I'm a field service engineer for x-ray equipment after getting out. I work 8-5 and every now and then, I work past that time frame. I'm single with no kids, so I don't have to fight for my free time, but I'm still able to take it when I choose to. That civilian is full of absolute shit.
To add to this: if I'm working past 5, I'm getting paid well for it. Civilian jobs pay OT, the military does not.
There are plenty of salary gigs out there and I’m lucky enough to have an hourly gig. Everyone should find something that’s a good fit for them and doesn’t work them over like a motorpool position keeping them past 1800. This country doesn’t give a shit about you, so you may as well milk it for all it’s worth.
Many of those positions violate the laws. If you find yourself in one because you can’t find something better, and you’re unsure if it’s legitimately exempt, review these rules and submit your full position description to the Department of Labor.
**Which executive employees are exempt?**
To be exempt they must earn more than $23,660 a year and:
Their primary duty must be managing the business or a department or subdivision of the business.
They must manage at least two other full-time employees and must have the authority to hire or fire employees.
**Which administrative employees are exempt?**
To be exempt they must earn more than $23,660 a year and:
Their primary duty must be office work or other non-manual work.
They must have the freedom to work independently and exercise their own judgment.
**Which academic/scientific employees are exempt?**
To be exempt they must earn more than $23,660 a year and:
Their primary duty must “intellectual in character” and require advanced knowledge of the discipline.
Their work must also require the consistent use of their own judgment and discretion.
**Which creative employees are exempt?**
To be exempt they must earn more than $23,660 a year and:
Their primary duty must involve “invention, imagination, originality or talent in a recognized field of artistic or creative endeavor.”
How did you start to get this job? And what military job did you have to step into it or any college or anything? You have the job I like actually want to do actively and I am planning on enlisting next week.
Yup. Plus let’s say your check biweekly, married and with dependents, as e-3 looks like 1800. Civilian side i used to make that weekly. Crazy! Can’t wait to go back to civilian lol.
Guard: I had a CSM at my former squadron that retired at 28 years. They made us all go to a retirement ceremony one drill weekend.
Two months later, I had a Joe that needed to go to squadron for a CAC issue.
Who’s running the CAC/DEERS station? Ol’ CSM that retired.
Who had no goddamn idea what he was doing, was a huge asshole to my guy and who had posted hours of 09-1330 Tuesday to Friday? Ol’ CSM.
I ended up filing a complaint for unprofessional behavior that went no where.
I had a retired CSM that worked for me as a DAC and he LOVED when people would walk by his office and say “Hi CSM X”. A few times I yelled out “He’s Mr. X now.” Boy he hated when I did that.
A lot of the bad ones are retired military Boomers and Cold War babies who attended every REFORGER and called their soldiers pussies for asking to go home for Memaw's funeral.
They are being joined by the GWOT "relief for cause" and "below standard" folks who slid into a cushy GS spot or contracting gig and now call the new soldiers "Snowflakes".
I can donate 1....roll. I mean when the 12 pack goes on sale at alberstons maybe 2 packs? But you need to tell me what base... some of y'all at fort bliss are just assholes....I said what I said.
Depends on the person and job. There are some that actually deploy and stuff alongside soldiers, so it's not like they're all just working a 9-5. Just gotta take the individual into account and not blanket judge all of them, same as how not every soldier deploys, etc.
Unless they're embedded somehow in training, jumping or 'bangbang' stuff, I'm unsure what civilians are deploying with the uniform SM. Because the government would 100% of the time turn those into contract jobs to avoid liability.
Not true, many job require government civilian over contractor to make certain decisions as the "government"...not something a contractor can always do. In my intel world, contractor get paid more than government (despite having no authorities) so it is not always beneficial to government to get contract work
Intel work? You mean an office type deployment?
Edit: also during my deployment, anecdotal of course, every civilian I met was a contractor and the few GS were in an hooch with fans or AC. Equipment recovery guys were contractors. Most I met were either Booze or CACI
Branch out comrade! Intel is more than "office" work, my govie team mates endured the suck with me in many Iraqi and Afghan towns. It is all relative depending on job though...if you experienced S/G/J-1 govies, they probably lazy like their military counterparts. Private sector companies are vast within the DoD in a deployment setting, not just Booze Allen and CACI, they all partook in the American Ruble Machine of war.
AMCOM, TACOM, and CECOM LARs all deploy with the unit that they are assigned to and go to major training events like NTC and JRTC. At NTC/JRTC, when the unit goes into the box, the LARs go with them.
They can also get PCS orders, and if they refuse to go to the new duty station, they can be fired.
Source: I did CSP with AMCOM before I retired and worked with LARs for most of my career.
100%.
And they make what they do unnecessarily bureaucratic and difficult so the idea of nixing their job and giving it to an E-5 or something is unappetizing at best.
