What is your occupation?

Well,I would say you've wasted 3 years already. The miltary will pay 100% , if you are on duty. Getting 100% school paid for and a job/paycheck the same time , how much better??? lightbulb Everyone has to take requirement courses. And all in a pretty neat place to live. lightbulb Electrician, hard way to make a living. Go for it young man!!!

I respectfully disagree, today's GI Bill is better than most full ride scholarships, provided he has it that is. What you do while you're in service is a different story. I retired from USAF in 2007 and earned two Master's Degree and I still have $40K left in my GI Bill --- spent my 1st 10 years in avionics working F4s and A-10s and the last 10+ years as management analyst. I am still working for the Dept of the AF as a civil service/management analyst at Malmstrom AFB.

Arrow, PM me if you need any help. Good luck!
 
Over the last 4 years I have concentrated on one thing and that isn't going to really help me out in the real world.

Infantry?
I say the same thing all the time, I'm almost worthless outside the military. At least I will be young enough when I retire that I can start new. It is very hard to get a degree when you do not have a schedule and can spend weeks at a time in the field (not counting deployments). The good thing is that a lot of your military stuff can give you college credits. Schools, correspondence courses and other on line courses can add up quick.
 
Bravo 4 hit it right on the head. My schedule has been so unpredictable I haven't really been able to commit to anything outside of the military. Thanks for all the responses guys, keep them coming. I'm still looking for something to really spark my interest.
 
Like the others, I want to thank you for your service. I'm so appreciative of everything that our armed men and women do so I can do what I do.

I am a junior high and high school science teacher and school counselor. It's not something that will make you rich, but it is a very rewarding job, most of the time. Sometimes it's just challenging as hell, but mostly good. It has given me several opportunities to showcase my students abilities as well. Last year we started a full scale catapult contest, and we had 8 schools show up with different styles of catapults and trebuchets. We made a day, a school day, of shooting 16 pound bowling balls as far as we could, and the students had over 400 spectators come to watch the event. It was a ton of fun, and allowed my students and I an opportunity to combine our loves of physics, ballistics, the outdoors, and building that was simply an amazingly fun learning experience! I just shared that to show one of the rewarding experiences.

Here is a link to check it out if you want to: Thrills In The Hills

Anyway, teaching is always a job that will be in demand. Best of luck in whatever you choose!
 
I'm a retired machine builder and also a machine repairman. Not a lot of work over here in the machine building trades anymore due to the Asians killing the market with their junk. I also have a degree in mechanical engineering, but would have gone into the metalurgical engineering field has that sheep skin will open doors everywhere.

Now days my main occupation is checking beer quality and fly fishing. (waiting for the ice out).
gary
 
I wasn't in the military , I was a late maturing young lad who bores easily but is making a carreer as a wellfield manager for a coal mining company . It seems that there is a demand for individuals with common sence that are self motivated.
 
I own a small motorcycle repair and fabrication shop, my college degree was in international affairs. In the past I worked in construction and welding, which are extremely easy to find work in, but don't pay well and are hard on the body if you are a low-level employee.

As you have probably heard 1000 times before, yet it is still the best advice: do what you love and what you are good at. Luckily in these times, there is an even broader range of ways to earn a living than there ever has before, and more are coming up every day. Don't worry about feeling like your college degree isn't useful, it is the life lessons that you learn during that experience that benefits your more than what is listed on your diploma.

In my opinion, the first thing to decide is whether you are the type of person that would rather work for yourself, or for someone else. There are huge trade offs on both ends, it just depends on which ones you would prefer to make. I am self employed and love the fact that I don't have to do what someone tells me to, can take time off when I want as long as I plan for it, the fact that i cannot get fired, and there is no limit to the amount of money I can make. The flip side to that is that your job never leaves you, I have had customers call me at midnight with an emergency that had to be dealt with, and there is no guarantee of making a single dollar, it is up to you to take responsibility to get the work and to take the blame if things don't work out. My roommate is the opposite, he is a hard worker but not driven to seek out customers and have additional responsibility, so he does a job for someone a certain amount of hours per week and knows how much money he will make for it. The trade off for him is that he has to deal with his boss telling him to do things he doesn't want to, and usually cannot take time off.

Once you have decided that, figure out what you enjoy and what you are good at. Even if you don't have all the skills and knowledge required for a job, there are certain characteristics such as logical thinking and attention to detail that are needed for some occupations and cannot be taught, you have it or you don't. Then start looking for a job in that field, or figure out a way to make money on your own if you would prefer to work for yourself. If you choose to start a business that is another discussion entirely so I won't go into the details here.

One of the major things to keep in mind is mobility, both upward in the company or income level, and in location. There are certain jobs where you may earn $50,000 a year starting out, which can be great when your are young and single, but the upper range may be $60,000, which when you are 50 and sending kids to college might be pretty difficult. For example if you sell insurance for 10 years and then decide to move across the country, you will likely have to start over from scratch with many of your clients and relationships, where as you work as a software engineer, you can transfer to other states and countries and pick up right where you left off.

Finally, if you are still young and having a hard time deciding, don't worry. There is a lot of pressure to figure out what you want to do for the rest of your life as soon as you graduate, which is unnecessary in my opinion. You are far better off by taking a year or two working somewhere just to save up a bit of money, and letting thing come together, than racing off in some direction and feeling trapped shortly after. This is true of most big decisions in life like buying a house or getting married as well :D
 
VERY good reply GatorGrizz27.

I would take that advice and run with it.

Whatever you decide to pursue . . . remember that it's NOT like the military. If you initially pick something that smells rosy and ends up being sh!tty, you are NOT stuck on that path. While you are pursuing education, training or just life experience, keep your eyes open, something will present itself that's right down your alley.
 
17 years in Law Enforcement. 7 years on SRT and 5 of those as sniper. I love my job. In my years of service as deputy sheriff I have seen a lot of good and unfortunately a lot of bad. But all the good things make it worth it.
 
Licensed state MD Master Plumber (30 yrs), I own my own business and have been doing it since I was 10 yrs old (helped my dad as a kid). I do mostly all commercial and Industrial work and a little solar thermal.
One thing about plumbing everyone needs it. You know the old saying hot on left cold on right, but a mechanic can make it run uphill.
 
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