Balancing the Army Reserve with a Civilian Career

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  • Опубліковано 15 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 76

  • @hangarby10
    @hangarby10 10 місяців тому +57

    The whole "one weekend a month, two weeks a year" mentality is long gone in the Reserves. As you rank up, the more you are pulled into other tasks, responsibilities (reports, emails, fixing problems, conference calls, drill weekend planning, etc). Make sure you always submit at least non-paid drill requests so that your between-drill-weekend time gets accounted for. It may not sound like much, but those non paid drills add up and factor into your retirement pension. Ask for paid additional drills and then if not available, request non-paid drills. If your Command still won't approve non-paid drills (which would be surprising), then look for another Reserve job and ask those same questions when you are job/billet shopping.

    • @randomjunk9934
      @randomjunk9934 Місяць тому +1

      FACT!! Points No Pay can rack up real quick and make a huge bump in retirement.

  • @NaturalStateDepths
    @NaturalStateDepths Рік тому +24

    When I took command of my old company in 2020, I basically worked full-time for the army for part-time pay. I was so fortunate my civilian employer at the time was a veteran and understood why I had to leave sometimes to put out fires.

  • @austinstash5787
    @austinstash5787 5 місяців тому +5

    Im a teenager and this is the best explanation ive ever had. I plan on going to trade school first and then getting a career in a trade to pair with the guard.

  • @GVA787
    @GVA787 Рік тому +19

    I am a truck driver right now and doing very well financially. I’ve considered going reserve as a 88m. Not for money but for a challenge,physical fitness, serving the country among other reasons . Perhaps have a GI my son can use in the future. Extra pension would be nice at 60 when we retire from work

    • @Waterboy5152
      @Waterboy5152 9 місяців тому +1

      I came really close in 2018 to.joing active duty army and going for 88 mike. I was actually able to get my cdl in 2022. I actually want to join the air force national guard or the air force reserves.

    • @randomjunk9934
      @randomjunk9934 Місяць тому

      Don’t. You’re going to be limited and unable to bid money making jobs because the military will get in the way.
      Also realize your pension in the Reserve/Guard is based on points. 1 point = 1 reserve period (e.g. drill, AFTP, RMP…reserve duty) or 1 active duty day.
      Your monthly retirement will be:
      (points accrued) / 7200 X 0.5 X your monthly active duty pay for your rank & years.
      Example E-7 20 year reservist:
      3400 pts/ 7200= 0.472
      0.472 x 0.5 = 0.236
      0.235 x $5757.90 = $1359.50/mo
      Sure it’s something but you’d be better hustling and putting the time time working more and investing it in the S&P 500 in your SEP IRA

    • @sirw7630
      @sirw7630 Місяць тому

      @@randomjunk9934 Ok, don't you see how you advised him solely from a financial perspective? That's the wrong way to look at serving in the U.S. military. Any branch. Waterboy would also get paid for training in his industry, certifications, and benefits such as medical and education. Now, what the recruiters usually suck at relaying to new recruits is the unique experiences and camaraderie a soldier experiences with others working through tough assignments. The build character assignments. That's what I miss from my Air Force career. The friends for life I still have. I just don't see them as much now.
      Your formulas are accurate based on the points and for a theoretical E-7 20 year reservist. What you failed to mention is the GI Bill which is easily worth over $100K for tuition and stipends. Transferable to dependents after a set period. Depending on how much consecutive duty, let's say over 30 days when active duty benefits activate, then full time military benefits kick in. Other benefits include lower cost home loans, life insurance, disability comp, retirement (pension). I mean these benefits are just ridiculously awesome. Extremely hard to find a civilian/private sector employer that would cover most of these benefits at the ENTRY level. Most of these benefits are well entrenched into the military culture and contract - aka extremely hard, taking acts of Congress and the Pentagon, to sweep away. Private sector can totally drop your benefits with little notice. They do it all the time no matter how much loyalty you give. Having said all this, a person shouldn't consider joining like the Army LT. said just for some benefits. Looking to take, take, take, but not wanting to give and grind. You will be a poor fit. Not being open minded to tough and new experiences, cultures, working with many types of people.

