Being a Lieutenant is the Best Job I've Ever Had

[Al B. Sure!]

At BNY Mellon, as a mutual fund accountant, I made $35K gross with reasonably cheap medical and dental that had reasonable coverage. I got a week's vacation and a few personal days. I worked a 9 hour day and had an hour and a half commute each way. The job was very easy and the environment relaxed but it was boring.

On active duty, I make $55K total pay (BAH/BAS is an untaxed and significant portion of pay, so this significantly understates pay vs. a comparable gross in the private sector; my estimate is comparable gross is around $61K). Being in a schoolhouse environment, I get free officer housing (comes with free cable, internet, utilities, and weekday room service!) and an additional $501/month for food and 'incidentals' on top of BAS. Yes I'm making $4500/month after taxes with literally no expenses.

I get free medical and dental with virtually unlimited coverage. I get 30 days vacation. All federal holidays off and they're really long holidays. For example, for Christmas, I was off at noon on Dec. 24th and didn't return til Dec. 30th. MLK Jr Day and President's Day will be 96+ hr holidays as well. If I were AD, I would get retirement and education benefits (post-9/11 GI Bill).

Does it get any better? Between good pay (nearly half untaxed) plus additional pay for dependents, healthcare/dental/eye, retirement, education benefits, vacation, federal holidays, etc. etc., you have to be talking equivalent to 6-figure in the private sector and I'm just a second lieutenant with under 2 years of service!

And that's just the tangible monetized benefits.


I might just be salivating at the mouth to go on AD the first chance I get. The private sector cannot compete in pay and benefits with being a lieutenant.



God it's going to suck to go back to BNY in April.

[Berzerker]

I know where I'd save $$$ if I was in charge of the Federal budget

[Berzerker]

oh yeah, congratulations on the promotion

[Al B. Sure!]

oh yeah, congratulations on the promotion

I haven't been promoted. I'm a Second Lieutenant.

I know where I'd save $$$ if I was in charge of the Federal budget

Probably better to cut the civilian DoD workforce. A lot of them are redundant but are only around because they're former military. Do we really need one civilian for every one and a half active servicemembers?

[Donegeal]

Go watch 'Aliens'.

Now with that being said, I'm still proud to have gotten to know at least a little bit of you.

[self biased]

congratulations.

also, no one likes a braggart.

[Al B. Sure!]

congratulations.

also, no one likes a braggart.

Braggart? I'm explaining why this is better than the private sector.

I don't understand the logic in what everyone here was telling me to do. In April, I'll be miserable and making no money again doing what KH and others said I should do.

[MRT144]

The sad thing is, he is making a factual statement. But here I am a high school dropout making more!

[Ben Kenobi]

Porn will do that.

[Al B. Sure!]

The sad thing is, he is making a factual statement. But here I am a high school dropout making more!

Society lied to us. You graduate magna *** laude, work work work, do your coworkers work, get exemplary quarterly reviews, and get nowhere fast. At least I got basically a free ride through college so I'm not like the people with $100K in loan debt.

At least the Marine Corps put me in contact with other lieutenants who worked at the big banks in Manhattan, contacts I would not have otherwise. I'll see if they pan out but it is telling that so many of them would rather be officers than traders and analysts for MS, JPM, etc.


But I do know for certain that doing KH and others' advice would have left me in a dead-end rut.

[Ben Kenobi]

But I do know for certain that doing KH and others' advice would have left me in a dead-end rut.

Say what you will KH has been very successful. If it were me, I'd be arguing that you derive greater job satisfaction out of your present job, and there's nothing wrong with that. There's always tradeoffs. It's not so much, "I'm successful, KH is wrong", but rather, there's more than one road.

[Patroklos]

You haven't deployed yet, get back to me if you think the deal is still that good then. Also you might get 30 days of vacation but good luck using it, ESPECIALLY in the USMC. I have 58 days on the books right now and lose at least ten every year to use or lose. The holidays make up for some of that, then again when in a sea billet I am underway half the year over most of those BEFORE deployments.

In short stop being a douche boot, your butter bar is showing.

[ZEE]

At BNY Mellon, as a mutual fund accountant, I made $35K gross with reasonably cheap medical and dental that had reasonable coverage. I got a week's vacation and a few personal days. I worked a 9 hour day and had an hour and a half commute each way. The job was very easy and the environment relaxed but it was boring.

On active duty, I make $55K total pay (BAH/BAS is an untaxed and significant portion of pay, so this significantly understates pay vs. a comparable gross in the private sector; my estimate is comparable gross is around $61K). Being in a schoolhouse environment, I get free officer housing (comes with free cable, internet, utilities, and weekday room service!) and an additional $501/month for food and 'incidentals' on top of BAS. Yes I'm making $4500/month after taxes with literally no expenses.

I get free medical and dental with virtually unlimited coverage. I get 30 days vacation. All federal holidays off and they're really long holidays. For example, for Christmas, I was off at noon on Dec. 24th and didn't return til Dec. 30th. MLK Jr Day and President's Day will be 96+ hr holidays as well. If I were AD, I would get retirement and education benefits (post-9/11 GI Bill).

Does it get any better? Between good pay (nearly half untaxed) plus additional pay for dependents, healthcare/dental/eye, retirement, education benefits, vacation, federal holidays, etc. etc., you have to be talking equivalent to 6-figure in the private sector and I'm just a second lieutenant with under 2 years of service!

And that's just the tangible monetized benefits.


I might just be salivating at the mouth to go on AD the first chance I get. The private sector cannot compete in pay and benefits with being a lieutenant.



God it's going to suck to go back to BNY in April.

Alby, this would make a great Vocaroo Poast so Please recKord it.


I'll wait.

[SlowwHand]

In Vietnam, there's a good chance you would have been shot by your own men. Given that it's you, a really good chance.

[KrazyHorse]

Long story short: alby makes way less money than any of the 22 year olds who work for me.