of your life in 2019 and beyond.