  • @roythousand13
    @roythousand13 5 місяців тому +10

    The key to having a good reservist career is to be assigned to a good reserve unit. The unit you are assigned to is "EVERYTHING". If you are assigned to a crappy unit, you will end up hating being in the reserves.

  • @5_C_G
    @5_C_G 6 місяців тому +6

    Very helpful. I'm active, 7 years so far, and im trying to start over with in the reserves.

    • @realprofessoroak
      @realprofessoroak  5 місяців тому +1

      The Reserves is quite different than active duty, in some ways not as good as others. Almost anyone that comes over from active duty is an asset to the Reserves to say the least.

  • @valstutz2628
    @valstutz2628 6 місяців тому +1

    I really appreciate this video. I was recently given a tentative job offer with the State Department, but I'm also looking into joining the Army Reserves because, like you, I've always wanted to do some kind of military service. I really hope if I actually end up joining the Reserves, I can complete the training while also being able to be in line for this job with the State Department. You really gave some great insight in this video, I'll take my verification test for the Reserves tomorrow and you helped put my mind at ease.

    • @realprofessoroak
      @realprofessoroak  5 місяців тому +1

      That's great to hear, and with a federal job there is almost always more leniency and understanding from both employers compared to private sector opportunities, irrespective of USERRA

  • @JWZRD23
    @JWZRD23 5 місяців тому

    Great video, you’ve given me a lot to think about. I just got out of active duty AF in 2022 got a job I thought would be a great stepping stone for my career at a fortune 100 company and right when my son was due we got hit with lay offs. I survived but I had to take a demotion, and I feel stagnant in my career plus the job market is so jacked up it's hard to jump to a new opportunity. Was thinking of the reserves mostly for financial reasons (extra money plus benefits) but you're reminding me of a lot of the things I saw in my active career and I was very naive to think they’d just go away on the reserve side.

  • @kevin_ninja_jones2363
    @kevin_ninja_jones2363 Рік тому +5

    Thank you for your service sir

  • @mradams432
    @mradams432 8 місяців тому +2

    Thanks bro for letting us know

  • @Genericmember
    @Genericmember Рік тому +2

    Cool video, thank you for your service!

  • @gloriadiaz-e4f
    @gloriadiaz-e4f 4 дні тому

    can you make a video of the reality of TA you can get for college? Thankyou so much!!!

  • @zayyirthomas789
    @zayyirthomas789 7 місяців тому +1

    just join the Army Reserve my M.O.S.92 golf. I appreciate you explaining this very vital information!!!🙏🙏🙏
    I go to boot camp on June 13th.

    • @bruhtf8443
      @bruhtf8443 6 місяців тому +2

      Did you choose culinary or did it choose you?

  • @lukeneilan9675
    @lukeneilan9675 Рік тому +4

    As someone who wants to join ROTC, Thank you for this video. I have a question
    In BOLC, is it treated like basic training where they are screaming at you even though you have gone through ROTC?

    • @michaellibassi9468
      @michaellibassi9468 9 місяців тому +3

      It’s not like that at all. You’re treated like a human being at BOLC lol

  • @josephchan4198
    @josephchan4198 4 місяці тому

    I am glad I joined and hard various career in the service.

  • @steveton1682
    @steveton1682 Рік тому +1

    I'm also a PM in tech and considering the reserves. I love the first hand experience and context you provide regarding the challenges and impact to my FT career.

  • @danman3682
    @danman3682 Місяць тому

    This is great info. I keep being told to commison for the pay quality of life etc. but i really want to do CA and i have to be at least a 1LT for that as an officer .Not sure if im better off just enlisting as a 38B since it will interfere less with my full time job ?

  • @Eyes_of_Oryx
    @Eyes_of_Oryx 8 місяців тому +1

    Explain the benefits of having a time limit on social media applications???? 🙏

  • @jordandelarmente5822
    @jordandelarmente5822 6 місяців тому

    I'm currently in my command time and since I'm lacking two AGR positions for my Company, I've easily lost over $35k each year doing orders, and helping my unit to ensure it's successful.