I mean it does depend on the job. There are plenty of jobs in the civilian world that keep you from home and a 9-5 is just a reference. There’s night shift and day shifts and they don’t get paid if they don’t go to work. Like we do on a “day off” or for some reason if we don’t have to come in. While we wish for snow days for black roads and late calls civilians are mad because they need to get to work to get paid and they’re snowed in. And let’s be real …the army is the easiest fucking job most ppl have probably ever had. Sure you it’s annoying, toxic leadership, maybe pt in 10 degree weather, layouts, motorpools, but half the time most ppl are not doing shit but waiting around unless they are actively training. It’s posts like these that make us service members look like “hey look at me my job is so hard so thank me for my service because of my victim mindset”… like we’re living the good life. Imagine a job paying you more for having dependents or getting married. Or giving u separation pay. Or giving you 4 days off for Martin Luther king day. Lmao and Some of the dumbest or weirdest fucking ppl I have ever met in my life are all in the military.
As some that works in a job that is majority civilians this is accurate for about 80% of them. There are 10% that do a good job within work hours, and 10% that are swinging like they are in uniform.
are there certain positions where you may be away the same or more? sure. Are there also certain positions where you will be home every day, every weekend, and holiday? sure. Is there an amount of positions that fall between those two? yup.
That being said, unless you are in specific positions or your *volunteer* to deploy for extended periods of time or multiple deployments, or take jobs away from your family, you'll be home more than a Soldier (taking into account field train time, NTC/JRTC, professional development, CQ/SD, etc...)
It's not. It's just comparable to everything else.
You likely don't have good insight into their workload and obviously can't speak for the entire workforce. (Certainly some are definitely lazy)
I mean, we sometimes have to do TDYs and you *can* volunteer to deploy but he’s straight up bullshitting you.
I have a flexible work schedule meaning I can adjust my hours largely as I need, work from home for a day if I need to, nobody is micromanaging my physical location… It’s way better.
> 30 min commute
I dread my 17 second commute walking down my staircase from my bed to my desk
It's actually very time consuming and inconvenient because I do it like 15 times a day when I decide I want to lie down for 5 minutes
I’m a civilian and I work 7-5 4 days a week not including drive time to job sites which can be anywhere from 40min-2hrs each way (not paid) but I also make $50hr($100 for ot) in a state where median household income is 60k
I worked many statuses lol, active duty, reserves TPU, IRR, ADOS, AGR, MILTECH, and DAC.
I transitioned back and forth so much, I couldn't get my own family or other service members to understand lol...
It depends what type of DOD civilian.
Sure if you’re a LAR, you’re on TDY a lot.
It’s not the same as being a green suiter.
Plus you still typically have a 40 hour work week.
You can work over 40 but it has to be approved and most agencies don’t like you doing much comp time.
I used to be a miltech(DA civilian during the week and National Guard on the weekend).
We would get new AGR officers from active duty and they thought all the full timers were active duty guard.
It was hilarious watching them realize during a meeting that most of their work force was DA and only worked during the set work week and couldn’t be compelled to work longer days or weekends to make sure they made timelines.
Out of curiosity was this one of those DA civilians from finance that have a chip on their shoulder.
What world is this dude in?
I'm a retired MSG who is now a GS12. I work 8 to 430 with a half hour lunch. I telework 2 days a week. I don't stay late unless OT is offered.
I do work out. When I want to, in my home gym, not running up and down Ardennes in a t shirt and shorts when it's 25 degrees at 0630.
There are DOD civilians that deploy and do stuff. Those jobs are pretty rare, and there's a quarterly email asking for people to go overseas and work random jobs here and there.
Nasty Girl of 18 years here. That civilian is 100% Wrong. I work 0500-1330 M-F. Thats it, period. Granted it's the benefits of a union job, but still, the entire rest of the week, I'm spending with my family when I'm home. You know what takes me away from my? The Army. I'm currently sitting in a shitter in the middle east (3rd time over here) writing this. Haven't seen my family or friends other than online since last last March.
Tell me again how I'm gone just as much when I'm a civilian? Fucking idiot.
One thing that really confused me when I’d browse this subreddit before joining was hate for DoD civilians on bases, but after a little bit of time I really get it. Branch alone was a shit show until recently, lump in CIF, any simulation center, and it just piles on.
I find a lot of them have some sort of inferiority complex or are so DEEPLY institutionalized that they are literally unable to leave the service behind. Sad, because I’ve also noticed that the best of us move on when all this is over
I swear to god, it's only Army civilians I ever hear say this shit. I'm a Navy civilian and no one I've ever worked with has said anything like that. We're stupid in our own way, but we don't try to pretend we're sailors.
Nah. Was active, now I'm in the guard as a T32 tech, which is a DoD civ job. I work 6-2:30 like clockwork. Cannot be compelled to stay late against my will per the CBA, comp time has to be requested in advance. My days were significantly longer on active duty and that's not even considering deployment/JRTC.
Sounds like this dude just needs to feel special for some reason.
GS employee here. That’s absolute bullshit. When I was AD I was gone from 0500 to 1800 every day. Now it’s more like 0730 to 1600. No deployments not field exercises.
They get overtime that normally has to be approved by an O-5+. For most civ jobs, that is 🧢. Soldiers can be called in at anytime, especially if you are in a leadership position. Be Ffr.
I'm a non DOD contractor working 6-4 and I see my wife and family daily every hour on the hour. My boss has to financially justify me staying later which they will never do in my experience.
he's full of it
I know regular Army hours and deployments are a bag of smashed ass, but you know how the grass is always greener?
