Originally Posted by Unregistered

IMHO, if you are gonna sign on, do it for life. The thing is, when you go to private sector from SAF, you cannot bring over much or even any skills at all. Means you start from ground zero. On top of that, private sector very fast-paced and competitive. Mindef is damn slack as compared to that, not much competition and very slow-paced. You will be so used to regular army life that you will not be able to cope when you move to private sector. Many regulars that leave the service face this problem. Anyways, if I were you, just sign on and let them pay for your degree. Then just carry on until you die. Its not too bad. The pay is good, quite stable. You will be able to afford a 5-room or a condo if you sign-on with degree. 4k/mth starting, where else can you get that kind of pay? Sure, the increment is slow. And at best, you will probably only get about 10-12k? depending on your rank and how high you go. But its still not too shabby.