Quote:
Originally Posted by Cutty72
Congrats on the new gig. I looked into our CST unit, but it's a dead end. Once you're in you'll never leave, and there is limited upward mobility.
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Hell, I'd be happy as a clam if I never leave... seriously, I'm loving this job. Yes, it's fast-paced, and I may change my tune after 3 years of two or more TDY's per month, but it beats the hell out of being just a desk jockey (I'm still a desk jockey when we're in the rear, but on mission at least I get to do decon).
That said, if you go the survey to ops to 1SG route, you can make it all the way to E8 in the unit. But you have to be a 74D to do it. Which technically attending CSSC and the NCOES is enough to reclass now, but if you're not looking to reclass, then yeah, the highest you can go is E7, and that's only if you get hired as the Ops NCOIC or Logistics NCO (I'm considering going the Ops route myself, but I gotta fulfill my initial 3 years first).
All that said, the level of training and experience you get in a CST is fucking unrivaled. You get to actually do real-world missions that make a difference in the community. You get to build connections with the civilian emergency responders, and, should you choose to do emergency management or HAZMAT response once you get out, you're top of the list of the hiring pool for state emergency management agencies or HAZMAT teams.
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