Help me with deciding military branch?

I would say the Marine Corps. Your story is similar to mine…I lost my scholarship and got kicked out for being lazy in college. Here's why I decided on the Marine Corps, and why you need to go active duty:

- I was only looking to do one enlistment, to get my life back on track with the education benefits, and with some good resume building. Every branch offers the same G.I. Bill benefits, but the Marines look best on a civilian resume, for reasons I will explain at the end.

- Going active gives you many more job options; reservists tend to get silly, low-end jobs. But at the end of the day, it affords you more flexibility - you can go to college right away and they will pay for a good amount of it, and you can even hold down another part-time job, since the reserves work only one weekend a month (with a two week training session in the summer each year).

Now here's why the Marines are better for resume building. Businesses love to hire Marines out of all the other services due to two things: the honor and prestige that comes with being a Marine, and more importantly, the MINDSET, DISCIPLINE, and EFFICIENCY that Marines bring to the table. We get ****** up all the time in boot camp and in the fleet until we get it right. We don't bullshit, make excuses, or avoid problems. A good Marine leader (doesn't have to be an officer, we are known for delegating large amounts of power to NCOs) gets things done in a timely, efficient, and effective manner.

You can be smart as hell the way I am, but some lessons are simply learned through life. "Inspect what you expect, because you are ultimately responsible for a task that you delegate out" is something I learned recently.

I was in the Navy for a while, and I learned quickly that the military isn't in business to train people for civilian jobs. You learn how to solve military problems to military standards using military methods, systems and tools. While some of that might be transferable to the civilian sector, it should be looked on as serendipitous rather than an expectation. It doesn't train journalists for NBC. It doesn't train medics for your local fire department. And it doesn't train you to be a Secret Service Agent. You still have to apply, meet the requirements, and qualify on your own.

I retired from the Navy after about a quarter century... first 4 enlisted, the rest commissioned. I enlisted with a BA in Math at age 20. My rating (one I';d never heard of) picked me in Boot Camp. I guess I did ok because, when it came time for me to reenlist for my E-6, somebody dusted off my degree and offered me a shot at OCS and a commission. I accepted the offer and the rest is history.

When I got out, I got a couple more degrees and went to work for a management consulting firm. I hired a LOT of veterans. And less than two "hitches" didn't interest me much unless they had a specific skill for which I was looking. I mostly hired mid-range and senior officers and senior enlisted personnel that demonstrated leadership and decision-making abilities. A bullet on your resume

* 2015-2019 (military branch)

isn't going to help much in the job market if you encounter a knowledgeable hiring manager. I looked at that as one who got an employer to train him, and showed no loyalty or gratitude to the employer by leaving at his earliest opportunity without accomplishing anything for that employer.

Active Duty Air Force. Make every effort to excel, complete your degrees, take multiple leadership roles and press for the 30 year mark. You want to have the mindset to make E-9 early on. Too many people think that just serving is going to get get them a big paying job right when they get out. Look at how many people are running around with college degrees that can't hack it in a career. Sometimes it seems they hand out these degrees to anyone that has a pulse.

You can find that in any Branch. First you need to score high in ASVAB sections that translate directly...or take what you can get, go to school on the GI Bill. Depending on how you score they will push in a certain direction based on the scores and what they need that day. I was Avionics, was able to work in electronics without a FCC ticket in high voltage stuff @ LLNL, low voltage banking equipment, security equipment, CCTV. Tried to enlist as a cook, there have been a few restaurants and diners in the family, scored high enough to get tested for OCS (they do not do that anymore), can speak in complete sentences and was pushed into electronics. Did not help that the Recruiters father was a local restaurant owner that knew grandpa..they pushed hard. Long version of beware of what you wish for. At least I was able to take some time off.

Every branch has jobs that translate into civilian jobs.

Every branch has IT geeks- because every branch has computers.

Every branch has supply guys, because every branch needs supplies delivered on time and where needed.

Every branch has book-keepers and paper pushers because people need to be paid and have their records updated.

Seeing a pattern here?

I was a Construction Electrician in the Navy for 9 years and got a Journeyman Lineman's job before I was done with my terminal leave.

So, a good option would be an FBI career after any branch of service. They look at your history and I talked to a detective and they have said that they look for military history, so, I would look at a military police job or something along the lines of human resources in the military, no matter the branch.

I was an army paratrooper over fifty yeas ago. So, my advice may be dated.

That said, though, one of my brothers was in the Air Force and it has seemed to me that there was greater occupational opportunity in that branch than in the others.

However, you should ask for as much advice as you can before making a choice.

Navy or Air Force will better prepare you for civilian occupations.