Why Soul Reaper?
life decisions are never simple
Soul Reaper is no stellar career: nobody would want to face the sudden choice of live or die at a monthly, daily or even hourly pace. Here we investigate Rangiku's various career motivations - through both speculation and known facts.
Life standard
The gap between life at Seireitei and Rukongai is just like the difference between day and night. To anyone born with a certain amount of spiritual power, Rukongai is equivalent to starvation, terrible orders and unfair treatments between genders and ages. While in Seireitei, you're provided consistent supply of food, housing, clothing, entertainment and on top of all, a title that's respected by every common soul. The training might be harsh and the work might be intense, but that's still better than living without a clear purpose. All in all, there wasn't any other choice for Rangiku to begin with: either you die without a reason, or die in honor of protecting another precious life.
Lost family
Better life standard alone is not enough motivation for one to pull through the various hardships prepared for a Soul Reaper, let along a Vice Captain. It so happens that the only man Rangiku had ever considered family is ambitious and skilled enough to become a Captain, so why should she be left behind? Whether it be intentional or otherwise, Rangiku followed her family to the closest distance possible each season, first by entering the School of Soul Reapers with him in the same year and later by acquiring the title and privilege of a Vice Captain. While Rangiku was not able to follow him any longer in recent events, she's at least got a new life to guard and a handful of friends to protect.