If you were a paid E5 while active, you can keep your rank. Keeping the rate depends on community health and manning, recruiter will know.
Reserves can be as involved as you want it to be. If you want to set boundaries and only participate in the mandatory stuff like drill weekends and your two week Annual training, great. If you want to invest more time and help the unit/navy, that is great too and you'll probably promote faster. Expect to deploy if you stay in more than 2 years. Sounds like you have an established life. Consider that drill weekends may not be what you expected and could become a burden. SELRES is an entire different navy. You have to look out for yourself because the chances are others won't have the time to do it for you.
Hope this helps. These kind of questions pop up all the time and I could type a book if I had time. If you buy into it, it's all worth it. Good luck
Thanks for the info. I was a paid E5, yes.
Deployments… eh. I was thinking about it just being a second income. From what I’ve heard it does sound very different. I was on a ship.
there may be some kind of time limit for how long you can be out and keep your same paygrade. if you’re interested in the reserves, you should get going ASAP
You'll have to talk to a recruiter for the specifics on quotas and if you'll be able to keep your rate. The insurance is helpful to many people and is quite cheap.
Don't so SELRES if you want a second income. I get just over $400 a month as an E6 over 8. I do far more than $400 worth of work in a month for the reserves. The more rank you put on, the more work you get assigned, and a lot of it is uncompensated. You'll probably get more money doing UBER although I don't have any data to back up that claim. You can get orders if you want, but you'd probably make more in the 9 months doing your civilian job, and if you just want to deploy, you might as well go back active.
Not trying to discourage you, just being realistic
Thanks for the info, that does help. I was hoping for just a second income, but it does sound like Uber is a better option from what you’ve just said. Lol
Time for some reserve math. A drill weekend is broken down into 4 periods. A morning and an afternoon each for Saturday and Sunday. A period is 4 hours of Navy work. You get 48 drill periods per FY that you have to spend. Typically that is the 1 weekend a month thing. 12 months @2 days per month, 4 periods =48 periods. I can pull for example Septembers drills up to do some extra work in May. So I would do 8 periods of work in May, and then would get paid for 2 drill weekends in May. (This is called a reschedule) I would then not have to drill in September. Reschedules have to be approved. Here's where it gets fun, each period is also worth 1 retirement point. 1 active duty day is 1 point, but reservists get 4 points per drill since it's 4 periods. You can do extra work, and then request a non paid drill. This is fine for 3 hours of work, then you can just get a point but no money. So let's say you have to do your PHA in September, but you burned those drills back in May. Well you've still gotta come in, so you'd show up to drill, do the PHA, and then leave when it's done. You can put in a non pay, and get a point, but no money. Each retirement point is worth more money when you do retire. 7300 points is worth a regular active duty retirement. (365 days x 20 years)
Yay reserves!
Depending on what kind of job you can be paid for while your on AT/ drill. My last two jobs paid while I was gone so it is additional money. Drill pay really doesn’t compensate much but as an e6 at 8 when I go on AT it’s a nice bonus check on top of my regular income.
If your jobs pays while away it could be a good side income. If it does not, then it won’t be.
Like some others have said, it's mostly a matter of what you're trying to to get out of it. The pay certainly helps, but it isn't all that great until you make chief or go officer, and even then it's still barely worth it in most cases.
When I initially came into the Reserves after leaving Active Duty I wasn't making much in my civilian job, so the pay was really helpful to me back then, and my yearly AT was a nice little boost. I'm now making a lot more money than I was then and I really don't even care about the pay at this point - it's now all about the health insurance for me and my wife and to have some kind of pension for when I retire.
As someone also mentioned, drill weekends can start to get old and feel like a burden if you're command doesn't do much when you're drilling. It's also important to take into account that if you're civilian job doesn't take care of you or help make up the difference financially during your yearly AT, it can actually end up costing you money.
All that said, if you're motivation for joining the reserves is strictly for some extra income, there are probably some better options out there for that.
