Questions before joining

[CivJuniorProgrammer]

Hey everyone! Have a few random questions before joining the military.

1. Will the military take you if you have debt such as student loans, child support arrears, credit card debt? Only accumulated by circumstance of lay offs due to work shortages/unstable work opportunities within the trade. The plan would be to approach a debt consolidator obviously once and hypothetically fully employed within the CAF.
$25k of total debt FYI.

2. Whats the chances of getting an entry plan after getting a diploma at a non accredited college? I just finished a 16 month software development program at Keyin college. Theres absolutely no work here in newfoundland or remotley that im qualified for fresh out of college. I know a review would have to happen for the course material I completed in college while id be in basic then a decision would be made but just wondering if anyone has previous experience with this and what the likely hood of being recognized for past training is.

3. Once in the CAF and you get relocated to where your needed, how does transportation work? I share a car here currently with my girlfriend but obviously wouldn't be able to take it with me. So just wondering how would that work cause I'm assuming you'd be living in a PMQ or off base depending on the location.


Appreciate any help,advice or info.

 

[Winds]

Having debt is not generally an issue, but having "bad debt" (which has gone to collections) almost certainly is. Such situations can bring up concerns surrounding "reliability" when it comes to making determinations on granting of a security clearance. Otherwise, it is possible for debtors to pursue collection actions once they realize one is now a full-time government employ, which means possible legal obligations that complicate military employment.

My best advice is to try and get the debt consolidated now and make minimum payments, if at all possible.

 

[CivJuniorProgrammer]

Having debt is not generally an issue, but having "bad debt" (which has gone to collections) almost certainly is. Such situations can bring up concerns surrounding "reliability" when it comes to making determinations on granting of a security clearance. Otherwise, it is possible for debtors to pursue collection actions once they realize one is now a full-time government employ, which means possible legal obligations that complicate military employment.

My best advice is to try and get the debt consolidated now and make minimum payments, if at all possible.

I can't seek debt consolidation unless I'm employed though is the thing. I just graduated college have no job and even if I did have a minimum wage job I wouldn't be making enough to approach a debt consolidator and pay their fees along with minimum payments. Seems like a bit of a catch 22 potentially. Appreciate your advice though.

 

[Fabius]

Transportation is a member’s responsibility.
Most Canadian bases are small enough that you can easily get around them on foot or by bike if you live in either single quarters or a PMQ.

Bases like Edmonton have city buses that run to and from the base but a base like Shilo requires a vehicle to get to a centre with stores and shops.

Most bases have limited shopping for groceries etc so you would have to go to a town or city proper for essentials if you aren’t eating at a mess hall.

 

[CivJuniorProgrammer]

That's good to know they have at least the basics on base to provide what they can to members. And I wouldn't mind hoofing it or getting a bike to where I need to get go. Also do you have any idea what the time between promotions would be? Say from private to corporal? I know there are many factors involved where promotions are concerned. But if one had to average the time on a member who does there job very well, eager to learn and help beyond their occupation, doesn't mind over time and so on and so forth.

 

[da1root]

Hey everyone! Have a few random questions before joining the military.

1. Will the military take you if you have debt such as student loans, child support arrears, credit card debt? Only accumulated by circumstance of lay offs due to work shortages/unstable work opportunities within the trade. The plan would be to approach a debt consolidator obviously once and hypothetically fully employed within the CAF.
$25k of total debt FYI.

2. Whats the chances of getting an entry plan after getting a diploma at a non accredited college? I just finished a 16 month software development program at Keyin college. Theres absolutely no work here in newfoundland or remotley that im qualified for fresh out of college. I know a review would have to happen for the course material I completed in college while id be in basic then a decision would be made but just wondering if anyone has previous experience with this and what the likely hood of being recognized for past training is.

3. Once in the CAF and you get relocated to where your needed, how does transportation work? I share a car here currently with my girlfriend but obviously wouldn't be able to take it with me. So just wondering how would that work cause I'm assuming you'd be living in a PMQ or off base depending on the location.


Appreciate any help,advice or info.

#1 - as winds stated, having debt isn't necessarily a bad thing or a mark against you. Having "bad" debt is where you will run into issues getting in. People with student loans, car loans, mortgages, etc (i.e. $100,000+ in debt) can join if they are up to date on their payments. But I've personally seen a $150 unpaid Rogers bill stop someone's enrollment. They had to pay the bill and provide proof of payment before anything could go any further.

#2 - You will have to go through a PLAR (Prior Learning Assessment & Recognition) process. I process the PLAR's for the Health Services branch and we do grant equivalences for education that isn't our our accredited list; however it does have to be accessed and can slow the process down. I'm not sure how quick/slow the process would be for you as I only handle Health Services.

#3 - plenty of information provided on the thread, so I won't go into any more detail aside from some bases have bicycles to sign out from the Base Gym (Borden does, not sure what other bases do). Also if you're living on base you can try to car pool. In my career I've seen plenty of individuals who carpool to get to/from work.

Also do you have any idea what the time between promotions would be? Say from private to corporal? I know there are many factors involved where promotions are concerned. But if one had to average the time on a member who does there job very well, eager to learn and help beyond their occupation, doesn't mind over time and so on and so forth.

Without a PLAR, the qualifying minimum time for Private to Corporal is 4 years qualifying service; in addition to completing Basic Training and your occupational training.

 

[CivJuniorProgrammer]

Perfect thank you for answering all of my questions! And I guess I won't be getting in anytime soon as I've defaulted on my student loans from a trade I did in 2012 that I could never find work in and then went back to school in 2015 for autobody technician, got laid off multiple times and got sick of the uncertainty of that trade after 4 years of continuous lays off due to work shortages when things would slow down in the shop and then went back to school in 2019 did some upgrading to pursue software development after being told jobs were a plenty and pay was good and would be easy to aquire work and here I am in 2023 jobless after graduation. No possible employment in sight as every entry level job wants 2 plus years experience in the tech work and all I get is rejection letters for not having that amount of experience. So all that aside minimum wage seems to be my only option which with the cost of living and so on won't allow me to be able to afford to live and repay the loan. Damned if I do and damned if I don't.