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The United States Army is hiring - do you need a job?

There are several reasons to give the Army a once-over if you're on the prowl looking for a job, an adventure, or just a change of pace. The maximum age for enlistment has recently jumped from 35 to 42, which means another chance for those who dismissed the possibility based on their age - and the Army just may be the right choice for you!

ARMY JOBS
The training you receive in the military will help you for the rest of your life; the things you learn can be used in civilian jobs (which sometimes pay better than the Army) or used to advance your military career.

Your job in the Army is called your MOS (Military Occupational Specialty). There are more than 200 specific job titles to choose from in the Active Duty Army, and each is designated a special numerical and alphabetical code; for example, I'm a 74D with an L4 ASI (while it looks confusing, don't worry - you don't have to memorize any of it), which simply means I'm a Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Operations Specialist with extra training in Biological weaponry.

Since that big description is so involved, I must have had a college degree in some branch of the sciences, right? Actually, no - going in, I had no idea what the difference was between a nerve agent and a blister agent, why fission was different than fusion, or how to properly clean up a chemical spill. The Army taught me everything I needed to know and transferred my military education to real, tangible college credits.

If you've always wanted to learn a new language, talk to a recruiter about becoming a linguist - the Army will send you to school for a year (or two) in California to learn to speak Chinese, Arabic, Korean - you name it! If you're an engineer, a writer, a photographer, or want to learn how to fly a multi-million dollar aircraft, the Army has a job for you; all you need to do is talk with a recruiter to determine all of your options.

ARMY GREEN
By green, I mean money. The Army is giving out huge enlistment bonuses, which means that you can get thousands of dollars just for signing on the dotted line! Different jobs get different bonus amounts, so talk with your recruiter about what you're eligible to receive for each MOS on your list. You won't get your bonus until you've successfully completed training, but in most cases your training will only last a few months.

On top of the signing bonus, you'll get paid on the 1st and 15th of each month - unless pay day is on a

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