Considering the Military?

[Aksannyi]

The only time I got that kind of gig was when I was pregnant and I was like two months to getting out anyway.

And it wasn't that I didn't want to do anything, they just didn't know what to do with me.

[Demosthenes]

This image made me laugh so fucking hard at work. Thanks for that.

[shepardG]

How you gonna do me like that abandon :-/

[Aevis]

Totally relevant, catched this as I was aimlessly walking through Nagoya two weeks ago:

Spoiler: show

As for topic, I vote for stay abroad (Military/Teacher). I didn't really travel aside from short seaside holidays until I was 29. Since then I made some of the best experiences in my life and value that so much higher than everything I've done during my 20s. So if you have the means and nothing is really holding you back, go for it.

[Ksandra]

Was he a DRG? I had a friend in AF that did the same shit lol.

He was a WAR.

Depends what you do in the air force I guess?

Cousin has been in for 17 years, and finally just landed a cushy do nothing gig lol

Ya he was a weather guy. He actually did have to go to iraq, which I teased him about. (Said he must have a weather stick which is why they need him there to read it).

Only story he's got about that is them getting a bunch of golf balls donated to them, so they hit them into a mine field. Obviously, no one went to get them.

[Aksannyi]

All that sand weather though, I'm sure KV must have popped a few times. XD

[Cream Soda]

By the way, to those concerned, this is option number 3 on the list.

If I get into pharm school I'm going; and then if teaching in Korea somehow doesn't work out, this would be choice 3. Just keeping my options out there instead of putting all my eggs into 1 basket

[tyven]

Join up.

[Misuicide]

I'm a Mechanic in the Army, and i love it sometimes. Granted we work more then anyone in the fucking Army, but hey at least its a job skill! Also i'll back up shepardG because the Airforce EoD guys were the coolest fuckers i got to go out on mission with. They let me blew shit up, it was awesome! I'm ready to deploy again, fuck garrison!

[shepardG]

I'm a Mechanic in the Army, and i love it sometimes. Granted we work more then anyone in the fucking Army, but hey at least its a job skill! Also i'll back up shepardG because the Airforce EoD guys were the coolest fuckers i got to go out on mission with. They let me blew shit up, it was awesome! I'm ready to deploy again, fuck garrison!

Lol, no doubt, funny thing is, i'd bend over backwards for my vic guys. Trucks ain't moving? well shit... my job just got a helluva lot more hairy. I also know the pain of having to change a humvee tire with a run-flat in it. fuck that shit.

@ CS. Dude, i like your priorities. I won't disuade you from your 1st and 2nd option, because if i had been a go getter like you have been, i'd have done the same, but i know how shit plays out in this world of ours. Don't think option 3 is in any way bad. You set yourself up for success no matter what you do.

[Cream Soda]

The only thing I don't like really is the amount of time you sign away at a time. If there was a 1 year try it before you buy it option, I'd have given it a shot ages ago

[Abandon]

to my knowledge, there aren't many jobs at all that only offer 1 year contracts :-\

[Aragon of Odin]

Can't walk away from the military like you could a job, think he means once you sign up, you're there for your term

[Krandor]

In the grand scheme of things a 4 year commitment is pretty small. And mind you that's a 4 year commitment with a guaranteed paycheck and all the other benefits the military entails.

[Osede]

Can't walk away from the military like you could a job, think he means once you sign up, you're there for your term

It kind of trade off. Guarantee 4 years salary vs non-guaranteed 1 year salary. Depending which you feel better/comfortable for yourself.

[Aragon of Odin]

I get that, but that's besides the point I believe. I believe his concern is that you're signing away 4 years for somethig you might not enjoy, it has nothing to do with a guaranteed paycheck or benefits. Doing something you dislike for 4 years with no options to leave would not be fun, especially when you'd always be thinking "Had I just done option A or B instead of this, I'd be enjoying life right now".

Giving up 4 years of your life to dedicate to something you don't like isn't really a small commitment either, A LOT can happen over a 4 year span in your life, and if you want to get the most enjoyment out of life, it's tough to commit to something you don't know if you'd enjoy.

[Byrthnoth]

Go for PhD because of scholarship funding? As a PhD degree holder, I'm kind of against if unless you really have a clear path on your career. What you want to do after PhD, what you know about PhD degree market and etc. Else, you will suffer more than anything else, and will regret for wasting your life. Also, your job choice will be even more limited with PhD degree.

This needs to be repeated like 100 times. So many people go to grad school because they finish undergrad and then don't know what they want to do, so grad school seems like the next step (like college was the next step after high school). I don't know about other fields, but for us, it's about 50% attrition rate for grad students, I think largely because so many people get into it without thinking it through and really knowing what they're getting into.

Going to repeat this a third time. In the Biological Sciences, we have this breakdown:
* 1/3 of entering students never complete their PhD
* 1/3 take longer than 7 years
* 1/3 take 7 years or less

Your experience in graduate school depends almost entirely upon your adviser, but they aren't hired for their social skills. They're hired for their grant-getting ability, which hinges on their ability to make people collect data. Many of them are socially inept dicks. I recently moved labs because my previous adviser was such a cuntwaffle. Currently I work from 7 to whenever (writing this from work while I wait for something to drain), but at least in this lab I get most weekends off.

As far as stipends, what I get paid works out to about $6.50/hr. It feels like more because I don't have any time to spend it and have ended up comfortably contributing the max to my Roth IRA each year. I likely could have made double the salary working half as long in an industry job with my undergraduate degree, though.

[Arvin]

one of my best friends taught english in korea, he said it was the best experience of his life thus far. I noticed him changing a bit, but in a good way too.

[Salodin]

How does one go about teaching in Korea?

[Nephlite]

From what I've seen, airforce definitely seems to be the way to go.

Gonna vouch for this and say if you have the opportunity to do it, go Airforce. The amount of experience in scale to what you'll earn in a different branch isn't even comparable. It's just so fucking hard to get in to a good field that most people shy away. I would have loved to do the Airforce but at the time, my vision (of all things) is what kept me from doing anything worthwhile. I figured if I was going to enlist as a grunt, I'd rather grunt up in the Army rather than a grunt in the Airforce.