Hey folks I am need of some advice, I have for several years been considering enlisting in the military but have always put it off for one reason or another. But recently I have realized that things in my life need to change and I've looked at enlisting again but have decided to give it a lot more thought and I am hoping any one who has enlisted can give me some advice or at least tell me what life is really like in the military.

I should start off with that I am Canadian and I am looking at the army at the moment rather than the navy. What I am hoping to get out of enlisting at the moment is first to get me out of my rut that my life seems in hopefully get some help in getting a better education.

My only fear at the moment is that I may have waited to long and may be to old to enlist as I am turning 38 this year.

Hey folks I am need of some advice, I have for several years been considering enlisting in the military but have always put it off for one reason or another. But recently I have realized that things in my life need to change and I've looked at enlisting again but have decided to give it a lot more thought and I am hoping any one who has enlisted can give me some advice or at least tell me what life is really like in the military.

I should start off with that I am Canadian and I am looking at the army at the moment rather than the navy. What I am hoping to get out of enlisting at the moment is first to get me out of my rut that my life seems in hopefully get some help in getting a better education.

My only fear at the moment is that I may have waited to long and may be to old to enlist as I am turning 38 this year.

I am in the CF and I can tell you that you are not too old to join the CF. If you are worried about an age limit, there is a mandatory retirement at 65 but other than that there are no restrictions. And think about that, you're 38 so you still have 27 good years of service left.

Furthermore you wouldn't even be the oldest person I've seen go through training. On my trades training there were 3, 40 year olds. Not that 40 is ancient or anything but it was a good age difference and they all passed just fine.

Just so you have some background about my experience, I joined the army as a reservist in an armoured reconnaissance unit. I served there for 4 years before leaving to try my hand at university and civi side employment. When neither of those panned out and the time to start a family had come, I joined the Reg force, again as armoured, and a month after my wedding I went off again. I've been in Reg force for 3 years now and I am a corporal. I haven't served over seas though I was slated to go on the final tours to Bosnia and Afghanistan, they were cancelled before I even began my training. But I have participated in the disaster relief effort for the forest fires in Kelowna in 03. I also spent my young life as a base brat as my dad is and Aero-engine tech for the reg force and now for the reserves.

So if you have any questions I can answer them to the best of my knowledge or find the answer for you here or by PM.

Just be ready to lose most of the control of your life, at least for a short time. And be ready to relearn how you do many things you thought you knew how to do already!

Make sure and try to get into a field that interests you as well, and one that has a civilian application if things dont work out in the forces. I think older people do well when enlisting as they have more life experience and can take things much easier.
My biggest advice is that if you are considering making it a career to retire from go Officer, not enlisted. Better pay while in and retired, and youll get to give the orders not recieve them lol

Indeed officer pay and benefits are much better than enlisted. However, to be an officer, you have to have some sort of professional degree that a service wants you to take a commission for. For example, doctors are made officers if they choose to join a service. Infantry, armored or some other fighting branch will consider the degree and decide if they will give a commission. Also, you can take military college in which you agree to take a commission at the end of your military school.

One of the coolest ways to be an officer, if you are spiritual, is to be a chaplain.

If you have no school and can't get into a military one that will make you an officer at the end, then enlisted would be your only choice.

In some of the services there are warranty officers, which are inbetween enlisted and officers; technical skills that don't quite warrant being an officer but don't quite warrant being enlisted. I was wanting to fly Apaches a couple of decades ago for the US Army. My eyes held me back. That is a warrany officer occupation.

I enlisted as an x-ray tech in US Army Reserve. When you take the entrance exam, be thorough in what you qualify for. In some cases, there are bonuses for some occupations that you might consider. For example, when I enlisted, there was a bonus for nurses in the Regular Army. I'm not sure if it was for RN's or LPN's but the Army was so short handed they were offering E5, Sergeant to anyone enlisting as a nurse. Much better pay to start out but would have caused a lack of promotion for a few years too.

http://www.forces.ca/en/page/payscales-131

Looks like an old scale but still may be in effect.

http://www.militaryfactory.com/military_pay_scale.asp

US pay scale for reference.

First off let me say thank you for responding so quickly all this information to go through really is a big help I know I want to do this, but I know that I don't know enough as my grandfather always told me if your going to do some thing do it right. So please pardon me if I ask some odd or obvious questions.

