dieselfarmer wrote:Ok, here goes... This has been on my mind for a while. I can get out after 10 years active duty this Jan. I will walk away from a decent steady pay check and free benefits.
Easy. You are half way to the brass ring. Do the twenty and grab those lifetime benefits. I did four. Have worked with quite a few that completed twenty and retired. They always had an advantage in terms of "options".
I can pay to keep the health care and dental for me and my family until I retire from the reserve. With the new GI Bill I can go to school full time and get the housing allowance for the Boston, Ma area, about $2300 a month.
Or, you could stay in and take advantage of having them pay for most if it now. Work on your degree over the next ten years while you finish your twenty.
Now what should I study in school? My back ground is in mechanics so I was thinking engineering.
How are you math skills? The engineering world, particularly at the larger companies, has lost millions of American jobs to out-sourcing and in-sourcing. Can't see that situation improving in the next decade. In example, IT engineering graduates headquartered in India and reporting to a large American corporation start with a salary of around $6,500 per year. Want to compete with that?!
but maybe business classes too.
Undergraduate business degrees and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee at McDonalds. A masters will add a cheeseburger... at best.
I was also thinking about vet tech or something in agriculture but they are in short supply at schools in boston.
A college degree should be viewed in terms of return on investment. While a two year associates earned at a local community college will earn you a vet tech or ag job, one should consider the long term compensation for that investment. It's nothing to get excited about.
I guess I'm just thinking out loud.
Worth thinking about. Farrier? Mechanical engineering? Vet tech? Ag job? You're all over the board looking for something different. That's okay when we're 20 but with a wife, kids and sundry hobbies/interest, focus becomes more critical.
If you decide to leave the coast guard, have a very specific goal and plan to obtain it. Better yet, finish the twenty while you work towards that goal and have it all!
Caveat. If you're already independently wealthy, leave the guard and do whatever blows your hair back.
Cheers,
Mark