Work-Life balance

[sound861]

Hello,

I am looking specifically into JO’s in the CG but any experience is helpful. What is the work life balance like after graduating from an SA? I understand that when you’re working it is a lot which I am ok with. But is your whole life consumed by the military or are there still opportunities to get out and enjoy yourself on weekends and such?

If there’s previous thread about this I apologize.

Thank you.

 

[Dr. Strange Love]

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I was taught if you want a roof over your head, pay your bills, put gas in your car … you work

My 1st job in HS in the mid-70’s … I had only been working a week when I told my boss that I was taking vacation with my family to visit relatives that summer.

… well, when I got back, I didn’t have job.
.

 

[OldRetSWO]

Hello,

I am looking specifically into JO’s in the CG but any experience is helpful. What is the work life balance like after graduating from an SA? I understand that when you’re working it is a lot which I am ok with. But is your whole life consumed by the military or are there still opportunities to get out and enjoy yourself on weekends and such?

If there’s previous thread about this I apologize.

Thank you.

The best ways to answer this are "It Depends" and "Sometimes good and sometimes rough" and that can be true for most officers in the operational branches/specialties of the service. When a ship is at sea, the officers tend to be very busy without a lot of time on their hands but at the same time, you're at sea and you don't have access to going out on the town or whatever. When inport, it can vary based on where the ship is in the training/operations cycle.

Let me put it this way, as a junior Naval Officer, I was homeported for 4 or so years in Norfolk VA and got to spend a fair amount of weekends at the Beaches (Virginia Beach) when my ship was not gone. I had good friends in the area and got to spend a lot of good times with them as well as sailing in Chesapeake Bay, visits to Williamsburg VA and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. During that time I also visited the Caribbean (Puerto Rico, Jamaica, St Thomas, Antigua, Nassau ) , Bermuda, Fort Lauderdale, Key West, Portsmouth England, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Amsterdam and Athens Greece.
While I spent a lot of time working, I also got to have a lot of fun and do some memorable stuff.

 

[NeverSayNever]

Never voluntarily work for a non-married Commanding Officer or one that is a geographical bachelor. - Major killer of work life "balance".

You will find a mix of everything in the military. Some high performing officers will live to work and others will work to live. It frequently depends on what point of your career. A track that includes advanced schools and training like Top Gun or Test Pilot School...or service dependent "elite" type programs will require far more work than others. They all essentially pay the same and the checks all get issued the same day and have never bounced.

As a junior officer I don't think it is expected to try and act or work like an O5 Commanding Officer or a senior department head. I do believe that you have to demonstrate the capability or willingness to advance but being the person that habitually shows up and leaves work 15 min before/after the boss might be overkill at the JO level unless you know at Day 1 of commissioning you want stars on your collar.

Leaders should set the tone and expectations of their subordinates. Meet those and you will have a fine career. I've known plenty of "average" performing JOs continue on to O5/O6. They knew how to work hard AND when to work hard.