PheonixKingZ’s Interview.

[Colin_T]

How about a compromise. You join the armed forces and do an apprenticeship as a mechanic, electrician, baker, builder or plumber. You do 4 years and get a qualification. Then you do sniper training. You might even be able to do sniper training part time while you are doing your apprenticeship.

After you leave the armed forces, you will have a career to fall back onto, eg: mechanic, baker, etc.

If you only do sniper training you will limit your job prospects when you leave. But if you are a qualified mechanic or baker, etc, you can get a job anywhere in the world. Even if you don't want to do those jobs after you leave, you can still use those skills in every day life, (eg: to work on your car or to cook nice meals for your family).

 

[PheonixKingZ]

That wouldn’t work.

Here is a direct quote from a career website....”Marines in MOS 0317 must already be qualified in Marine Infantry or Marine RECON units, trained to use precision rifle fire at selected targets from a concealed position. These actions are typically accomplished in any environment and long range with little support from other Marine or military assets.”

Which means I need to be a Marine Infantry, or in a RECON unit, in order to get into the Marines Sniper.

And this quote even makes me want to do it more...”As with all secondary MOS, you can't enter directly from boot camp into this job, but the Marine Corps has considered changing scout sniper to a primary MOS due to declining enrollment.”

That last part got me. “Declining Enrollment”.

No one wants to be the guy in a window waiting there for 2 hours. They want to be the guy with a machine gun on the back of a truck. But when there is another sniper, and machine gun is useless for taking him out. That’s where I would come in.

(Website: https://www.thebalancecareers.com/marine-corps-enlisted-job-descriptions-3345309)

 

[FishGuest5123]

Why are you so focused on killing another human being?

 

[Colin_T]

Nobody wants to be a sniper because there are no jobs for them when they leave the force. You get trained in a highly specialised field and the only jobs available are in the forces or as a mercenary. People from the armed forces also end up in security, prison guards and police. So you either stay in the force until your 50 and too old to do anything else, or you leave after x years and have to try and find training in another area, which can be difficult due to your age when you leave.

If you can do an apprenticeship in the armed forces, then you have that to fall back onto after you leave. You would have to spend a couple more years in the force but you would at least have the qualifications afterwards.

Just out of curiosity, what does your dad do for work now, or is he still in the forces?

 

[FishGuest5123]

Good question, Colin_T. I would like to know too. Marcus Latrell, The Lone Survivor, now works with Wounded Soldier Project. His sister and parents are also involved but have other jobs also. They are strictly volunteer in the Wounded Soldier Project and have donated money and time. Marcus works on his father’s cattle ranch these days.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Just out of curiosity, what does your dad do for work now, or is he still in the forces?

20 years + Army. And he is retired.

He was a BlackHawk pilot, and is now a CJ4+ Pilot for a private company.

It does make sense to get a “profession” before going into the Marnies. I could always get a job a fish shop because I know a lot about them.

I could also always work at my local airsoft Field, as they always have limited refs/workers.

 

[Colin_T]

A pilot is a good profession but a pet shop assistant isn't. A mechanic, plumber, electrician, welder, baker, etc, all have much better career prospects later on in life. They also pay a lot better than a shop assistant. Don't get me wrong, a pet shop assistant can be quite rewarding work but you're limited to what you can do and how much money you can make. As far as professional trades go, you can make a lot of money if you are qualified and good at your job, and you can get work anywhere in the world.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

A pilot is a good profession but a pet shop assistant isn't. A mechanic, plumber, electrician, welder, baker, etc, all have much better career prospects later on in life. They also pay a lot better than a shop assistant. Don't get me wrong, a pet shop assistant can be quite rewarding work but you're limited to what you can do and how much money you can make. As far as professional trades go, you can make a lot of money if you are qualified and good at your job, and you can get work anywhere in the world.

Makes sense.

I’m not really sure what I would be doing when and if I got out of the Marines. I have always wanted to be a Freshwater Biologist, but I would need a college degree, which isn’t going to happen.

I could be an AirSoft engineer, many companies these days are looking for airsoft engineers.

 

[Colin_T]

You can study while in the armed forces. Do marine biology (study of aquatic organisms in fresh and salt water) part time (online) while being a sniper. Who knows, your drill sergeant might think you're studying him. Honest Sir, I am not interested in your biology, now put your thingy away.

It takes longer than studying fulltime, but you can do 1 or 2 courses per semester and after 6 or 8 years, maybe less, you have a degree in marine biology. Then you can look for work after you leave the forces. However, a lot of scientists don't get the job they want or in their chosen profession straight away. A lot of them have to do menial work for many years before they get into their chosen field of study.

Most of the scientists I know studied at university and got their degrees, then spent the next 10+ years working in whatever job they could before they got a job in science. Most of them also continued to study their chosen field (they became hobbies) while doing other jobs.

You are studying marine biology now. Whenever you observe anything your fish are doing, you are studying marine biology. Get some books on marine biology from the library and read them. Then if and when you do study marine biology, you will already know half the stuff.

University book shops have some really nice books but they can be expensive. I had a few $400-500 books on marine biology in my book case before I ended up on the streets. If you check out the second hand book shop at the universities, or even second hand book shops around town, you can sometimes get the same books for a few dollars.

I was at a bird shop a couple of years ago and scored a few second hand fish books for virtually nothing, so you can get good books for a good price but you need to look around. You might even be able to find them on Ebay, Gumtree and Craig's List.

 

[Fishmanic]

Thread has been cleaned up as it was going WAY off topic.
If we continue to stray off topic, this topic will soon be locked. Last chance.