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I made a few ill decisions with the stock market and fail to prepare myself for college. I have 1 year left until I am officially done with my first contract (3.75 yrs total). I want to become a nurse and an officer, but I think it may be better to get a degree while in the service if I re-enlist and then go for an accerated program or my masters when I get out to really use my gi bill.
If I leave the service, then I will scramble around and waste time doing remedial college classes. I also do not have any applicable skills or want to pursue my current skils (need another career ). My ultimate life goal as far as the military goes is the pension (so I dont want to get a civilian job and waste time)
But I also see the opportunity cost of time, and not taking advantage of the GI bill.
On of the major "I wish I had done that..." of my life is the fact that I did not re-enlist at the end of my first hitch of active duty.
I should have retired in 1979 (20 years) or 1989 (30 years).
Instead, I retired from the reserve in 1991, then had to wait until 2001 to begin getting retirement pay!
IMO, you should re-up for 6 years. DO IT NOW!!
On of the major "I wish I had done that..." of my life is the fact that I did not re-enlist at the end of my first hitch of active duty.
I should have retired in 1979 (20 years) or 1989 (30 years).
Instead, I retired from the reserve in 1991, then had to wait until 2001 to begin getting retirement pay!
IMO, you should re-up for 6 years. DO IT NOW!!
I had this line of thought.
If I had stayed in I could have retired 8 years ago (and in 2 more years 30).
If you apply yourself well in the military you could set yourself up for a good career after retirement in terms of getting education and training. Or even become an officer and get an even better retirement.
How do you plan to get a nursing degree in the service? How in the world would you do all of your clinical time?
Major reason to not-reenlist. Get as much as I can get done while enlisted (get everything but clinicals done online), and then when I get out, get it right out of the way "2 year" shot of fulltime at worst (or find some military scholarship that will allow me to do it and count towards retirement). So if I re-enlist another 4-5 years *not counting my 1 yr left*, I should be able to get 40 credits done at least, if I focus correctly. I could potentially speed up the retirement process that way, since if leave, and go out the other route, I could end up losing 2-4 yrs (which is $$$ since every year helps the paycheck percentage in dividends).
If I can get 2 yrs of education done, on the "time-clock" of the military, then it will be far better than my personal "time-clock", when I really do need to use it. G.I. bill is there, and I will take advantage of it, but I want to maximize its benefits.
The major opportunity cost will probably be that I could had been a nurse 2 yrs earlier, and potential 20k of pay (but if I save myself 2-3 years from going to waste, then I will get the loss back in years of service in pay).
----
I decided I am going to re-enlist.
The military is not like a regular job in which my time (at low pay; enlisted) doesn't matter... every year will help. And, I am no longer at the "lowest of low" pay anymore. Some people stay enlisted, but I cannot do that.
Not sure if this helps, but I enlisted almost 15 years ago for a few years, and got out when it was up. I ended up going back in just before my original 8 yr obligation ended. I got credit for all the time from my original entry date counted towards pay. It did NOT count towards retirement. I was told if I had gone back in after the 8 yr mark, then only my active time would have counted. This was many years ago, so not sure if its still the same though.
Not sure if this helps, but I enlisted almost 15 years ago for a few years, and got out when it was up. I ended up going back in just before my original 8 yr obligation ended. I got credit for all the time from my original entry date counted towards pay. It did NOT count towards retirement. I was told if I had gone back in after the 8 yr mark, then only my active time would have counted. This was many years ago, so not sure if its still the same though.
I have to look at the fine print then... Thank you.
Location: When you take flak it means you are on target
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Did my time in the Army. No question of reenlisting. Went from army pay to six figures as a security contractor. Shooting at people pays better than patching them up.
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