Spot on my friend.
Unlike pte sector where you can leave anytime, you can't leave while you are in service. You can, theoretically, but you wouldn't. You can't find jobs outside, or even if you could you can't take the pay cut. And even if you managed to find job, it's more difficult to excel considering you are thirties and have a family.
There's this saying that in civil service, you have to step on your friends to climb on top. And worst still, that friend/stepping board is going to be with you forever. Sometimes, he won't even know that you have stepped on him, and he's genuinely nice to you. Can you live with that guilt?
Even if you have stepped on a stepping board, you can't step past a 'glass celling'. Unlike ministries where academics plays a role but it's not everything, in
SAF it's EVERYTHING. Understand where you stand, and know where you will end. If you have decided and is fine with it, sign on.
Signing on is good for those who needs money immediately, but make sure you have a clear goal. It's easy to be clouded by your workplace attitude, typical in
SAF. 'Spend every cent you have' or '10th of month is coming' mentality. Every guy who've served
ns will understand this. Once you enter, you will be surprise to see your superiors who seemed to be doing very well is not doing well at all. A LTC who drives a jaguar and stays in condo, once can't afford a trip with us to bali for trip, which we later realise it's because he have no money to do so. All the loans and expenditure account for every single cent of his, and even he's a LTC in forties, he have zero savings.
Tip for everyone from a former
SAF regular.