No direction?

[Indalecia]

Depends entirely on your chosen job in the Navy. Anything "Engineering" or attached to flight wings will likely put you in some pretty uncomfortably-hot areas when deployed! Those fields tend to be the ones with some of the higher pay-offs after service, though.
.

Pick your rate, choose your fate.

Besides, Odess is smart enough for IT/CT fields.

[Clash Perez]

Pick your rate, choose your fate.

Besides, Odess is smart enough for IT/CT fields.

33XX NEC or bust!

[Cletis]

CT is cake, and go overseas and make bank.

i highly recommend if you can detach from civilian life to just leave and go. aussie women are so .. omg..

[dejet]

I dunno about joining the military at the moment. It's big into global intervention at the moment, dissuaded the little bro who wanted to go for GI Bill benefits from joining up because of that.

Not for anything but why the fuck are you joining the army if you dont want to be deployed? Saying "it's big into global intervention" is like saying a plan was meant to fly.

Oh so sorry you cant be like the 80's army men who got all the perks and did nothing, but if you join the armed forces plan to go overseas with a gun and get shot at....

and the GI bill is the shit fyi, my brothers girlfriend just got out of the Marines, and she working on a second degree and its been fully paid for. she also still has housing money and shit as long as she is still going to school.

50k to put down on a house when they pick where to live. And yes the healthcare they get as vets does sorta suck, but you no what? when my brother lost his job and healthcare she was taken care of.

Its sounds to me like they are taken care of decently lol. (8 years in I think you 4 years is all the same)

[Celeste]

I never personally wanted to. Little brother did and I dissuaded him from doing so.

[Nephlite]

It's not for everyone. Don't get any idea's of cruising in to any job in the Army and expect it to be a cake walk. It's real life training with PT thrown in there to keep you in shape. Gotta work hard and prove yourself to get anywhere and the good jobs usually are taken and are waiting for the next hot shit snot nosed punk to get through basic so you can take over the vets position so they can move up.

I found that out when I joined OCS and rotated back to the states from my second deployment. There was an old timer waiting for someone to replace him in the Military Police (old time 31B) who was waiting for papers to transfer to Military Intelligence (35 series). I replaced him for a short while (at severely reduced pay), then joined the Rangers. The guy I replaced there went to VIP Protection and CID (31D). It's all about getting comfortable, waiting for someone to come up to where you are, then moving on. I know people who've been through about a dozen MOS just simply because they didn't know what they wanted to do and just wanted to go career. I'm on inactive status now but the next big war i'll probably be thrown in back to the mix with everyone else and guess what? More money in the bank and great excuse to actually paying off some of my friggin credit card debt.

[dejet]

I never personally wanted to. Little brother did and I dissuaded him from doing so.

not you celeste, I just know so many people say this. I fully understand you saying that to your brother to get his mind off it.

[Celeste]

not you celeste, I just know so many people say this. I fully understand you saying that to your brother to get his mind off it.

Oh alright, yeah. It's absurd.

[Odesseiron]

I appreciate all the input. Especially from you, Indy

To whoever commented "Every American thread like this turns into a military thread" or whatever... that's because I said I was considering it as an option. So people are sharing their experience.

Anyway, what I need to do is take a look at what I want to do, vs. what I can do. How much am I qualified for with what I have. School is always an option of course, but when you've got no idea what you want to do with yourself, taking credits for the hell of it (even if they're electives) seems funny to me. It would serve no purpose. I can't putz around for much longer. I need to have something that can offer a pension and some decent benefits.

As of right now, that's not my current job, nor has it been any of my jobs. I'm just here til the next thing comes along, collecting paychecks. I don't give 2 shits about it. I know I'm not alone with this, but I want to do something to break this cycle.