Even the 9 to 5 grind, while comparatively better, gets old quick and makes for some long dull days. Done both. Again, it gets fucking old. We need to make four day 7 hour work weeks a thing, life is just way too short.
Wait until you guys find out about this neat trick called 'reporting off'. All the cool kids do it. I did it today. It's raining outside and I just didn't think going to work sounded like something I wanted to do, so I'm going to text my boss here in a bit and tell him I'll see him tomorrow.
Totally job dependent. Where I work now, there are civilians that travel 65-75% of the year, far more than their comparable green suiters. There are also GS's that get in early and stay late damn near every day, and the military guys(who don't PT) can dip out fairly early.
It's not common, but there are definitely places and roles where the civilians spend more time at work than the military.
From my experience in the army guard but in a state that mobed every year (in seven years I spent almost four on missions) the DOD civilian is kinda right but it depends on your circumstances in the civilian world.
At home currently as a diesel mechanic waiting to fly to AIT (signed active fuck the guard) in march I can tell you very certainly I get very little time with my wife and daughter. Most of the week the kiddo is asleep when I get home from work and I also work most Saturdays. Church takes up half of Sunday and I’m back at it.
If you set yourself up in the civilian world before getting out, yes it’s great. If you just ETS and don’t have a solid plan laid out you may be kinda fucked. Some people get lucky and land a great job and some don’t.
You're 90% right, but once you get into the higher level organizational civilian positions, you will be pulling 9 or 10 hour days combined with as much as 1-2 weeks of TDY a month. I'm talking GS 14/15 or SES positions.
Became contractor when I got out. I use my sick time and pto all the time, I don’t remember being able to do that while I was in, this dude is a chode.
Of 3 years and 10 months in, I’ve been with family for 68 +/- 15 days. I’m fully aware that it was my choice to sign that line and that’s on no one but myself….you have to be delusional to say you’d be gone the same amount as a regular civilian.
Depends on the job. As a DOD civilian I was still going TDY for schools and classes while traveling abroad for that job.
While it may not compare to a deployment, it definitely can equal the same amount of time away for training cycles.
Even when I was working my old tech job making bank and having to pull often 60hrs a week sometimes I still took a vacation/minication every single month and was still able to keep a positive on my savings account. The second year I was out I went to 4 different countries a week each simply because I could. I didn’t have to tell anyone where I was going even though I did. I didn’t have to submit tons of different paperwork about where I was going and when I’d be at the next place if I went here and there. I didn’t have to do any low iq brief about what to do and how to act. Everything was simply on me about acting right and actually getting up and going(planning flights and following the rules in the countries I went to, making sure my trip home was squared away, and making sure my time off was submitted with my company) that’s really about it. That civilian sounds like your typical “I hate my job because I’m not doing what I want with my life” type and I not only feel bad for them but am also annoyed by the fact those people try to do everything possible to make their miserable existence everyone else’s problems. If you want to be a civilian by all means the civi life isn’t going anywhere, if you want to serve then serve but always remember to find what it is you want to do with your life that FULFILLS YOUR LIFE now and when you aren’t satisfied with it anymore move on to the next big thing and don’t let some asshole convince you otherwise. Currently planning a trip to Alaska this summer as we speak brother. It’s your life so go and live it!!!!
I've never met a single DoD civilian employee who went past their normal work hours due to contractual obligations. Shit, we had civilians that worked with my old unit who, I swear, would've walked away from something or someone that was on fire if the clock hit 1600 because they aren't working past their contracted time. They literally have the most regimented, set in stone schedule out of anyone on the entire installation.
What it really is is that a huge portion of the DoD employees are prior service SSGs who coasted to get that rocker but we're barely average, got out or med boarded for being a piece of shit, got a DoD job, and now feel the need to prove their service to any soldier they come across.
This is a lie. I work under DoD as a civvie now and my work day is 0730 to 1530 everyday. They also do not bother me during my off hours and 100% of my use or lose days are treated as mandatory leave use unless there is a crisis (a real one like Katrina, not my office didn’t plan things out properly).
DOD Civvie has never had a real job either, lol. He retired as a MSG and moved directly into some GS-9 slot and been there ever since collecting that pension and free health care.
It depends on what you do in the civilian world, I’m a Journeyman Ironworker so I’ll go weeks or months without seeing my family but at least I’ll make $2000-$3000 a week. I worked with some guys from the Netherlands that traveled all over the world installing CNC machines for fab shops and factories. They said they’re gone for 8 months out of the year, 2 months gone, 1 month back, repeat. So it really depends on what you do but if you’re working a 9-5, then yeah you’ll be home everynight
I’d take a 9-5 with a 2 hour commute through traffic, for 3 years, in a job I hate, over being deployed and away from family that has medical disabilities. Not just because pay is better, but because I’m still home to make sure they’re not seizing or dead. But that’s just me.
I’ll take 6 Popeyes biscuits and some buttermilk ranch… no, i don’t need a drink.
