How safe is joining the military right now? (US)

I hope this post is coherent, I'm just moderately stoned and terrified

I'm a 23yr-old trans guy and pretty much almost everything that's happened to me since graduating college (2 years ago) has been shit. I absolutely *adore* my major (Neuroscience) and want to work in research but with Trump fucking the sciences here no one has any funding and it's been near-impossible to find anything. I'm not going to get into my specific financial situation rn but let's just say I've been a regular at food banks and have come very close to homelessness. Like 'Pay or Vacate notice taped to my door' close.

I don't know if there's any military positions even remotely related to the life sciences available there rn, but I'm just desperate enough to look. I've scoured (and am still scouring) literally every other option and no one is hiring (except for Amazon, for whom I've worked before and am about to start working for again, but they are an absolute dogshit employer). Even dime-a-dozen part time jobs are becoming hard to get.

So– are there still trans ppl in the military? Are there any branches that are at least relatively tolerant of trans folks?

For anyone coming to tell me not to enlist for moral/ethical reasons, I do genuinely see your point (the US has a long and storied history of meddling in other countries) and I assure you I'm looking at literally every other option, but unfortunately ideals don't put food on the table or a roof over my head. If you're truly that passionate about it, let me know and I'll DM you my cashapp so you can help directly.

PS. Don't send me links to state/federal government assistance programs or christian charities, I've been to those websites and can confidently tell you that the majority of them fall into one or more of these categories:

–Covid era-specific financial aid programs that aren't available anymore and the websites just haven't been updated

–No longer accepting applications due to lack of funding

–No longer accepting applications (because too many people applied)

–Waitlisted, no notice of when this program will be open for applications again

–Will pledge money and then just. Not (as was the case with the church I asked that actually picked up, who said they'd pledge a certain amount for rent aid, but I ended up paying the full amount anyway).

Posted Jun 30, 2026, 2:53 AM UTC

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