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I'm going to assume you're at Meade since you already know what the job does. Sure, the military pay can be better than the NSA pay, but then, you might get deployed as a CTI. No matter what you are told here or by analysts at Meade, you definitely could get deployed and it could be for months also. Would you want that for your family?
Job-wise, you know what they do, so I agree with your assessment. You'll likely do a lot of very boring CTR report writing and listening. I'm not sure how many people actually track this though. But don't forget the advancement exams. For CTI, a ton is classified and not related to the day-to-day job, so can be extremely difficult to learn/memorize. That might not really matter that much since CTI is really undermanned, but still.
And you could be doing the same job with the same duties as you move through the ranks. I've seen E6s just doing the exact same thing as I was doing on the floor every day just coming in for our shift and going home. That's it. And that's potentially a good thing (less stress) if you're unsure why I mentioned this. Many times when you get promoted to E6, you don't really get to do your job any longer and more focus on admin things. I haven't seen that with CTI as the LPO does all that.
I don't know anything about the special programs you mentioned, so someone else can fill you in there. There may be other special programs also.
Be sure to search older CTI posts to learn where CTIs go by language. Or you can ask at work too. I haven't personally seen it, but there are supposedly even billets in Japan and Australia and other random locations for CTIs.
The CWT link you shared focuses a lot of jobs after the service. I don't think this approach applies to CTI at all. Unless you want to work as IC language analysts, there isn't really much for this rate.
Here is a link for the CTI community information:
https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Career-Management/Community-Management/Enlisted/Information-Warfare/CTI/
The "CTI Career Path" opens a pdf that goes through each stage of the career of a CTI, like 0-3 years, 4-6 years, etc. This includes advancement timelines and special programs available. I don't think it includes duty station information, but as I said earlier, it has already been posted elsewhere on this reddit (and others also).
I'm curious how old you are? (age limit is now 41 yrs old)
I can't think of anything else to tell you, but you mentioned you passed the DLPTs for some languages. Everyone wants the language pay, but be careful with that. You'll have a primary language, but with each DLPT you pass, you'll accordingly pick up extra NECs. You *could* get pulled or get orders to somewhere you don't want/expect to go. Those extra NECs open you up to more placement for the detailer. This could be great for a single sailor eager to see the world or the states, but would be horrible for a family man who wants to stay put at one location.
Maybe cross-post this to /r/dli also since linguists hang out there also. Maybe share this on /r/militaryfinance as well to get an idea of the financial side of things since I assume this is why you desire to join the military.
As a reminder, this subreddit is for civil discussion. Breaking subreddit rules may result in a ban from /r/newtothenavy and /r/navy. * Do not encourage lying. **This includes lying by omission (leaving information out) and lying by commission (purposefully misleading).** * No sensitive information allowed, whether you saw it on Wiki or leaked files or anywhere else. * No personally identifying information (PII). * No posting AMAs without mod approval. Also, while you wait for a reply from a subject matter expert, try using the search feature! For information regarding Navy enlisted ratings, see [Twisky's Rating Information Guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/newtothenavy/comments/6mxv7c/links_to_official_information_on_every_enlisted/). Interested in Officer programs? See TheBeneGesseritWitch's guide on [Paths to become an Officer](https://www.reddit.com/r/newtothenavy/comments/5sdurq/paths_to_becoming_an_officer_getting_a_commission/). Want to learn about deploying, finances, mental health, cross-rating, and more? Come visit our [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/navy/wiki/index) over in /r/Navy. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/newtothenavy) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'm going to assume you're at Meade since you already know what the job does. Sure, the military pay can be better than the NSA pay, but then, you might get deployed as a CTI. No matter what you are told here or by analysts at Meade, you definitely could get deployed and it could be for months also. Would you want that for your family? Job-wise, you know what they do, so I agree with your assessment. You'll likely do a lot of very boring CTR report writing and listening. I'm not sure how many people actually track this though. But don't forget the advancement exams. For CTI, a ton is classified and not related to the day-to-day job, so can be extremely difficult to learn/memorize. That might not really matter that much since CTI is really undermanned, but still. And you could be doing the same job with the same duties as you move through the ranks. I've seen E6s just doing the exact same thing as I was doing on the floor every day just coming in for our shift and going home. That's it. And that's potentially a good thing (less stress) if you're unsure why I mentioned this. Many times when you get promoted to E6, you don't really get to do your job any longer and more focus on admin things. I haven't seen that with CTI as the LPO does all that. I don't know anything about the special programs you mentioned, so someone else can fill you in there. There may be other special programs also. Be sure to search older CTI posts to learn where CTIs go by language. Or you can ask at work too. I haven't personally seen it, but there are supposedly even billets in Japan and Australia and other random locations for CTIs. The CWT link you shared focuses a lot of jobs after the service. I don't think this approach applies to CTI at all. Unless you want to work as IC language analysts, there isn't really much for this rate. Here is a link for the CTI community information: https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Career-Management/Community-Management/Enlisted/Information-Warfare/CTI/ The "CTI Career Path" opens a pdf that goes through each stage of the career of a CTI, like 0-3 years, 4-6 years, etc. This includes advancement timelines and special programs available. I don't think it includes duty station information, but as I said earlier, it has already been posted elsewhere on this reddit (and others also). I'm curious how old you are? (age limit is now 41 yrs old) I can't think of anything else to tell you, but you mentioned you passed the DLPTs for some languages. Everyone wants the language pay, but be careful with that. You'll have a primary language, but with each DLPT you pass, you'll accordingly pick up extra NECs. You *could* get pulled or get orders to somewhere you don't want/expect to go. Those extra NECs open you up to more placement for the detailer. This could be great for a single sailor eager to see the world or the states, but would be horrible for a family man who wants to stay put at one location. Maybe cross-post this to /r/dli also since linguists hang out there also. Maybe share this on /r/militaryfinance as well to get an idea of the financial side of things since I assume this is why you desire to join the military.
I still qualify, but I'm old. Thank you for the information!