It’s hard to find a job that you like and that pays well. This is the one area where the military looks good, really good. They offer health benefits and a good wage and extras like signing bonuses and college money. But remember that the military is a big employer, and so it can offer things that a small guy can’t.

Think about this: would you rather shop at Wal-Mart or a little Mom-n-Pop store? You’d probably go for Wal-Mart, ‘cuz you know they are cheaper, and that means you have more money in your pocket. But would you rather work at Wal-Mart or a little Mom-n-Pop store? Chances are, you’d rather work for a place where decisions are made by Pop, because you know Pop and he knows you, and Pop is a fair guy – he’ll tell you to stay home today if you are sick, and you’ll still have a job tomorrow, no big deal. Now, if you worked for Wal-Mart, well, if you call in sick, they’ll say “Bring me a doctor’s note or you’re fired.” They have plenty of other workers, and they don’t need you. So, when the military recruiter says how great the military is, and how they’ll treat you right, remember that he works for a big corporation, just like Wal-Mart. And when you are a potential customer, that big corporation seems to offer the best deal. But when you are the employee, that big corporation says, “You do what I say or else!” Unlike Wal-Mart, though, you can’t just quit and find a new job. You gotta stay in the military until they say you can leave. So, yeah, they might offer you some great deal to get you into boot camp, but remember that, once you sign, you’re just a number to them, and what looked great from the outside might not look so hot from the inside.

So, how can you judge if a non-military job is a good one? Just read through this list and ask the right questions, and you’ll be able to tell. Good luck!

HOURLY WAGE versus SALARY

Chances are, the jobs you’re applying for are paid hourly. Salary is usually only for management positions or white-collar professional jobs. But I’ll show you the difference anyway:

With a salaried job, the employer will offer an annual amount (say, $25,000), and your paycheck will be the same every week. They break that annual amount down by weeks ($25,000 divided by 52 weeks = $480.76), and that’s your weekly paycheck. To figure out how much that job pays per hour, take your weekly amount and divide that by 40 hours ($480.76 divided by 40 = $12.01). So, for a job with an annual salary of $25,000, you’d make $12.01 per hour. That sounds pretty good, huh? But don’t forget that a salaried job means that you get paid the same amount every week, no matter how much you work. There is no overtime for salaried positions. You might be required to work 50 hours a week, and that means that your hourly rate would be only $9.61. And if you worked 55 hours in a week, your hourly rate would be just $8.74. So, two things – first, make sure you do the math before taking a job; and second, being on salary is not necessarily a better deal.

Something to keep in mind is that the military is really a salaried job. While you might only be “on duty” for 40 hours a week, the rest of the time, you are still doing what they say. You can eat only when they provide meal times, you have to keep your living space exactly how they want it, and you can only use the computer when they say so. Oh, and the military blocks certain websites they don’t want you to see, like myspace.com (seriously!) So, when the recruiter says you’ll make $20 an hour, remember that he’s only talking about when you are on duty. There are 168 hours in a week. If you really made $20 an hour for every hour the military got to tell you what to do, you’d make $174,720 a year. More likely, you’d make about $40,000 a year – or about $5 per hour (which is less than minimum wage).

Hourly wages mean that you get paid only for the time that you work. Lunches and breaks are unpaid. You might get what they call a “pay differential” if you work second- or third-shift, or if you work on holidays. But the laws are different in each state and also for different types of jobs, so you should find out from the employer. Never assume anything! Generally, jobs in food service don’t pay extras, but jobs in hospitals and in building trades often do. Union jobs are the best for pay, so if you are interested in welding or nursing or truck driving, look up the union for that sort of work. [In Denver, go to Jobs With Justice at www.jwj.org to find out about the unions branches, called “locals” that are active here.]

There is also another way you can get paid, called “commission.” Jobs that pay this way are usually sales jobs, and the employee only gets paid when they sell stuff. This is a high-risk way to get paid. If you are really good at selling, you can earn a lot of money. But if you aren’t, you work all those hours but get no paycheck at all. If you have bills that absolutely need to get paid, you do not want to work on commission.

BENEFITS

A lot of jobs don’t offer health insurance. So if you find a job that does, you should take a good look at it. Depending on the sort of health insurance they offer, and how much you need it (if you have kids, you really want health insurance), it might be worth taking a $12 per hour job with health insurance than a $14 per hour job without it. Most jobs that do have insurance also have a waiting period – you have to work for so many days or so many hours before you are eligible. So be sure to check into it.

INTERVIEWING

Whenever you interview for a job, you should ask at least one or two questions. If you don’t, two things will happen – first, the employer will think that you don’t really want the job and you are less likely to get it; and second, you won’t stick out in the interviewer’s mind. You want to look interested and you want the person to remember you. So, in addition to the stuff listed above, here are a few things to ask:

How much turnover is there in this position? How about in the company?

This is one way to find out if other people have liked this job and this employer. If there has been a lot of turnover, this might not be a good choice for you if you’re looking for a long-term job. High turnover can also mean that the supervisor is a jerk and people don’t want to work for him. Low turnover usually means that this employer is fair, the workplace is enjoyable, and your potential coworkers take pride in their jobs. If the job is seasonal, then high turnover doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad job, but if people come back year after year, that’s a really good sign.

Why did the last person leave this position?

It’s useful to know. Also, if the interviewer bad-mouths the former employee, that’s a sign that you should be on your guard, too.

Remember that you always have choices, and that the job that seems really great on paper may not be so much fun on a daily basis. Part of being an adult is being able to make up your own mind about stuff. So be sure to ask questions and take a little time to think about a job before you take it. And if the interviewer pressures you to make up your mind on the spot, it’s probably because, if you thought it over, you might say no.