had a prolonged discussion with dad today. more like making my views known actually. well, the topic started last week, during supper after the fabulous game when Man United won 2-0 against Everton. Lawrence was saying how good it was to be the CDF. Chief of Defence Force, the head honcho for the military in Singapore. you get a merc, and a driver. most of the stuff that you use is sponsored so you really don't have to spend much money. and, your life is pretty much worry free as it is all planned out for you. down side is that you have to convince others to believe with their whole hearts and minds and whatever else is a complete and utter lie, and be more or less a puppet for the nation. according to Lawrence, you'll be earning so much money that you can't possibly finish spending it.
of course, i have different views, as dad has heard for most of today. the average LTC in the army, navy or air force, earns roughly $16k. now that is by no means a small sum of money. and, in order to get to that position, you'd have to be stepping on plenty of people. now, if i were to work that hard, my view is that i'd have to earning more than $16k a month. much much more. something around the region of $40k would be like it. dad reminded me that, how many people truly end up earning that much money? not that many. ok, lawyers, bankers, doctors(bingo!!!), and sucessful business men to name some of the more common and attainable ones.
now lets analyse this a bit. sure, i have to agree with you, the number of people actually making this much money is small. but, for one, it is not impossible. and in my view, the reason so few earn that much is that many are lacking determination. few are determined to push all the way to get that type of salary. i always believe that if you truly want it, nothing can stop you. raw determination is very powerful. so if you're in it for the money, be determined and go all the way for it.
that leads me to my all time favourite. after being in the army, i always hear that people sign on because of the money. the money is good, that's what they say. to me, that is abosolute and utter nonsense. between the private, government and mitilitary sectors, where are all the high paying jobs located? in rare occasions, government sector jobs may pay better than private sector ones, as seen in the cases of semi-private practice and private pratice doctors of certain specialities. but that is rare. 90% of high paying jobs are in, you guessed it, the private sector. next comes certain government posts, then comes the military. so, please explain to me, how in the world can the military be paying you good money? if you're talking about starting salaries, what is the highest starting salary the military can possibly give you, $4k a month? lawyers and bankers get $6k. 1-0 to the private sector. top salaries? the sky is the limit for the private sector, but lets cap it at $1million annually. can the military ever hope to pay you that much? maybe, but the positions are so limited that you might as well strike lottery before you have a chance to have a sniff of those positions. 2-0 to the private sector. next comes another factor that is just as important, and one that is biased, but one naturally so. job recognition. now i used to tell some of my friends this. if in a party, someone walks up to you and asks you, what do you do for a living? if you say that you are an officer, a captain in fact, they'd go oh, ok. if you say that you're a banker with Fannie Mae, or a lawyer or a doctor. they'd go ah... the respect and prestige given is evidently different. so yeah, i'd call it as 3-0 private sector.
so now, back to the original topic. enough sidetracking. my view is that if you're going to engage in a dirty fight, at least let it be for something you have true conviction in, if not for yourself. my view still stands that if i want to fight that hard, and win, i'd expect a pay that reflects that. not $16k, but a lot more. harsh, but that's the way i see it if i were to pour my whole life into it. yet another reason why i believe that the military is outdated and quite plainly absolute crap.
of course, i have different views, as dad has heard for most of today. the average LTC in the army, navy or air force, earns roughly $16k. now that is by no means a small sum of money. and, in order to get to that position, you'd have to be stepping on plenty of people. now, if i were to work that hard, my view is that i'd have to earning more than $16k a month. much much more. something around the region of $40k would be like it. dad reminded me that, how many people truly end up earning that much money? not that many. ok, lawyers, bankers, doctors(bingo!!!), and sucessful business men to name some of the more common and attainable ones.
now lets analyse this a bit. sure, i have to agree with you, the number of people actually making this much money is small. but, for one, it is not impossible. and in my view, the reason so few earn that much is that many are lacking determination. few are determined to push all the way to get that type of salary. i always believe that if you truly want it, nothing can stop you. raw determination is very powerful. so if you're in it for the money, be determined and go all the way for it.
that leads me to my all time favourite. after being in the army, i always hear that people sign on because of the money. the money is good, that's what they say. to me, that is abosolute and utter nonsense. between the private, government and mitilitary sectors, where are all the high paying jobs located? in rare occasions, government sector jobs may pay better than private sector ones, as seen in the cases of semi-private practice and private pratice doctors of certain specialities. but that is rare. 90% of high paying jobs are in, you guessed it, the private sector. next comes certain government posts, then comes the military. so, please explain to me, how in the world can the military be paying you good money? if you're talking about starting salaries, what is the highest starting salary the military can possibly give you, $4k a month? lawyers and bankers get $6k. 1-0 to the private sector. top salaries? the sky is the limit for the private sector, but lets cap it at $1million annually. can the military ever hope to pay you that much? maybe, but the positions are so limited that you might as well strike lottery before you have a chance to have a sniff of those positions. 2-0 to the private sector. next comes another factor that is just as important, and one that is biased, but one naturally so. job recognition. now i used to tell some of my friends this. if in a party, someone walks up to you and asks you, what do you do for a living? if you say that you are an officer, a captain in fact, they'd go oh, ok. if you say that you're a banker with Fannie Mae, or a lawyer or a doctor. they'd go ah... the respect and prestige given is evidently different. so yeah, i'd call it as 3-0 private sector.
so now, back to the original topic. enough sidetracking. my view is that if you're going to engage in a dirty fight, at least let it be for something you have true conviction in, if not for yourself. my view still stands that if i want to fight that hard, and win, i'd expect a pay that reflects that. not $16k, but a lot more. harsh, but that's the way i see it if i were to pour my whole life into it. yet another reason why i believe that the military is outdated and quite plainly absolute crap.
posted by Timothy at 8/20/2005 05:33:00 PM
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