> now, they’re expected to turn into the worst type of used car salesman <
The son of a friend of mine joined the Army, with a promise that he’d go into electronics. That made sense, as he was always interested in electrical stuff.
Well, the Army put him in electronics all right. The last I heard, he was carrying communication equipment in an infantry unit.
Yep. My cousin joined the Army with the written promise that she’d get to travel. They stuck her in a typing pool in New Jersey. She was having none of that. She was relentless, and they had to give her an honorable discharge. Her brother joined the Air Force. He specifically told them he wanted to work on jets in a very cold climate. They sent him to Arkansas, where he scraped off paint with hazardous chemicals for his entire tour.
When he finishes up and is studying it’s time to join the Air Guard or Reserve. They will give him real electronics to work with. We need to resume conscription.
If you want to learn a technical skill, always go Air Force.
The Navy requires a 6 year enlistment for any of their technical career specialties, whereas the Air Force only requires a 4 year commitment.
There are technical positions in the Army, my Uncle was a Signal Corps specialist who made it to Warrant Officer before he retired and was part of the Vice President communications detail.
But by and large what happened to your friend's son is what the Army does.
“The son of a friend of mine joined the Army, with a promise that he’d go into electronics.”
I was a Navy recruiter for many years. When someone told me the Army promised them a high tech job, I would ask them, “When you picture the Army, is a bunch of people working on electronics what you see?” That frequently brought them back to reality.