John Ponish ⋅ Wise, VA Appalachian Technical Services, Inc ⋅ 30 years experience

In getting further education, whether civilian or military, do not overlook private colleges versus the public universities. Private tuition, though much higher at first glance, is many times as reasonable or less costly than public after they throw the financial assistance your way. Be aggressive and polite, speak directly to someone in financial aid, establish a relationship there with someone you can relate too - private offers much more one -on-one guidance and personal attention

Cristhian Vasquez ⋅ Bell, CA U.S. Army, Staff Sergeant ⋅ 6 years served

Thank you got all your suggestion.

Jonathan Horn ⋅ Needham Heights, MA Coca-Cola ⋅ 12 years experience

Christian,

I just wanted to make you aware that in addition to covering tuition, recent modifications made to the G.I. Bill award you a cost of living allowance (COLA) as well. This is reflected in the post 9/11 G.I. Bill changes. The hope is that with this additional income, you may focus more of your time on school rather than having to carry a full time job to pay the bills. Book stipends are also now granted to offset the sometimes overlooked costs of the enrollment process.The living allowance does vary in amount from state to state so I would encourage you to research it more in detail yourself or speak with any veteran liaison your school may have. But do not be too quick in seeking loans.

Lois Puttbach ⋅ Berkeley Heights, NJ AIG ⋅ 7 years experience

The Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) has several good educational programs for veterans. You should check out their website. They offer TRACK, located in Jacksonville, FL, and San Antonio, TX. It's a 12-month program giving vets a jump-start on meeting their education goals. Then there's Warriors to Work which provides career guidance and matches your skills and experience to the needs of hiring managers. Finally, there's Transitioning Training Academy, a hands-on program that helps you expore the IT field as a possible career choice. Website: www.woundedwarriorproject.org. Hope this helps!

Tim Keefe ⋅ Washington, DC U.S. Army, Specialist ⋅ 6 years served

My thoughts:

1. Agreeing with the above, you should think long and hard why you want to get out vs. reenlisting. Though you didn't say, my guess is that you're not in an MOS you want to be in and this influencing your decision. You could also have had enough of the military life and this is on your mind. Get out if you absolutely can't take it anymore and it's affecting your health. Life is too short to do something that you absolutely hate, unless you have obligations and people are depending on you, like a family.

2. My advice is that, if you do decide to get out, you must have the following: a bachelor's degree in a STEM field or in something with a very high demand, certifications to bolster the bachelor's, helpful and effectual contacts in the field, some experience in that field, a particular area where you want to live, and a job already lined up before you leave. If you're missing more than two of those, then don't get out.

Now, why do I say this? First, unless you have a degree, certs, and experience in something that's in demand, you'll find it that much more difficult to find a job in the civilian world. The market is simply that bad in many sectors of the country. Too many people have degrees, which helps to create surplus labor. In addition, you have HR departments that are check-box happy and looking to reduce their own workload because of the flood of applications and resumes that they're getting. You won't get noticed unless you work really hard, and a degree and certs are for check-boxing.

Second, unless you have the experience, the employer is probably not going to take you seriously. You're an unknown entity/commodity and few employers are going to take a chance on you, unless it's with a company that goes out of its way to train and hire vets because it's beneficial to their bottom line. Everyone else who says that they support vets are most likely paying lip service and waving the flag.

Thirdly, unless you have the contacts, you won't know how to find where the opportunities are, to get past HR screenings and in front of someone who you can talk with to solve his or her problems. You'll just get lost in the noise around you.

3. My further advice is to stay in for another four years and either reclass to something with a high demand (e.g., IT or healthcare) or maybe go the officer route and have the Army pay you to get your bachelor's. In line with what I said above, if you're one year out without a bachelor's, you're at a severe disadvantage. Reupping for another four years means that you can reset the clock, but only if you fully appreciate that you have to work to knock out the things I mentioned above. You can use tuition assistance and the GI Bill while on active duty to get your coursework done, and you can do much of it online. I used the GI Bill shortly before I got out in early 2010 to earn a master's degree, which set me up well for my present job.

Though you might not see it right now, you're in a pretty good place. You just have to keep your eye on the prize and not think that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

Finally, as far as it being difficult to attend school and be a solider at the same time, this is just a fact of life. If you reup for another four years, this gives you time to maybe attend half-time instead of full-time. You won't be in a rush to complete it like you're trying to do now. It will take time for you get where you need to be, and use the time to set yourself up for success.

Dionne Kern ⋅ Millington, TN Lowe's Home Improvement ⋅ 30 years experience

Try speaking with your current career counselor about active duty programs that would allow you to complete your degree while on active duty and possibly pursue officer programs. There are going to be challenges no matter which route you pursue however I found it to be more rewarding completing while on active duty. Good luck in your endeavors!

David Icenhower ⋅ Phoenix, AZ Reinhardt University ⋅ 40 years experience

Personally speaking, the biggest mistake of my life was getting out of the Coast Guard. I did get my Bachelors while on Active Duty and thought that would open a lot of doors for me. Unfortunately, it didn't. Should have stuck it out until retirement and gotten my Masters on Uncle Sam's dollar. Whatever you do, don't take out any student loans.

Civilian life is not all it's cracked up to be and with the state of the current economy, there are many candidates with degree's that can't get jobs, yet they have a load of student debt they have to deal with.

My advise: Stay in and continue your education.

Brady Tello ⋅ Watertown, MA ⋅ 3 years experience

Personally, I ended up getting out as an E-5 and joining the National Guard while I studied full time for my B.S. degree. My wife and I were living 100% off the Montgomery GI Bill, income from my part time job, and the small amount of money that the Guard paid for going to drill each month. I would say that although *we had to be thoughtful about how we were spending our money*, we were living relatively comfortably. If you are smart about it, it's absolutely possible to get out and go to college with a minimal amount of student debt if not zero student debt.