Basic up hmm, I'll make sure to watch it I may have seen some, as I remember faintly a show following some canadian soldiers undergoing basic but only saw part of one episode... and I'm rambling sorry about that.

Just be ready to lose most of the control of your life, at least for a short time. And be ready to relearn how you do many things you thought you knew how to do already!

Well as I have hear there is the wrong way to do it the right way and then the army way. 

Indeed. Many people mistakenly believe that after basic training you're sent to your regiment and begin your trade but that's wrong. For armoured after your basic training which is already approx 13 weeks, you're sent to the Armoured School at CFB Gagetown for your DP1 which is another 13 week course. Then, depending on how the rules have changed since I was there, you usually have to work at the school for a few months before being sent out to your regiment.

I'm not trying to discourage your choice and each trade is different as far as how long it takes to get through your trades training. I'm just trying to present an honest picture.

I knew this fact already, all thou I don't think I'll end up in armored seeing as I can't drive... well legally any ways, all thou it is a bit tempting. And your not discouraging me at all I am doing this to change myself and get out my rut and comfort zone to give myself a kick in the pants as it were.

As for a course well perhaps I should say when I thought about this I started thinking long term such as what I would like to do after I got out, and I was thinking about trying to become a pharmacy tech not a pharmacist mind you different job requirements. So I'll have to see if there's any thing along these lines.

Make sure and try to get into a field that interests you as well, and one that has a civilian application if things dont work out in the forces. I think older people do well when enlisting as they have more life experience and can take things much easier.
My biggest advice is that if you are considering making it a career to retire from go Officer, not enlisted. Better pay while in and retired, and youll get to give the orders not recieve them lol

Life experiences I got, I've had many different jobs over the years every thing from working in a health food plant to construction to computer assembly. All thou I doubt I have what it takes to be a officer but you never know.

I am not the most social guy I will say that right now I'm not anti-social or any thing I just have trouble... trusting new people, been stabbed in the back once to much growing up you could say. And not to blame my parents but they've just been to good for me growing up always being there for me and such helping me along really made me a bit to laid back in some ways.... and I'm rambling again. 

I"m honestly a bit unsure what I should ask about... I thought I had some ideas but suddenly now my minds a blank I only know that I want to do this.

I cannot speak for knowing the Canadian Military, as I was in the U.S.A.F., but make sure you are joining for the right reasons... that you want to serve your country. Too many times I saw or met people(in all branches) that were doing it for only the educational assistance and those people (a lot of times, not always) usually have the horrible attitudes that really ruin it for everyone else.

All that being said, and like Maligner said, be ready to do 'as your told' and be 'voluntold' for things. Not neccessarily a bad thing, but I consider my entire time in an enriching experience and would not have changed any of my decisions. No regrets. Go into it with discipline, honor and respect and you will do fine.

Whatever you choose to do, we support you. We have many to have served and still currently do serve.
/salute

I can understand what your saying here, I know that should I do this I'll be part of some thing much bigger than myself, and as some one else said will be giving up a lot of control of my life in the short term at least but I can deal with all that. And I do want to do this to serve not sure if this will come out right right but I want to help to do things for others as I was once told "I serve and fight and die so you don't have to."

That is some thing I really respect and I really want to do some thing more with my life rather than just drift even if it means giving up a few years of my life as Arctorius said heck perhaps I will even enjoy it and find my place there, I lose nothing by trying but if I don't try I will never know so I don't want to let my fear stop me but I don't want to go into this blind.... and I think I'm rambling again.

For me I joined armoured because I was armoured in the reserve force so by staying in the same trade I was able to transfer more of my time served over to Reg. Now that I'm here though I've submitted an Occupational Transfer to Clerk. Since having a kid I don't think armoured is whats good for my family anymore so the option to request an occupational transfer to a different trade is there. But there is a stigma behind changing and you aren't guaranteed to get it. Its definitely better off to make sure you made the right choice the first time.

I can't answer too many questions in regards to the Officer corps but I am friends with a few in my regiment. I know that you have some sort of degree and according to the recruiting site there are various options including the Royal Military College.

http://www.forces.ca/en/page/paideducation-96

Just looking over briefly over some of the course leaves me feeling a bit swamped at the variety and wondering if it's the one that would be right for me and could I do this, since well I would like to find a good match right from the start.