As for all the military stuff, people have been very helpful. I've rec'd a few PM's already offering me a wealth of information. It's not like I'm heading off to the recruiting office tomorrow. For one I have no idea if that's what I want to do yet, and secondly, I don't want recruiters harassing the shit out of me like a used car salesman. If I do go, it will be when I make the decision to. The world is always unstable. It just so happens through the 80's there was a huge period of it. Could that happen again? Sure why not? Probably not though. I realize fully that if I do that and there is war, I will get shipped off. it's why they're there. I haven't told anyone but some friends about it. I know my mother (I'm an only child) would hate the notion, but at the end of the day, stand behind me. That still doesn't mean some of my other family would accept it. But I know I need to do what's right for me at the end of the day.

I just have no notion of what that is right now.Well not none. But there's realistic and then there's fantasy.

[Celeste]

I'd personally love to join the military as a career. My country is something I'd live, fight, and die for. Too bad they don't accept trannies.

[Renzokuken]

Not sure if this is any help, but it's something that has helped me a bit:

http://blogmaverick.com/2012/03/18/d...w-your-effort/

TL;DR version:

Let me make this as clear as possible

1. When you work hard at something you become good at it.

2. When you become good at doing something, you will enjoy it more.

3. When you enjoy doing something, there is a very good chance you will become passionate or more passionate about it

4. When you are good at something, passionate and work even harder to excel and be the best at it, good things happen.

Don’t follow your passions, follow your effort. It will lead you to your passions and to success, however you define it.

And while school may be a great option for certain things, don't be fooled into thinking you NEED to go back to school.

[Talus]

OP could go to nursing school, do travel nursing, and get paid a fuck ton of money to visit new places. Plus, you're surrounded by hot women.

But there is a stigma, in some places definitely more than others, where patients, other nurses, unit secretaries, respiratory therapists, etc., tend to ask nurses, "Why didn't you just become a doctor?"

Edit: I'm not trying to downplay the importance of nurses. My aunt is a critical care nurse with more degrees than most people and more medical knowledge than most PGY-1s. The world needs nurses, just like the world needs accountants, engineers, cashiers, artists, janitors, etc.

My only piece of advice is do what you love, as cliche as that sounds. If you love your "work" then the days go by fast, you look forward to waking up in the morning, etc. One of the most important things in my life is internal happiness. If I was stuck in a job with no room for career growth & advancement, I'd still do what I've always done, which is to try my best to make the most of the situation... but... I'd eventually end up hating my job and being very unhappy, even though it wouldn't show in my work.

[Tyche]

I've heard that, but I've never seen it or experienced it. I'm not sure it actually exists. Honestly, I couldn't care less when I'm making as much as some doctors.

[Alvinho]

'Sup Odess?!

Merchant Navy is your answer. Shipping agents make good pay, and the job pretty much guarantees you'll never fall into some boring-ass routine. Only drawback = shitty hours sometimes, depending on a vessel's schedule.

You don't really need any special skills besides basic computer stuff (office package, etc.). Obviously, knowing how things work for vessels calling whatever port you're working from is a huge plus, but it's definitely something you can learn as you go along. Aside from agency work, there are tons of shipping-related businesses that make top $ doing regular stuff.

Nevermind if you don't live by the sea/near ports.

[Rabidelly]

Well, here's what I did.

I went to college right away, with the notion of becoming a doctor. Why? Because in high school the counselors always stick with doctor or nurse when you mention anything medical and no other professions. I got an army ROTC scholarship, but ended up realizing that it wasn't where I wanted to be and that I didn't want to be a doctor either.

I left school after one year, worked full time and ended up working in a hospital for five years. I still wanted to be in the medical field but wasn't sure what I should go into, especially since I didn't have much money to put into it and didn't want to wait 4 years for a degree and a career.

Someone suggested I look into radiation therapy - working with cancer patients - and I loved what I found when I researched it. Locally I found 2 and 4 year programs for around $25k/year tuition. WAY out of my budget. Found another place that was 2 years, at $5k/year, and when I get out my pay will start around $50-$55k/year and the average is close to $60-$70k/year and even as high as $85/year. That's 2 years for just $10k tuition total.

I am younger than you, but I'm also returning to school full time at age 26 and went through that direction-less phase hoping to find something I'd enjoy and could make a career out of without spending an astronomical amount of money. Allied health is a really large field and most people don't realize just how much it encompasses.