.frenchyI don't give a shit if I live on base or not, I'm not joining the NAVY man... in the infantry you make 21,000 at the very least your first year, that's pretty good for a 19 year old kid, no?
All enlisted people in the military have the same pay grades. E-1, E-2 etc. I was 19 when I joined. My friends and I were always broke. We would blow it as soon as we got paid though. The majority of us did, it was fun. I am still paying off credit from that time in my life. And I'm not the only one. The navy isn't bad either. That is the branch I would do again if I had to. Or the coast guard.
Don't let me sound too negative, I did benefit a little. I came out a harder and tougher worker and more responsible for sure. They paid my college and between the navy and an internship I landed a great job. So definitely find out for yourself if that's what you want. I just wouldn't do it again if I had the choice. I'm not the only one either.. A lot of us on the boat had a real tough time, shit was rough.
And 21,000 a year is minimum wage pay. Add the hours of work you put in and it's below minimum. I'm not sure why you emphasized you weren't joining the navy? They gave me a 7k sign on bonus for being a electronics tech on subs and sub pay from day one. Sub pay was a few extra hundred a month