Taking Career Choices Seriously Essay

During my high school years, I was seriously thinking about being a part of the Military. I decided to go ahead and join while I was a junior. I completed my basic training in the summer after my junior year, than went to advanced individual training (AIT) after graduating high school. I wanted to join the Army because my father was in the Army.

Since I was a child I have always wanted to be in the Military hearing everything that my dad talked about while he was serving. I had to think about many things to make sure I was doing the right thing.There were many steps that I had to take to see if joining the Army would be right for me and also seeing if my health was okay to be a part of the Army. I talked to a recruiter to make sure I was doing the right thing and see what all I had to do to join. I had to complete my ASVAB test to see what I my career could be in the Army. I tested high enough to be a part of the transportation team. Working on trucks and driving them is what I would be doing. I then had to get into shape so that I could go to Basic Training.

I was stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina for about nine weeks than I came back home to finish out my senior year in high school. I met with my recruiters and was going to drill every other weekend during my senior year. After I graduated high school, I was sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for my Advanced Individual Training. I was there for roughly 12 weeks before I returned home and carried out my duties in Army Reserves. After about two years in the Army Reserves, I wanted to go Active Army.

I sat down with a recruiter to make sure that is what I wanted to do.It meant leaving my family behind and heading to Fort Hood, Texas to be a part of the Transportation 13 CosCom Division. I had to make sure it was okay with my family and talked to them about it before I made my final decision.

After the weeks that I thought about it, I went ahead and went Active Military. I was stationed down in Fort Hood, Texas for 2 years before I received a Medical Discharge due to hurting my back. I moved back home the end of 2008 and started college to better my life. As I look back on being in the Military, I wish I would have done many things differently.I should have taken the military much more serious than I did. Being in the military I learned that if I went to college first and received a degree before joining the Army, I would have come in at a higher rank, than a Private First Class. Researching before committing to something is what I do now, so I know what to expect rather than being in a situation that I have no control over. If I used the same steps as the text reads, than I would have had more research done and I would have known what to expect.

I wish I had these steps to follow when I was deciding if the Army was the right career path for me and I would have probably still have been in the Army and made it a lifelong career.ReferencesKelly Kilpatrick (2011). Things to Consider before Joining the US Military.

[ONLINE] Available at: http://usmilitary. about. com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/consider. htm. [Last Accessed 25 November 2012].

Thomas S. Bateman, (2011). ‘Managerial Decision Making’. Management: Leading and Collaborating in a Competitive World. 9th ed. : McGraw-Hill.

pp. 84-123.