National Guard + Investment Banking
Hey all,
First year at a T20 here. I have been in touch with a recruiter for the National Guard, who is telling me about a part-time position in the National Guard in which I spend 1 weekend per month and 2 weeks over the summer training. This doesn't sound bad, but I wouldn't be surprised to find other hidden commitments to appear out of nowhere for this position.
Has anyone faced a similar situation? This would definitely be a great side gig, but I would hate to have it conflict with SA and boutique internships I'll have along the way.
Thanks!
Are you asking if one should join the national guard while you’re in IB?
Can you?
As someone who spent 6 years in the Guard, I have to say that it would unfortunately interfere with your SA and most likely your schooling.
You will have to take a significant stretch of time off for Basic Training and for AIT / Technical School. This is, at minimum, a semester; usually longer. If you are able to push back graduation then this may not be an issue.
The 2-week commitment almost always falls during the summer months. This will interfere with internships. Not to mention deployments, you will miss additional semesters to entire school years for these.
The "1 weekend a month" may not seem like a big commitment, but due to the hours and demands of IB, your weekends are not always your own.
I hate to turn somebody away from the idea of serving, as I thoroughly enjoyed my time in, but I would be doing you a disservice to not point out the ways this decision could interfere with your academic / civilian goals.
If you weigh all of these factors and still decide to do it, then good on you and I support that, but I highly recommend getting outside information from somebody other than a recruiter. Recruiters do not always have your best interest in mind.
Current officer in the national guard and work in finance (hours somewhere between banking and s&t) -
Bottom line: it’s possible but not easy
There are certain protections that USERRA gives you to allow for service. The real question is how well does your company know USERRA and how much do they actually adhere to it. Employers would generally avoid saying any adverse action is because of your national guard commitment (though you’d be surprised). Instead, they’d point to some other, non-military factors to justify an adverse action.
Ultimately, it’s up to you to ensure your rights are being protected and to stand up for yourself if they’re not. Keep a paper trail of performance reviews, pats on the back, etc. I’ve ran into issues with this in the past, so I had to “gently” educate my employer. Unfortunately it seems that most companies are very enthusiastic about their commitment to diversity and the military but not so enthusiastic about the obligations that come with it.
One other thing to note: one weekend a month and two in the summer is the minimum. If you are combat arms, three+ day drills are more of the norm.
Came in to say this. One weekend a month and two weeks a year is not accurate. More like 3-4 day drills every month sometimes more.
- former active duty and reservist
There are so much "?" when serving with the guard that are entirely dependent on your unit's optempo and what's going on in the world. Also national guard contracts are like 6 years and there is really no benefits to being in the guard while in IB. There's also no guarantee that it will only be a weekend, you could have consecutive months with MUTA-8 drills or a month long AT if your unit is going to JRTC that summer. Save yourself the headache and the heartache my dude
In my unit had a IB guy before I got into IB. He loved having to go to drill (that’s what they call your 1 weekend a month) because it was a break from work. Especially the times we went away during the summers. They couldn’t task him with anything and he was able to unplug for the entire weekend / weeks. The military can suck and be a headache though, so just depends if you really want it
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