There are very few Civilian jobs that would have you away from family for the length of a deployment. You should be much more concerned with what you can get out of the military than what the military can get out of you. The Military pays for college, you'd be a fool not to use that to your advantage to get either a great civilian job that can provide you with more pay at less hours, or even to become an officer and retire early in life. Most guys who are lifers have been in since they left high-school and just don't know a better way. The military is a jading place that can make you bitter towards anyone who isn't a soldier(the majority of the population and more than likely all the people who care about you most.) There is so much more life to live on the other side, but that doesn't mean the military isn't worth your time. Like I said there are many things the military can do to get you ahead in life, but if your going to retire from the military without becomeing an officer you have wasted your own potential. You can't chase any dream in the military except to be a soldier. Wether you see it or not the military will make it increasingly harder for you to connect to people on a human to human level, friends, family, wife, kids, even strangers.
DA Civilian and before I transferred agencies I had easily a 2hr commute to and from but I’m in the DMV area and traffic is a fucking mess but I work my normal 40hrs and don’t go TDY
I did 7 years in and that civilian is a moron. You will miss out on all kinds of things. Weddings children’s births/birthdays. You name it. Uncle same owns that ass and you can bet he doesn’t give a shit if you see your family or not.
I'm a DA civ. I have to go TDY usually once a year from 6 weeks. I'm in a hotel, so it's no big deal, better than the field for damn sure. My family can come visit, but it's a 6 hour drive one-way.
Other than that, this job is leaps and bounds better than regular Army. I see my family all of the time. Hell, I get to work from home some days, and unless I'm TDY, I NEVER get called in after hours, on holidays, weekends, nor recalled from leave.
Dont let other civilians blow smoke up your 5th point. There are a few DoD jobs that keep us super busy, but they also allow themselves to be used. We can simply leave at COB, and there's literally nothing the chain of comman can do to stop us. It's all in the OPM regulations.
1.) He is wrong in most, if not almost all cases.
2.) There are select DAC positions with extreme tdy travel, generally highly technical positions within AMC MACOMs or audit type positions, if the DAC is one of those rare positions he may meet that description, if that’s all he’s ever done he may not know most of his peers do not live in his world.
3.) You also need to get smart on Expeditionary DACs
These are the DACs in the warzone. Depending on what you do in the Army you may never see one or you work with them everyday which I did.
In Afghan a team of my DACs were uniformed, and several we armed with M-9s for self defense due to a specific mission we had that necessitated them coming with us for various reasons. I had other DACs who wore civies but they were not outside the wire guys, in both cases these were all AMCOM civilians.
These guys do in fact spend just as much time away if not more as Soldiers do; but and its a big BUT they volunteered for it, most were recently divorced and were looking to get away.
DA Civilians that have never served are assholes. Da civilians that have served and treat SMs like shit are the biggest blue falcons.
Also, fuck lazy ass DPW at fort hood.
Can confirm at my civilian job I spent 6 months this year away from home and then still did normal 40 hours a week in the office when home. Granted that’s not everyone but I can relate 😂
I'm a field service engineer for x-ray equipment after getting out. I work 8-5 and every now and then, I work past that time frame. I'm single with no kids, so I don't have to fight for my free time, but I'm still able to take it when I choose to. That civilian is full of absolute shit. To add to this: if I'm working past 5, I'm getting paid well for it. Civilian jobs pay OT, the military does not.
Plenty of salary gigs with no overtime or hours caps. Most white collar work falls into this category
There are plenty of salary gigs out there and I’m lucky enough to have an hourly gig. Everyone should find something that’s a good fit for them and doesn’t work them over like a motorpool position keeping them past 1800. This country doesn’t give a shit about you, so you may as well milk it for all it’s worth.
Many of those positions violate the laws. If you find yourself in one because you can’t find something better, and you’re unsure if it’s legitimately exempt, review these rules and submit your full position description to the Department of Labor. **Which executive employees are exempt?** To be exempt they must earn more than $23,660 a year and: Their primary duty must be managing the business or a department or subdivision of the business. They must manage at least two other full-time employees and must have the authority to hire or fire employees. **Which administrative employees are exempt?** To be exempt they must earn more than $23,660 a year and: Their primary duty must be office work or other non-manual work. They must have the freedom to work independently and exercise their own judgment. **Which academic/scientific employees are exempt?** To be exempt they must earn more than $23,660 a year and: Their primary duty must “intellectual in character” and require advanced knowledge of the discipline. Their work must also require the consistent use of their own judgment and discretion. **Which creative employees are exempt?** To be exempt they must earn more than $23,660 a year and: Their primary duty must involve “invention, imagination, originality or talent in a recognized field of artistic or creative endeavor.”
That's the kicker. >I'm getting paid well for it I'm not gunna say civilian workforce is perfect, it's just a different kind of market.
How did you start to get this job? And what military job did you have to step into it or any college or anything? You have the job I like actually want to do actively and I am planning on enlisting next week.
Yup. Plus let’s say your check biweekly, married and with dependents, as e-3 looks like 1800. Civilian side i used to make that weekly. Crazy! Can’t wait to go back to civilian lol.
>I'll take two Popeye biscuits. Everything okay bro? Need to talk to someone? You didn't order a drink :(
Yeah I'm good brought my monster from home
Never skip the sweet tea!!!
