Would you join Starfleet?

[Ghrakh]

Nope. They don't lie.

 

[Infern0]

Yes i think most people would want to join, i certainly would.

I know you said something original, but i'd go the command route, although i'd be happier being an xo instead of a captain

 

[Cepstrum]

If you were a citizen of the Federation, would you enlist in Starfleet? My first reaction is to say yes, but space is a dangerous place and as we're constantly reminded in the various series and movies.

So would you? Would you enlist as a non-com and jump right in or would you want to go the officer route? Command? Engineering? Sciences? Tactical/security?

Everyone wants to be captain, think of something original.

I'd join. I'm an electrical engineer by profession IRL, and I've always been fascinated by Trek Tech, so the engine room is where I'd want to be. Geordi LaForge has my dream job.

I, too, am an EE IRL, and I've done "sensitive"/classified research work for the USN's Office of Naval Research and the Naval Research Laboratory. And I would love to be doing the same job every day, living in the same quarters, eating at the same place, wearing a uniform, and the chain-of-command. It'd be cool to work as a mid-range officer in the science division.

That being said, no: I would probably not sign up. Why? The same reason why I always turned downed opportunities to go on field tests with the Navy. I *don't* belong on the water in a ship. It's too terrifying, really. I can't believe how many times in Seattle I traveled in on of their big, floating death traps (also known as ferries). What was I thinking? I'd *never* get on one again now.


And Starfleet is worse than just being on a big Navy ship. It's more like being in a (very big) submarine: you're surrounded, protected inside a small, habitable swimming box. It's the same as being in space.

So while being on a SF starship looks cool and would have its rewards, I'd ask you: would you be willing to go on long missions in a submarine? You'd be on your own, too far for help should something break down. (except instead of being trapped/forced inside your sinking sub as it fills with water, you'd be pushed out into space). And in both cases there's the chance of a fire trapping you in a confined area, asphyxiation, etc.


So I'd work for Starfleet but not aboard a ship. I'd rather be on a safe planet or even an orbital station (not a deep space outpost).

 

[George]

I would, definitely, but only if I get to work at an R&D facility like Jupiter Station or Utopia Planitia. Either that, or CONN officer on a Starship. Of course, ultimately, I'd like to become Captain, preferrably of a Stardock class Starbase, or even Admiral (I'm quite the strategist).

 

[Kirby]

Probably not. Fresh air and the outdoors appeals too much to me. I wouldn't feel comfortable on a starship or a space station.

 

[SPCTRE]

I'd certainly try to get a pencil-pusher position back on Earth. Space travel? Maybe on vacations.

 

[Blue Squadron]

All inconsistencies of Starfleet (as limited by TV and movie scripts) to one side, yeah, I'd be interested in joining. I could definitely do the whole McCoy thing!

I fully take Cepstrum's points about the isolated-tin-can-in-a-vacuum problem but I'm hoping that by the time of the late 24th Century they've got a lot of the safety issues sorted with multiply redundant protective systems. Oh, and 1701-D and -E are one helluva lot more spacious and much less claustrophobic than a contemporary sub!!

Aside from the writers getting carried away with the Klingon and then Dominion wars in the late seasons of DS9, Starfleet was actually a generally cushy gig for most of the TNG-era. So here's a slightly refined question from the OP:

If you did want to join, which part of Starfleet history would you want to serve in...?

The raw and risky time of Enterprise as Starfleet takes it's first steps into deep space?
The established but still frontier oriented time of TOS (and, up to a point, the movies too)?
The time of TNG with a flourishing Federation and a very technologically advanced Starfleet?

 

[C.E. Evans]

Would I join Starfleet? Yes.

Would I be accepted into Starfleet? Probably not (my math skills aren't that great).

I might be able to make it as an enlisted, maybe, which would be just as good as being an officer there, IMO. I could see myself as a noncom in the operations or even command division...

 

[George]

If you did want to join, which part of Starfleet history would you want to serve in...?

The raw and risky time of Enterprise as Starfleet takes it's first steps into deep space?
The established but still frontier oriented time of TOS (and, up to a point, the movies too)?
The time of TNG with a flourishing Federation and a very technologically advanced Starfleet?

I would go with the 2390s, because there's probably not another imminent war. The Romulan praetor is by then probably the Section 31 operative who was head of the Tal'Shiar in the late 2370s, the Klingon Empire is still weak, the Borg are reduced to ashes, Cardassia and the Dominion are completely dependent on the Federation, and the other little states are hardly noteworthy (Tholia, Gorn, Tzenkethi, Kzinti etc).

I'm ignoring all events pertaining to STXI intentionally, by the way.