  • @zacharyromaine9464
    @zacharyromaine9464 Рік тому +4

    What amount on average would you say you spend per week on Army duties during a regular drill month?

    • @realprofessoroak
      @realprofessoroak  Рік тому +2

      There isn't really a "regular drill month" depending on the type of unit you're in. You could be doing ranges, going to the field, or just doing PHA, and as I discussed, the type of position you're in will also dictate how much time you spend planning for that training.

  • @dylangarcia6464
    @dylangarcia6464 Рік тому +4

    Can you tell us more about what your branch is and how they very in the reserves? Are there more flexible branches you’d recommend for someone looking to go into the reserves and still balance that civilian career

    • @realprofessoroak
      @realprofessoroak  5 місяців тому +2

      I realize this is very late response but I am going through my comments and thought it'd be useful to answer these questions in case anyone might still find it useful.
      There are certainly branches that are more flexible in terms of their time commitment, but there are no hard and fast rules about it and these always change. That being said, from my experience, the further from combat arms you are, the less likely (at least initially) you are to be slated for a rotation or require you to conduct extended periods of training outside of the normal drill schedule. Think branches like Cyber, Signal, Finance, etc. Of course the Reserves doesn't have combat arms but the branches that are combat support, not combat service support, will generally be more demanding, generally speaking. If we're being real though, you will probably get deployed when you don't want to deploy, or whenever it is most seemingly inconvenient for you. Murphy's law.

    • @selenam.1065
      @selenam.1065 4 місяці тому

      Thank you! I want to join the Army Reserves to become an Army Medic or Army nurse, but I also don't want to be fully committed. So, I want to be a reversit. This clears up some things for me. So, thank you!

  • @BAD_GRIM
    @BAD_GRIM Рік тому +2

    When your on active status does the military match your civilian pay ? Also what about in OCS ?

    • @realprofessoroak
      @realprofessoroak  11 місяців тому

      The military does not offer any differential, regardless of your civilian job. That being said, most employers will have some sort of compensation package for deployed soldiers in the Reserve and Guard whether it is extended benefits or outright salary differential (my company offers differential during Title 10 deployment orders). OCS or other Army training schools would not warrant any differential pay as that is not considered Title 10 or involuntary deployment orders.

  • @franciscoserenohernandez8607
    @franciscoserenohernandez8607 7 місяців тому

    Whats the longest and shortes time you can be deployed?

  • @GHOST-zy3ji
    @GHOST-zy3ji 3 місяці тому

    People don’t know but is freaking hard

  • @patelsunny2006
    @patelsunny2006 11 місяців тому +1

    Hi I am going to enlist on 4th december 23 as reserve. Because it’s now three weeks of kapooka , do they still do march out ? if not then are we ever gonna do march out after kapooka ?

  • @Acoto
    @Acoto 9 місяців тому +2

    Did you pick up any skills from the Reserve that helps on the civilian side?

    • @realprofessoroak
      @realprofessoroak  5 місяців тому +2

      The people management skills you gain from the military are unmatched, considering your first position as a platoon leader puts you in charge of upwards of 30-40 soldiers and NCOs, and directly supervising and evaluating performance. At my civilian job, it would take me 10+ years before I get to that level of leadership.

  • @gmurayama
    @gmurayama 8 місяців тому

    Great video my guy! I am really struggling on getting the questions I need answered. The biggest concern is I’m afraid my work will find a way to “fire” me before I go off to basic even though I’m devoted to them and have a great relationship with them. The reason the fear comes of that is I would imagine I would not be working my civilian for 6 months because I would be at basic, officer training, and tech school (whatever my job will be preferably intelligence). Obviously to maintain my good standing I would need to provide full transparency of how long I would be gone. Is there a time you recommend that I approach them? Is there anything you recommend to make my fear go away? Any advisement would help! Also thank you for your service!

    • @realprofessoroak
      @realprofessoroak  5 місяців тому +1

      Thanks for the comment. First off, employers can always find a way to let someone go considering the private sector is "at-will" employment. That being said, I would be fully transparent with your employer about your military training requirements and honestly if it's a place worth working, they will support your service, and in some instances there are benefits employers get from the federal government for hiring veterans anyway. Without further context, it's hard to say when a good time to bring up this sort of thing would be, but I would not be afraid to share with them your intent if this is what you want to do. After all, there is always the opportunity you could get an even better civilian job, and you should choose to do what you feel like you won't regret in 20 years.