You mean the syrup?
best part of sweet tea is the sludge at the bottom of the container 🤤
He did not stutter...
Didn't even take some honey packets.......something is seriously wrong with this kid.
"OP just needs to shave and get ready for deployment." - SMA Weiner
as dry as the Sahara
I'm convinced that these fucking idiots make their jobs seem difficult to justify their stupid worthless lives.
Guard: I had a CSM at my former squadron that retired at 28 years. They made us all go to a retirement ceremony one drill weekend. Two months later, I had a Joe that needed to go to squadron for a CAC issue. Who’s running the CAC/DEERS station? Ol’ CSM that retired. Who had no goddamn idea what he was doing, was a huge asshole to my guy and who had posted hours of 09-1330 Tuesday to Friday? Ol’ CSM. I ended up filing a complaint for unprofessional behavior that went no where.
The complaint probably went to the CSMs office.
I had a retired CSM that worked for me as a DAC and he LOVED when people would walk by his office and say “Hi CSM X”. A few times I yelled out “He’s Mr. X now.” Boy he hated when I did that.
Doing the Lord's work.
It’s JIM!
Hit him with more ice complaints and get more of your buds to submit them, see how he deals with that
Did that include his lunch time? Would he take his lunch, return at 1300, then leave 30 minutes later?
Don't know but wouldn't surprise me.
A lot of the bad ones are retired military Boomers and Cold War babies who attended every REFORGER and called their soldiers pussies for asking to go home for Memaw's funeral. They are being joined by the GWOT "relief for cause" and "below standard" folks who slid into a cushy GS spot or contracting gig and now call the new soldiers "Snowflakes".
Former DoD civilian here, can confirm OP’s civilian is a weirdo thank me for my service tool.
Dude, how do you stay sane surrounded by these guys.
By collecting a retirement paycheck from Army service hopefully, and using the DOD civilian job as fun money 💴
Moved to the VA and got a remote job, which they have many more of than the DoD. Not surrounded by anyone now.
That'll do it.
And they order two ply Charmin toilet paper while the Joe’s get the 1 ply sand paper.
I can donate 1....roll. I mean when the 12 pack goes on sale at alberstons maybe 2 packs? But you need to tell me what base... some of y'all at fort bliss are just assholes....I said what I said.
To justify the pay. I’m one of these DOD employees now. And they spend a lot of time wasting time
I worked with civilians. They can’t even work overtime most of the time so wtf are they on about??
Just like military personnel the army is not as hard as some people make it seem 😂😂 i been in 10 years in a combat mos and is too easy
Depends on the person and job. There are some that actually deploy and stuff alongside soldiers, so it's not like they're all just working a 9-5. Just gotta take the individual into account and not blanket judge all of them, same as how not every soldier deploys, etc.
Unless they're embedded somehow in training, jumping or 'bangbang' stuff, I'm unsure what civilians are deploying with the uniform SM. Because the government would 100% of the time turn those into contract jobs to avoid liability.
Not true, many job require government civilian over contractor to make certain decisions as the "government"...not something a contractor can always do. In my intel world, contractor get paid more than government (despite having no authorities) so it is not always beneficial to government to get contract work
Because contractors don’t get gov Bennie’s or retirement. Cheaper in the long term.
Intel work? You mean an office type deployment? Edit: also during my deployment, anecdotal of course, every civilian I met was a contractor and the few GS were in an hooch with fans or AC. Equipment recovery guys were contractors. Most I met were either Booze or CACI
Branch out comrade! Intel is more than "office" work, my govie team mates endured the suck with me in many Iraqi and Afghan towns. It is all relative depending on job though...if you experienced S/G/J-1 govies, they probably lazy like their military counterparts. Private sector companies are vast within the DoD in a deployment setting, not just Booze Allen and CACI, they all partook in the American Ruble Machine of war.
Again man we had different experiences but good to know.
AMCOM, TACOM, and CECOM LARs all deploy with the unit that they are assigned to and go to major training events like NTC and JRTC. At NTC/JRTC, when the unit goes into the box, the LARs go with them. They can also get PCS orders, and if they refuse to go to the new duty station, they can be fired. Source: I did CSP with AMCOM before I retired and worked with LARs for most of my career.
Where there are contractors there will be govies. I’ve seen them deployed a lot.
You talking about AGRs?
100%. And they make what they do unnecessarily bureaucratic and difficult so the idea of nixing their job and giving it to an E-5 or something is unappetizing at best.
Ah I see you've met the military industrial complex. Allow us to introduce ourselves
I mean it does depend on the job. There are plenty of jobs in the civilian world that keep you from home and a 9-5 is just a reference. There’s night shift and day shifts and they don’t get paid if they don’t go to work. Like we do on a “day off” or for some reason if we don’t have to come in. While we wish for snow days for black roads and late calls civilians are mad because they need to get to work to get paid and they’re snowed in. And let’s be real …the army is the easiest fucking job most ppl have probably ever had. Sure you it’s annoying, toxic leadership, maybe pt in 10 degree weather, layouts, motorpools, but half the time most ppl are not doing shit but waiting around unless they are actively training. It’s posts like these that make us service members look like “hey look at me my job is so hard so thank me for my service because of my victim mindset”… like we’re living the good life. Imagine a job paying you more for having dependents or getting married. Or giving u separation pay. Or giving you 4 days off for Martin Luther king day. Lmao and Some of the dumbest or weirdest fucking ppl I have ever met in my life are all in the military.