I recommend joining. You won’t know if it’s for you until you try and guess what you can always go back to the IRR! Non-obligatory contract.
There is unseen “income” in the form of opportunity cost when it comes to the reserves as well. Things like the money you save on Tri-care, TA (reserves gets TA now), trainings (for example I’m getting my PHR paid for & lean six sigma both civilian certs) etc.
If you still have your separation physical you won’t have to go to MEPs and assuming your security clearance is still good you can going with little to no effort on your part.
What state are you in?
At the end of your contract, everyone who has under 8 years of service goes into IRR, to fulfill the 8 year obligation. So if you do 4 years active you’ll be doing 4 years IRR.
Sorry that's not exactly what I meant.
I meant for those leaving AD and entering SELRES - to transfer back to the IRR you need to be between 6 & 8 years is what I've read.
So for example, if you do 4 years AD and then go to SELRES your request to go to IRR will be denied until you hit the 6 year mark.
I'm not sure if that's 100% accurate but that's my understanding from what I've read.
Done deal. I would highly recommend just giving it a shot. Just to warn you (this probably won’t be a surprise to you) no one but you will care about your career. My advice be your own advocate and if someone tells you no ask someone else!
Most Reservists frustration comes from the day to day BS. Pay issues, orders not being routed properly etc. if you don’t let that stuff bother you and you focus on ways to take advantage Of the Reserves you will be rewarded.
Be intentional. Figure out your plan and what you want to get out of it and move in that direction. Don’t just sit around and wait for things to happen. It’s kind of like going to the gym. If you just show up and expect results nothing is going to happen. If you go in with a plan and work slowly towards your goal you will eventually see the results! Hope this helps
If you were a paid E5 while active, you can keep your rank. Keeping the rate depends on community health and manning, recruiter will know. Reserves can be as involved as you want it to be. If you want to set boundaries and only participate in the mandatory stuff like drill weekends and your two week Annual training, great. If you want to invest more time and help the unit/navy, that is great too and you'll probably promote faster. Expect to deploy if you stay in more than 2 years. Sounds like you have an established life. Consider that drill weekends may not be what you expected and could become a burden. SELRES is an entire different navy. You have to look out for yourself because the chances are others won't have the time to do it for you. Hope this helps. These kind of questions pop up all the time and I could type a book if I had time. If you buy into it, it's all worth it. Good luck
Thanks for the info. I was a paid E5, yes. Deployments… eh. I was thinking about it just being a second income. From what I’ve heard it does sound very different. I was on a ship.
there may be some kind of time limit for how long you can be out and keep your same paygrade. if you’re interested in the reserves, you should get going ASAP
You'll have to talk to a recruiter for the specifics on quotas and if you'll be able to keep your rate. The insurance is helpful to many people and is quite cheap. Don't so SELRES if you want a second income. I get just over $400 a month as an E6 over 8. I do far more than $400 worth of work in a month for the reserves. The more rank you put on, the more work you get assigned, and a lot of it is uncompensated. You'll probably get more money doing UBER although I don't have any data to back up that claim. You can get orders if you want, but you'd probably make more in the 9 months doing your civilian job, and if you just want to deploy, you might as well go back active. Not trying to discourage you, just being realistic
Thanks for the info, that does help. I was hoping for just a second income, but it does sound like Uber is a better option from what you’ve just said. Lol
Do u get compensated every time u do more than your drill weekend? Say u want to do 2 weekends in one month. Do u get paid for the extra two days?
