College” admissions are rolling in and seniors are preparing for the next steps of their young adult life. But for some students more schooling isn’t what they plan on doing for the next part of their life. That’s where the military comes into view! For some, the military doesn’t sound like the most appealing career option at first but once you discover all the benefits that come with it, there’s no doubt a student might think about joining. The six branches of the U.S. military are the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, AirForce, Coastguard, and the newest one, the Space Force. With these six branches, many career opportunities become available to civilians from the ages of 17 to 31. 

  So what exactly are the steps to joining the military? Well first, you have to figure out which branch it is that you wish to join. Once you have that all figured out, the next step is contacting a recruiter station from your branch of choice. Once you contact a recruiter and give them some information about yourself and why you’re joining, the next part that comes is setting up an appointment to meet in person. If you’re still a minor or in high school you’ll have to bring your parents or guardian into the recruiters station with you, but if you are 18 and graduated from high school, it’s not necessary but allowed. 

  Once you have your first appointment with your recruiter, you should have found out more information on your branch, the things needed to join, and when you’ll be taking your first test; the ASVAB. The ASVAB: the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test. The ASVAB test  is a multiple-aptitude battery that measures developed abilities and helps predict future academic and occupational success in the military. This would be the test that helps you in choosing your future career in the armed forces. While preparing to study for the ASVAB one might choose to use the book, ASVAB for Dummies. This book is an amazing test book helping you to study each portion on the test. The different subjects one would be tested on will be, General Science, Arithemetic Reasoning, Word Knowldege, Paragraph comprehension, Mathematics Knowldege, Electronics Information, Auto and Shop Information, Mechanical Comprehension, Assembling Objects, and Verbal Expressions. Of course not everyone will be well educated in all of these subjects but that’s okay!

 After taking your ASVAB and if you receive a score of 31 or higher, congrats, you’re on the next step in your path. After receiving your score this will determine your job in your future branch. Once you choose your job after having done some thorough research the next step to your future in the armed services is MEPS.  MEPS stands for Military Entrance Processing Processing Station, this is where you had also taken your ASVAB, so the next time you go, you will be completing your physical and completing paperwork. During the physical you’ll be getting blood work done, an eye exam, hearing test, and a full body exam. After completing this and passing the next step you will be swearing in to your branch.   

  When you swear in, your recruiter will be in the room along with any other people swearing in but feel free to ask your recruiter to record or take pictures. This is the one of the happiest parts of joining the military because it provides a small sense of accomplishment concerning the next steps of your life. After you swear in, a mini celebration for yourself will be nice. From this point on depending on the date you leave for bootcamp, you will be in the delayed entry program if you’re still a high school student or not 18. In this program you will be attending meetings with your recruiter preparing you for bootcamp. If you decide to join the military, hopefully this article has helped you in joining.