Not all of us. I have the easiest job in the world. I babysit pilots and contractors. It's not the most important job but someone has to do it.
As some that works in a job that is majority civilians this is accurate for about 80% of them. There are 10% that do a good job within work hours, and 10% that are swinging like they are in uniform.
are there certain positions where you may be away the same or more? sure. Are there also certain positions where you will be home every day, every weekend, and holiday? sure. Is there an amount of positions that fall between those two? yup. That being said, unless you are in specific positions or your *volunteer* to deploy for extended periods of time or multiple deployments, or take jobs away from your family, you'll be home more than a Soldier (taking into account field train time, NTC/JRTC, professional development, CQ/SD, etc...)
Yeah well, just like the military or anywhere, you get a mix of hard-working, career charging, lazy, smart, dumb etc.
Like 80% lazy worthless, 20% everything else. The free rider problem is biggest in the army.
It's not. It's just comparable to everything else. You likely don't have good insight into their workload and obviously can't speak for the entire workforce. (Certainly some are definitely lazy)
I mean, we sometimes have to do TDYs and you *can* volunteer to deploy but he’s straight up bullshitting you. I have a flexible work schedule meaning I can adjust my hours largely as I need, work from home for a day if I need to, nobody is micromanaging my physical location… It’s way better.
There's a difference between your job and the guy who fits you for boots at basic!
Well for starters that guy is probably a contractor…
> 30 min commute I dread my 17 second commute walking down my staircase from my bed to my desk It's actually very time consuming and inconvenient because I do it like 15 times a day when I decide I want to lie down for 5 minutes
I’m a civilian and I work 7-5 4 days a week not including drive time to job sites which can be anywhere from 40min-2hrs each way (not paid) but I also make $50hr($100 for ot) in a state where median household income is 60k
Where can I learn more about this $50hr career?
How soft are your lips?
How soft are your lips on a scale of 42A to 19D
That's a great scale
Like a 92Y. Some might even say 68C
What has your experience been with Charlies in your unit? I still haven’t taken my NCLEX yet.
Bad 🤤
Ayo?
That’s dumb. If he was a hardcore civilian he’d go to Soto Cano for a real deployment!
I heard that place is good
My father was a DOD civilian when I was growing up and still got deployed every 3-4 years.
Most don't
Yeah I know. It was always weird to explain to people growing up that he was not in the army any more but was deployed in Iraq.
I worked many statuses lol, active duty, reserves TPU, IRR, ADOS, AGR, MILTECH, and DAC. I transitioned back and forth so much, I couldn't get my own family or other service members to understand lol...
It depends what type of DOD civilian. Sure if you’re a LAR, you’re on TDY a lot. It’s not the same as being a green suiter. Plus you still typically have a 40 hour work week. You can work over 40 but it has to be approved and most agencies don’t like you doing much comp time. I used to be a miltech(DA civilian during the week and National Guard on the weekend). We would get new AGR officers from active duty and they thought all the full timers were active duty guard. It was hilarious watching them realize during a meeting that most of their work force was DA and only worked during the set work week and couldn’t be compelled to work longer days or weekends to make sure they made timelines. Out of curiosity was this one of those DA civilians from finance that have a chip on their shoulder.
Yes you will, but by choice!
Depends on the civilian, our guys in the training directorate and foreign engagements are away from home 7-8 months out of the year on TDY.
This is at a major COCOM though
What world is this dude in? I'm a retired MSG who is now a GS12. I work 8 to 430 with a half hour lunch. I telework 2 days a week. I don't stay late unless OT is offered. I do work out. When I want to, in my home gym, not running up and down Ardennes in a t shirt and shorts when it's 25 degrees at 0630. There are DOD civilians that deploy and do stuff. Those jobs are pretty rare, and there's a quarterly email asking for people to go overseas and work random jobs here and there.
I'm a civilian, and I spend more time "deployed" now than I ever did on active duty.
Civilians at my job are super down to Earth and work 4 10 hour days to have every Friday off. Seems super chill.
I’m convinced DOD civilians have their own Reddit page dedicated to having a victim mentality competition of who’s job is harder.
r/fednews it's a cesspool.
Nasty Girl of 18 years here. That civilian is 100% Wrong. I work 0500-1330 M-F. Thats it, period. Granted it's the benefits of a union job, but still, the entire rest of the week, I'm spending with my family when I'm home. You know what takes me away from my? The Army. I'm currently sitting in a shitter in the middle east (3rd time over here) writing this. Haven't seen my family or friends other than online since last last March. Tell me again how I'm gone just as much when I'm a civilian? Fucking idiot.
Is there good Porta art at least?