There are a HUGE number of options available for you to decrease your reliance on student loans and you should look into all of them. The most obvious is the Post 9/11 GI Bill. You can see how much you'll make each year/semester by using this calculator: http://www.benefits.va.gov/GIBILL/yellow_ribbon/yrp_list_2014.asp. One thing that really helped me was signing up for the GI Bill Kicker before I got out. The Kicker is a program that allows you to pay some lump sum before you get out and the VA will increase your GI Bill payment each month. I think I paid $5000 before I got out and my monthly payments went up by several hundred dollars during the entire 36 months I received the GI Bill. Read more about it here http://www.military.com/education/gi-bill/the-gi-bill-kicker.html. Also, don't lose the receipt for that because you'll need to send a copy to the VA.

Consider schools that are participating in the Yellow Ribbon program. Those schools will pay a portion of your tuition each semester for being a vet. See which schools are participating this year at http://www.benefits.va.gov/GIBILL/yellow_ribbon/yrp_list_2014.asp.

You should also go back and look at your initial contract to see if you qualified for the Army College Fund kicker. The VA will not look into this for you and if you don't tell them you were eligible for it, you're not going to get it. This was several thousand dollars for me so go back and look.

If you were to join the National Guard/Reserves, they have great tuition assistance packages that you can use at the same time as you are collecting the GI Bill. It's not a bad option. You get to keep serving in New York State they paid up to 100% of the max in-state tuition.

You should also pick a school and call their VA office to ask about any state sponsored veteran scholarships. Several states will pay your full tuition if you served in a combat zone for more than 30 days.

If you have any questions, please reach out to me. I'm happy to offer more advice.

Hope all of that helps.

Earl Hackett ⋅ Hockessin, DE DuPont ⋅ 31 years experience

I agree with Tim. I found it a lot easier to attend night school while in the military than after I left. In the military you actually have much better control of your time than in civilian life. Customers inevitably have problems at the worst possible moment and you have no choice but to respond. If you had a class that evening you will not be in attendance. As for student loans, do not fall into that financial trap. It's been 40 years since I left the Air Force, but if the government will help with tuition assistance, that's by far the best way to get a degree.

Sarah Bates ⋅ Fallbrook, CA Palomar Community College ⋅ 25 years experience

I tutored academic writing at a community college where many of my students were Marine or Navy vets who left the service before achieving any type of degree. Knowing how difficult it was for them to decide on a career, let alone set their scholastic goals, many of them left school. If you can re-enlist AND get your Batchelor's degree, regardless what career you ultimately choose as a civilian, that degree will open the door for you while other applicants with less experience wait in line to get in. Military skills do translate into civilian skills that are needed in the public and private sector. Use your degree to get the job that needs your skills.

Terry Dutcher ⋅ Dallas, TX AT&T ⋅ 14 years experience

I honestly recommend staying in. I know its tough trying to complete your degree while on active duty. But to be honest it isnt much easier being a civilian. I am 42 and just like you I have a family. When I got out of the Navy orginally in 1999, the remote thought of going back to school wasnt on the radar. My worry was more about finding a job and making sure I could provide for my family. I took the training that I had been given in the Navy and I ran with it. Luckily for me I had a skillset that was in high demand. Now lets fast forward a few too many years. I am 42 with no degree and I have done well for myself, but i cant get over the hill to that next step in my career. Now I am not saying that if I had stayed in the Navy I would have gotten my degree. But I think I would have had the better disipline to at least get myself better prepared for the civilian sector. If you are already working twords your degree, stay on the path you are currently on. The last thing you need is distractions while working on that. You could start to worry about other things that become more important than that degree. then you will end up in the same place as I am in. The decision to stay in the Army or not is a tough deciision much as it was for me to get out of the Navy. Just make sure that you are getting out or staying in for the right reasons. The civilian sector is not just a piece of cake. keep that in mind. If you do decide to get out, contact the VA. There are a bunch of prgrams out there. I am guessing that you have the Post 9/11 GI Bill. there are schools out there that participate in the yellow ribbon program if you attend school on campus. and I believ that helps with certain subsidies. no 100% on that so dont quote me. Good luck to you.

Patricia Sanderlin ⋅ Hempstead, TX HP ⋅ 20 years experience

I can imagine it is tough being a soldier and a student at the same time but if you can make it work somehow, try to go that route first. If you get out now, you may be able to go to school full-time but the assistance is minimal and as soon as you are done with school, you must find a job or you will run completely dry financially.

A friend of mine retired from the Army and went to school full-time to earn a bachelor's degree. It can be done but he was on a very strict budget. After he earned his degree this year, he had to do several odd jobs to make a living as he is unable to find a job in his field of study yet. So, if you are very good with managing money and are okay with possibly not finding a job right after school, you could go that route.

Alex Olin ⋅ Chicago, IL IBM ⋅ 20 years experience

Hi Christian, make a face to face appointment with a school your considering applying to's financial assistance. In fact, you should send a letter to the Dean of students, ask for a face to face appointment with the goal that the Dean of Students sets you up with some one on one time with the best person on the staff who can lay out all of the possible student loan options.

You may need to do some rock turning but there's someone local to you that does this stuff for a living and can lay out your options.

Alex

Timothy Day ⋅ Philadelphia, PA Center City Film and Video ⋅ 20 years experience

I'd also recommend staying in and earning your degree. It's a tough balancing act of time and money, but you'll come away from it with more options down the road. Additional loans can be helpful to bridge some gaps, but I'd look at them as a last resort option. My advice : get a tight budget plan together that deals with money AND study time and stick to it like glue until you have that degree in hand. Hope that helps.