With the new push to get an additional 400+ recruiters, I have been giving thought to trying to get a NG recruiter slot. I have some questions to all y'all that are/have been recruiters.  I dont want to commit to 3 years to do a job that sucks.

1. Is it really that bad? Everyone seems to hate it, but when you talk to a recruiter about it (in person) they dont seem to think is the worst job in the Army.

2. What are the chances of actually getting to recruit in my home state, in or around the area I live? (the recruiter here sucked and they removed him and never replaced him so there is a recruiter about 50 miles away that covers both areas now. He said that he would love the help and would talk to the higher ups, but how much of that is just smoke up the ass?)

3. As a recruiter are you ever going to get any schools? They are finally giving us billets at some of the more hooahh schools that they previously had denied us "to a lack of intrest and funding" (my ass!) AA, Sniper, Pathfinder, etc.... If I go recruiter am I going to be stuck doing all the promoting for the NG and having none of the fun that I am trying to hype?

I'll give my $.02 on this, as I just left a recruiting command...

NG recruiting may be a little different than the active and reserve recruiting is like, so any NG recrutiers here may be able to correct my comments.  I met a few NG guys during my USAREC time and we worked with them.  NG recruiters operate with some different guidelines, in both their recruiting practices and some requirements for applicants.  I can't really go into details there, simply because I don't know much about NG recruiting.

If you're the kind of person that is self-motivated, can talk to people easily, and don't mind objections (like getting hung up on) you could do well. 

In my opinion, yes, recruiting is that tough.  The OPTEMPO is incredible...think of it as 36 back-to-back field exercies with no time for prep or recovery.  As a CO, I had times of gut-wrenching stress in dealing with the tons of issues that come up on a daily basis.  Keep in mind that I only represent a very small portion of USAREC, my company worked in Chicago and we had plenty of issues just based on geography, so others in different areas of the country will have different stories.  Consider me the worst-case scenario.

What I would want to know as a potential recruiter is all about the area where I will work.  Call that recruiter back and ask how many times in the last year they made mission.  See what the high schools are like and what the average ASVAB score and graduation rate is.  How are the local high schools and colleges and what is their attitude toward the military? 

Recruiting is also tough on families, if you have one.  We worked most Saturdays, and the days can start very early and go late. 

Schools, I would say (from personal experience) absolutely not.  With the exception of NCOES and the recruiters course, you don't get the chance for hooah schools.

One of the biggest perks is extra money made (special duty pay) and the chance to be in a location you like.  I see the opportunity for you to be at home doing it as a possibility, but again, I'm not sure.  And while I came away from recruiting limping and bloodied, it is a critical duty.  There is/can be a great level of personal satisfaction in knowing you got some kid squared away with an opportunity to serve their country.  Hope this helps.

"I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman!"  -Homer Simpson

1. Is it really that bad? Everyone seems to hate it, but when you talk to a recruiter about it (in person) they dont seem to think is the worst job in the Army.

I guess you didn't get around to any of the recruiters I worked with. 

Blacksmith 6's post brought back several not so happy memories.  The best thing about recruiting is that nobody is shooting at you.   Other than that, it's a lot like getting your nuts hammered flat (to borrow a phrase from Ruckerwocman).

A lot of soldiers in recruiting start out saying that objections won't bother them, they can handle someone saying "no".  After a few months though, it can start to wear a person down and you either get motivated to bust your a$$ to get through as many "no's" as you can as fast as you can so you can get the kid who is going to say yes, or you develop a negative attitude and go into a tailspin. 

As for schools, if they were related to recruiting or NCOES, no problem.  Other than that, no opportunities were available for a soldier "on the bag".

Bottom line, the train never stops.  If you were a hero who got six kids to enlist last month, but you missed this month's goal, life will be unpleasant.

I wish I could have taken away recruiters pay at times; I asked the question a few times and was told no.

I agree with Mudpup, the consistency is a huge thing.  Hero one month, zero the next.  You put someone in the Army, but your job with that person is not over.  They may not ship out for nine months, so you have to spend that time keeping them motivated and making sure nothing happens so that the kid all of a sudden decides they don't want to ship.  Man, that sucked!  So it's like having a squad of soldiers (I think they're being called 'future soldiers' but it's not like you have any real power over them.  That was a feeling I had a lot--being powerless when talking to a DEP (and their parents) when they decided they didn't want to go.

Because of my location, I got to do a bunch of cool stuff in the city: I met the mayor, we did color guard at a bunch of city events, that PA type stuff.  That was fun, and I met my sig-O while on recruiting duty too.  That was about the only good thing.  

"I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman!"  -Homer Simpson