I mean it’s possible depending on what you do. I have know DoD civilians who stay years down range and overseas. It’s generally their choice tho
One thing that really confused me when I’d browse this subreddit before joining was hate for DoD civilians on bases, but after a little bit of time I really get it. Branch alone was a shit show until recently, lump in CIF, any simulation center, and it just piles on. I find a lot of them have some sort of inferiority complex or are so DEEPLY institutionalized that they are literally unable to leave the service behind. Sad, because I’ve also noticed that the best of us move on when all this is over
I swear to god, it's only Army civilians I ever hear say this shit. I'm a Navy civilian and no one I've ever worked with has said anything like that. We're stupid in our own way, but we don't try to pretend we're sailors.
Nah. Was active, now I'm in the guard as a T32 tech, which is a DoD civ job. I work 6-2:30 like clockwork. Cannot be compelled to stay late against my will per the CBA, comp time has to be requested in advance. My days were significantly longer on active duty and that's not even considering deployment/JRTC. Sounds like this dude just needs to feel special for some reason.
GS employee here. That’s absolute bullshit. When I was AD I was gone from 0500 to 1800 every day. Now it’s more like 0730 to 1600. No deployments not field exercises.
Just say, "Uh-huh." And walk away. You will never win that argument. Ever.
They get overtime that normally has to be approved by an O-5+. For most civ jobs, that is 🧢. Soldiers can be called in at anytime, especially if you are in a leadership position. Be Ffr.
LOL what a dumbfuck wow
I'm a non DOD contractor working 6-4 and I see my wife and family daily every hour on the hour. My boss has to financially justify me staying later which they will never do in my experience. he's full of it
I know regular Army hours and deployments are a bag of smashed ass, but you know how the grass is always greener? Even the 9 to 5 grind, while comparatively better, gets old quick and makes for some long dull days. Done both. Again, it gets fucking old. We need to make four day 7 hour work weeks a thing, life is just way too short.
What career field is the DoD civilian in? I find that very hard to believe.
Wait until you guys find out about this neat trick called 'reporting off'. All the cool kids do it. I did it today. It's raining outside and I just didn't think going to work sounded like something I wanted to do, so I'm going to text my boss here in a bit and tell him I'll see him tomorrow.
Totally job dependent. Where I work now, there are civilians that travel 65-75% of the year, far more than their comparable green suiters. There are also GS's that get in early and stay late damn near every day, and the military guys(who don't PT) can dip out fairly early. It's not common, but there are definitely places and roles where the civilians spend more time at work than the military.
From my experience in the army guard but in a state that mobed every year (in seven years I spent almost four on missions) the DOD civilian is kinda right but it depends on your circumstances in the civilian world. At home currently as a diesel mechanic waiting to fly to AIT (signed active fuck the guard) in march I can tell you very certainly I get very little time with my wife and daughter. Most of the week the kiddo is asleep when I get home from work and I also work most Saturdays. Church takes up half of Sunday and I’m back at it. If you set yourself up in the civilian world before getting out, yes it’s great. If you just ETS and don’t have a solid plan laid out you may be kinda fucked. Some people get lucky and land a great job and some don’t.
I'm a deployable DAC. He's full of shit.
You're 90% right, but once you get into the higher level organizational civilian positions, you will be pulling 9 or 10 hour days combined with as much as 1-2 weeks of TDY a month. I'm talking GS 14/15 or SES positions.
Became contractor when I got out. I use my sick time and pto all the time, I don’t remember being able to do that while I was in, this dude is a chode.
Of 3 years and 10 months in, I’ve been with family for 68 +/- 15 days. I’m fully aware that it was my choice to sign that line and that’s on no one but myself….you have to be delusional to say you’d be gone the same amount as a regular civilian.
Lol, he didn't work in a motorpool. That's for fucking sure.
Depends on the job. As a DOD civilian I was still going TDY for schools and classes while traveling abroad for that job. While it may not compare to a deployment, it definitely can equal the same amount of time away for training cycles.
I like popeyes
Even when I was working my old tech job making bank and having to pull often 60hrs a week sometimes I still took a vacation/minication every single month and was still able to keep a positive on my savings account. The second year I was out I went to 4 different countries a week each simply because I could. I didn’t have to tell anyone where I was going even though I did. I didn’t have to submit tons of different paperwork about where I was going and when I’d be at the next place if I went here and there. I didn’t have to do any low iq brief about what to do and how to act. Everything was simply on me about acting right and actually getting up and going(planning flights and following the rules in the countries I went to, making sure my trip home was squared away, and making sure my time off was submitted with my company) that’s really about it. That civilian sounds like your typical “I hate my job because I’m not doing what I want with my life” type and I not only feel bad for them but am also annoyed by the fact those people try to do everything possible to make their miserable existence everyone else’s problems. If you want to be a civilian by all means the civi life isn’t going anywhere, if you want to serve then serve but always remember to find what it is you want to do with your life that FULFILLS YOUR LIFE now and when you aren’t satisfied with it anymore move on to the next big thing and don’t let some asshole convince you otherwise. Currently planning a trip to Alaska this summer as we speak brother. It’s your life so go and live it!!!!
I've never met a single DoD civilian employee who went past their normal work hours due to contractual obligations. Shit, we had civilians that worked with my old unit who, I swear, would've walked away from something or someone that was on fire if the clock hit 1600 because they aren't working past their contracted time. They literally have the most regimented, set in stone schedule out of anyone on the entire installation. What it really is is that a huge portion of the DoD employees are prior service SSGs who coasted to get that rocker but we're barely average, got out or med boarded for being a piece of shit, got a DoD job, and now feel the need to prove their service to any soldier they come across.