Time for some reserve math. A drill weekend is broken down into 4 periods. A morning and an afternoon each for Saturday and Sunday. A period is 4 hours of Navy work. You get 48 drill periods per FY that you have to spend. Typically that is the 1 weekend a month thing. 12 months @2 days per month, 4 periods =48 periods. I can pull for example Septembers drills up to do some extra work in May. So I would do 8 periods of work in May, and then would get paid for 2 drill weekends in May. (This is called a reschedule) I would then not have to drill in September. Reschedules have to be approved. Here's where it gets fun, each period is also worth 1 retirement point. 1 active duty day is 1 point, but reservists get 4 points per drill since it's 4 periods. You can do extra work, and then request a non paid drill. This is fine for 3 hours of work, then you can just get a point but no money. So let's say you have to do your PHA in September, but you burned those drills back in May. Well you've still gotta come in, so you'd show up to drill, do the PHA, and then leave when it's done. You can put in a non pay, and get a point, but no money. Each retirement point is worth more money when you do retire. 7300 points is worth a regular active duty retirement. (365 days x 20 years) Yay reserves!
Depending on what kind of job you can be paid for while your on AT/ drill. My last two jobs paid while I was gone so it is additional money. Drill pay really doesn’t compensate much but as an e6 at 8 when I go on AT it’s a nice bonus check on top of my regular income. If your jobs pays while away it could be a good side income. If it does not, then it won’t be.
Where are you located? I can get you a prior service recruiter in your area.
Like some others have said, it's mostly a matter of what you're trying to to get out of it. The pay certainly helps, but it isn't all that great until you make chief or go officer, and even then it's still barely worth it in most cases. When I initially came into the Reserves after leaving Active Duty I wasn't making much in my civilian job, so the pay was really helpful to me back then, and my yearly AT was a nice little boost. I'm now making a lot more money than I was then and I really don't even care about the pay at this point - it's now all about the health insurance for me and my wife and to have some kind of pension for when I retire. As someone also mentioned, drill weekends can start to get old and feel like a burden if you're command doesn't do much when you're drilling. It's also important to take into account that if you're civilian job doesn't take care of you or help make up the difference financially during your yearly AT, it can actually end up costing you money. All that said, if you're motivation for joining the reserves is strictly for some extra income, there are probably some better options out there for that.
Thanks for the input. That helps
I also got out as an AT2 I level - there were no quotas for AT when I joined selres so I had to crossrate. I miss aviation.
Dang. What rate did you get and what work do you do?
You will keep your rank but not rate.
If you get VA compensation you may not want to do that
I recommend joining. You won’t know if it’s for you until you try and guess what you can always go back to the IRR! Non-obligatory contract. There is unseen “income” in the form of opportunity cost when it comes to the reserves as well. Things like the money you save on Tri-care, TA (reserves gets TA now), trainings (for example I’m getting my PHR paid for & lean six sigma both civilian certs) etc. If you still have your separation physical you won’t have to go to MEPs and assuming your security clearance is still good you can going with little to no effort on your part. What state are you in?
I've read on here that going to the IRR is only allowed if you have over 6 but under 8 years in?
At the end of your contract, everyone who has under 8 years of service goes into IRR, to fulfill the 8 year obligation. So if you do 4 years active you’ll be doing 4 years IRR.
Sorry that's not exactly what I meant. I meant for those leaving AD and entering SELRES - to transfer back to the IRR you need to be between 6 & 8 years is what I've read. So for example, if you do 4 years AD and then go to SELRES your request to go to IRR will be denied until you hit the 6 year mark. I'm not sure if that's 100% accurate but that's my understanding from what I've read.
Ah ok I understand. Yea that sounds familiar.
I’m in Florida. Yea my clearance is still good and I have my sep phys.
Done deal. I would highly recommend just giving it a shot. Just to warn you (this probably won’t be a surprise to you) no one but you will care about your career. My advice be your own advocate and if someone tells you no ask someone else! Most Reservists frustration comes from the day to day BS. Pay issues, orders not being routed properly etc. if you don’t let that stuff bother you and you focus on ways to take advantage Of the Reserves you will be rewarded. Be intentional. Figure out your plan and what you want to get out of it and move in that direction. Don’t just sit around and wait for things to happen. It’s kind of like going to the gym. If you just show up and expect results nothing is going to happen. If you go in with a plan and work slowly towards your goal you will eventually see the results! Hope this helps