National service is mandatory in some countries. Some countries require only males to participate whereas their counterpart demand service from both genders. Another factor that varies between nations is the amount of time necessary to finish your duty.
On one hand a portion of the population believes this service is non-negotiable because it has potential upsides and proves to be beneficial. for instance, it can boost an individual’s sense of patriarchy and allows them to take pride in servicing their country. If an individual is assigned to the military it can tremendously improve their discipline and sense of duty. In this case some posts would be filled with no harm to the country’s budget. The government can utilize the skills and expertise of the aforementioned individual’s without spending.
Others argue that this obligation should be optional. Although mandatory service has a considerable amount of upsides, it sacrifices the youth of people with minimal pros for them. For example, if someone is forced to attend the military, they must undergo grueling training which would render useless for them in the future. It is also illogical that people which study and are experts in their respective field are force to take a leave to do something completely irrelevant to their passion.
With both views being discussed, I personally do not believe that this service should be mandatory. In my country people are obliged to attend the military from the moment they turn 18. Although studying and being a student can postpone this obligation but it does not completely offset it. As an engineer myself I would argue that attending the military for 2 years would waste precious years of my life with no positives to be received.