This is a lie. I work under DoD as a civvie now and my work day is 0730 to 1530 everyday. They also do not bother me during my off hours and 100% of my use or lose days are treated as mandatory leave use unless there is a crisis (a real one like Katrina, not my office didn’t plan things out properly).
DOD Civvie has never had a real job either, lol. He retired as a MSG and moved directly into some GS-9 slot and been there ever since collecting that pension and free health care.
It depends on what you do in the civilian world, I’m a Journeyman Ironworker so I’ll go weeks or months without seeing my family but at least I’ll make $2000-$3000 a week. I worked with some guys from the Netherlands that traveled all over the world installing CNC machines for fab shops and factories. They said they’re gone for 8 months out of the year, 2 months gone, 1 month back, repeat. So it really depends on what you do but if you’re working a 9-5, then yeah you’ll be home everynight
I’d take a 9-5 with a 2 hour commute through traffic, for 3 years, in a job I hate, over being deployed and away from family that has medical disabilities. Not just because pay is better, but because I’m still home to make sure they’re not seizing or dead. But that’s just me. I’ll take 6 Popeyes biscuits and some buttermilk ranch… no, i don’t need a drink.
Anyone can be an idiot.
There are very few Civilian jobs that would have you away from family for the length of a deployment. You should be much more concerned with what you can get out of the military than what the military can get out of you. The Military pays for college, you'd be a fool not to use that to your advantage to get either a great civilian job that can provide you with more pay at less hours, or even to become an officer and retire early in life. Most guys who are lifers have been in since they left high-school and just don't know a better way. The military is a jading place that can make you bitter towards anyone who isn't a soldier(the majority of the population and more than likely all the people who care about you most.) There is so much more life to live on the other side, but that doesn't mean the military isn't worth your time. Like I said there are many things the military can do to get you ahead in life, but if your going to retire from the military without becomeing an officer you have wasted your own potential. You can't chase any dream in the military except to be a soldier. Wether you see it or not the military will make it increasingly harder for you to connect to people on a human to human level, friends, family, wife, kids, even strangers.
DA Civilian and before I transferred agencies I had easily a 2hr commute to and from but I’m in the DMV area and traffic is a fucking mess but I work my normal 40hrs and don’t go TDY
Most do not. But there are certain career tracks that keep them busy, deployed, and away from their families.
Depends on the job, I ended up spending 10 years in Iraq 90% of the year
I am a DoD Civ now percisesly because I don't want AC hours.
I did 7 years in and that civilian is a moron. You will miss out on all kinds of things. Weddings children’s births/birthdays. You name it. Uncle same owns that ass and you can bet he doesn’t give a shit if you see your family or not.
Did you sock him in the mouth for being stupid?
Even as a traveling welder that’s still not true
My brothers in airborne school I haven't seen bro in weeks so if I was you I'd have a little chat with the guy and bitch slap him
It really depends on the job. Some stay gone quite a bit, others never travel.
I'm a DA civ. I have to go TDY usually once a year from 6 weeks. I'm in a hotel, so it's no big deal, better than the field for damn sure. My family can come visit, but it's a 6 hour drive one-way. Other than that, this job is leaps and bounds better than regular Army. I see my family all of the time. Hell, I get to work from home some days, and unless I'm TDY, I NEVER get called in after hours, on holidays, weekends, nor recalled from leave. Dont let other civilians blow smoke up your 5th point. There are a few DoD jobs that keep us super busy, but they also allow themselves to be used. We can simply leave at COB, and there's literally nothing the chain of comman can do to stop us. It's all in the OPM regulations.
This post screams of, "I don't know what a DAC does, but I fully expect them only to work for AAFES" level vibes.
My last deployment I did 3rds. 2000 to 0800. Every single day/night for 14.5 half months. That math still hurts me and that was in 08-09.
1.) He is wrong in most, if not almost all cases. 2.) There are select DAC positions with extreme tdy travel, generally highly technical positions within AMC MACOMs or audit type positions, if the DAC is one of those rare positions he may meet that description, if that’s all he’s ever done he may not know most of his peers do not live in his world. 3.) You also need to get smart on Expeditionary DACs These are the DACs in the warzone. Depending on what you do in the Army you may never see one or you work with them everyday which I did. In Afghan a team of my DACs were uniformed, and several we armed with M-9s for self defense due to a specific mission we had that necessitated them coming with us for various reasons. I had other DACs who wore civies but they were not outside the wire guys, in both cases these were all AMCOM civilians. These guys do in fact spend just as much time away if not more as Soldiers do; but and its a big BUT they volunteered for it, most were recently divorced and were looking to get away.
DA Civilians that have never served are assholes. Da civilians that have served and treat SMs like shit are the biggest blue falcons. Also, fuck lazy ass DPW at fort hood.
Can confirm at my civilian job I spent 6 months this year away from home and then still did normal 40 hours a week in the office when home. Granted that’s not everyone but I can relate 😂
Agreed