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. 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. Now what should I study in school? My back ground is in mechanics so I was thinking engineering. but maybe business classes too. I was also thinking about vet tech or something in agriculture but they are in short supply at schools in boston.

I guess I'm just thinking out loud.

dieselfarmer wrote:
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".

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.

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?!


Undergraduate business degrees and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee at McDonalds. A masters will add a cheeseburger... at best.

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.

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

you said it all yourselve,a tractor mechanic seems to be right down your street. good luck for your future
chris

A certified mechanic can earn more than a college graduate.

I would think in reverse; find the job you want or do an internship in some field, then complete the degree that matches it. Every employer wants previous experience. If you do a summer internship each season at a company with work related to your degree then you can graduate with experience and a better chance at snagging a position.

If you don't want to take 3 levels of Calculus and then differential equations for engineering, there are alternatives such as construction management.

The trick is to go to school for something that's in demand and pays well. A college degree is no guaranty that you'll get a job or make very much if you do. Lots of people with degrees are out of work or working on assembly lines.

I'd recommend some college even if you intend to work at a trade or some other completely unrelated field. I don't respect degrees any more than I do certifications but, as they say, knowledge is power and I think a bit of well rounded education comes in handy in every day life.

One of the more important things you learn in the process of getting an education is how to learn. School is just the beginning. IMO, a good education is one that leaves you with the tools to get started.

I got to agree with Mark. Stop and think real hard about finishing the 20. My cus, got out with 14 yrs, now he is trying to get back in and finish the 20. At the time he got out, I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't listen. Stay in, got to school while in, and when you get out you got the whole banana, not just the peel. Think real hard about this.

Being a Jarhead, my opinion may not be worth much to you but, I got to agree with the other guys here. You should finally be to the point that you're not "in the mud" so to speak and can actually leave at 4:30 and go to class. Go for it, and get at least a bachelor's degree before you retire. At least if you retire ( and live close to a base) you'll have some income and won't ever have to worry about health insurance for your family. While you're in you could even get a bachelor's then go to a trade school or start your own business and get it running good before you retire.

Of course, I also understand that there may be outside influences that make staying in impossible. If that's the case, I would suggest finding out what it is you want to do the rest of your working life before you start college. Personally, I jumped straight into school with no kind of idea what I wanted to do. So I tried this and I tried that, then I finally settled down on a major and my GI Bill ran out and then my Hope Scholarship ran out, so to finish I'm having to pay out of pocket or get loans. If I'd just waited a year and tried a few more jobs to find something I liked, I probably could have saved myself a lot of wasted effort.

Lastly, Don't ignore trade schools or unions. My best friend got out and went straight into the local electricians union. Just got his ticket this month, he now makes 30 bucks an hour doing a job he loves and has a degree ( that the union paid for) from Georgia State University. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me. Also, in the last 5 years or so, he's been out of work a total of 3 months and that was because he chose to take furloughs so he could have some time off ( oh and he was eligible for unemployment for the whole time he was out of work), that's pretty good in the Atlanta area.

David

I am so glad I got my retirement. It really gives me more choices, the ability to plan ahead. Time will fly, I can guarantee that. The last part you can do on your head. Even though it is a retirement from the Reserve, I will get it when I am 60, it is a plan and gave me the ability to move forward.

Thanks for the input. However, I wasn't clear in my original post. I am miserable at my job. Have been since early on. Its gotten so bad it's affecting my wife and kids. Fortunately I've been able to work through the drepression and still excel and be good at it. Now I have kids and want to see them more and have a stable home life. Especially when I have found a trade I really like and honestly think I can be good at.

I know I'm half way to retirement but 10 more years it to long to do something i hate (or at least that's how i feel now, when I'm 40 I might regret it a bit). I'm really ready to be treated like an adult. I know self employment is not all peaches and cream but I've watched my dad be self employed most of my life and know that's what i want.

I want to be a horseshoer when I grow up and I think I'm almost there.

I can't get out and survive on apprentice pay just yet so my option is to go to school 3 days a week and get the housing allowance. Then shoe whenever I can for my own customers and swing a hammer for my dad when my mentor doesn't need me. On top of that I'll stay in the reserve and do my 1 weekend a month, pay to stay with tricare so i don't have to partake in obamacare and collect a smaller pension at 60. but i know i will be happy doing that and maybe see my family more.

I want to go to school for something I can fall back on if I ever get hurt shoeing. I've been a mechanic and I can turn a good wrench but don't want to do it for a living unless I have to. I was thinking something along the lines of ag or vet tech to get my Bachelor's so I can maybe look into large animal vet if I decided to be a vet... I know its a huge undertaking so maybe its a dream but it could also be a plan. I kind of wanted to hear from some shoers turned vet also.

thank you

When it comes down to the brass tacks, only you can answer your own questions and choose the road to go. Best of luck.