Hi everyone,
I am thinking about joining the Navy and was wondering if anyone had any experience with this.
Background: I went to a top 3 CS bachelors (think Gatech, Berkeley, UIUC), graduated last semester very recently, started full time work for FAANG+ company as a SWE TC 120+, US citizen
I am currently employed full time as a SWE and enjoy the work. I have a family/immigration incentive to join the military. For those who are unfamiliar with it, without going into too much detail, citizens who join the military get immigration benefits for their direct family. I need this for mine.
I have chosen not to enlist as a regular member but will certainly go the officer route. Keep in mind, I need to be an actual military member to get the benefits I need, civilian military jobs will not cut it.
My questions are:
Will this kill my career progression/potential as a SWE after 4 years in the military? From what I have heard the Navy or military in general doesn’t really have many actual technical roles for someone like a SWE since nearly all of it is privately contracted out now
Are there any jobs I can get in the navy or any branch that have me still building my technical skills and therefore remaining valuable to tech companies once I get out as well?
Will I get any sort of special consideration for anything considering not many prospects with my pedigree ever consider the military?
Any info is appreciated. This is certainly going to be a downgrade for me, I’m just trying to minimize the downgrade by attempting to find a way to keep my tech career on track during the four years. I do love my country and have that incentive but with my cs background this is definetly the path less traveled so I am trying to get as much info as I can before making any moves.
Thank you all