  • @unkarry2
    @unkarry2 7 місяців тому

    Great video!

  • @TheEmpowermentCoach
    @TheEmpowermentCoach 8 місяців тому

    We appreciate you

  • @westerncentristrants525
    @westerncentristrants525 Рік тому +1

    Just a question... Is it possible to be in the army reserves while living abroad- as in live abroad commute regularly to your home unit for training?

    • @realprofessoroak
      @realprofessoroak  Рік тому +2

      I'm not sure how realistic that is, but I'd strongly recommend against doing that from my experience traveling across the country for drill weekends.

    • @tennisguruLOL
      @tennisguruLOL 4 місяці тому

      Yes it is. What's your MOS? The Army has reserve units in Europe.

    • @westerncentristrants525
      @westerncentristrants525 4 місяці тому

      @@tennisguruLOL I'm joining artillery

  • @jennifermartinez4928
    @jennifermartinez4928 9 місяців тому

    How much is the pay as E-3

  • @chryslertechnician3439
    @chryslertechnician3439 3 місяці тому

    Are you allowed to see your family during AIT?

  • @NathanUrielMaico
    @NathanUrielMaico 2 місяці тому

    Is that possible to transfer to active duty after serving 1 yr in the Army Reserve?

    • @realprofessoroak
      @realprofessoroak  2 місяці тому

      You can almost always get a contract to go on ADOS to be on active duty orders. Generally it's easier to go from Reserves to Active Duty than the other way around

  • @tennisguruLOL
    @tennisguruLOL 4 місяці тому

    You need to submit RMA's sir.

  • @TheDoctorXCIX
    @TheDoctorXCIX 7 місяців тому

    Wanted to join the Army Reserve so bad but unfortunately the multiple recruiters I’ve talked to won’t let me join due to my hearing disability

    • @josue18E
      @josue18E 5 місяців тому

      try the national guard

    • @mohammedibrahim4394
      @mohammedibrahim4394 2 місяці тому +1

      Don’t tell them about it, go to another recruiting office and don’t tell them anything

    • @Ink30
      @Ink30 Місяць тому

      Can i do this if i had bipolar in the past? Or will they know​@@mohammedibrahim4394

    • @mohammedibrahim4394
      @mohammedibrahim4394 Місяць тому

      @@TheDoctorXCIX if you have it on your medical file showing you have hearing problems then you might need a waiver

  • @1anre
    @1anre 9 місяців тому +1

    We think otherwise.
    You shouldn't leave your product manager job to be a full-time officer and you shouldn't the reserve job to be a PM fulltime either.
    The definition of a career has changed in our generation and you don't have ro soend the rest of your life in one line.
    Like in your last video, continue to gain double perspectives and experiences from both sides. You're still going to be a more well-rounded american than a person highly-qualified in either side.
    So think about that

  • @SethG333
    @SethG333 Рік тому +1

    Yes sir

  • @khaido4157
    @khaido4157 Рік тому

    Sir, you have the same Unit Badge as mine

  • @aaron___6014
    @aaron___6014 Рік тому +4

    You're an officer, but do you think reserves as an E-4 would be less demanding for someone with a civilian career?

    • @realprofessoroak
      @realprofessoroak  Рік тому +5

      "Less demanding" as in less time commitment outside of TPU drills and training yes but it also depends on the type of unit and whether or not the unit is getting ready to go down range.

    • @tennisguruLOL
      @tennisguruLOL 4 місяці тому

      Yes it is. It's not really that demanding unless you are on a Command team. Join us! lol

  • @nbg1906
    @nbg1906 Рік тому

    hey my guy! keep going : )

  • @zacharydoty1442
    @zacharydoty1442 Рік тому +1

    Why are you wearing a combat flag, sir

  • @drewbg3333
    @drewbg3333 2 місяці тому

    It should looks like you are in your home. Why are you wearing a deployment flag?