Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco, CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

Bobby,
* What are your goals? Earning a degree after the military can be a great transition route. I encourage you to try and explicitly identify your goal(s) (life goals, career goals, etc.). Why do you want to go back to school? Perhaps one of the important things you can do, whether it is an explicit application requirement or not, is to write a 1-3 page "statement of purpose".

Here is a post titled: <a href="https://acp-advisornet.org/question/725/what-are-best-tools-for-veterans-to-self-assess-their-aptitude-capabilities-and-interestss/">What are best tools for veterans to self-assess their aptitude, capabilities, and interests?</a> I encourage you to read it and perhaps post a comment or provide feedback, etc.

* is there a particular geography that interests you?

* when selecting a school, be sure to evaluate its career-placement center, alumni network, alumni clubs, and job-placement record. Be a skeptical and critical customer. Perhaps attend alumni club events and speak with alumni.

* provide feedback and we can try to help more.

Sam Miller ⋅ Houston, TX Hewlett Packard ⋅ 25 years experience

Hopefully you have time ahead to carefully consider what you want to do with the rest of your life career-wise. I suggest some self-assessment to help you, in case you don't know what type of career you want yet, and the education you will need for it. Some suggestions:
http://www.onetcenter.org/CIP.html?p=3
http://www.assessment.com/
http://spot.pcc.edu/~rjacobs/career/new_page_5.htm
Don't limit yourself to 1 assessment, it gives only general direction. If you do enough of them, you will see your own pattern of interest and ability.

When I started out after the military, I took one of these assessments, and it helped me to decide a direction toward engineering. After 2 years in college, a roommate influenced me to go for electrical engineering, and I've had a 25-year satisfying career. If I had my life to live over again, this is one thing I wouldn't change.

With the internet today, you can do a lot of research that couldn't be done for free 30 years ago. The next step after assessment is research specific career choices that are in demand, and will be in demand. For example:
http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/slideshows/7-occupations-with-the-highest-hiring-demand
http://education.yahoo.net/articles/top_10_in-demand_careers.htm
http://www.campusexplorer.com/college-advice-tips/76DB6BDB/Top-25-In-Demand-Jobs-and-Fastest-Growing-Occupations/
Again, it provides only general direction for you. It just takes some time and effort, which is part of planning your life.

One last thing is that in my experience the people you work with makes or breaks a job, and sometimes it takes some adjustment of company or location to settle into something you enjoy.

Hope this helps, and good luck.

Alyson Iuchs ⋅ Edwards, CA Photogenic, Inc ⋅ 5 years experience

Choosing to return to school is a difficult decision, especially for individuals that have spent time away in active duty and now are looking to settle into civilian life.

As many as 1 million veterans are using their GI bill to go back to school, and you could easily join this group. But I'm sure you're wondering where to start. To help you get started, here is an online guide for going back to school after the military: https://online.maryville.edu/blog/going-back-to-school-military/

When making the choice to return to school, it’s important that enrollees carefully consider how much time is available for the sum of education, work and household responsibilities. For example, for each hour of class students should study for a minimum of two hours. Some employers may help in this regard by offering a flexible schedule, making it easier to attend classes.

For parents, finding time to take classes while raising children may appear impossible. However, many colleges and universities assist students in this regard so that they may successfully pursue their degrees. With the rapid growth in the number of non-traditional students enrolling in college, this kind of assistance is growing more common, with some institutions providing on-site childcare services. Busy parents can also consider night or weekend classes, as well as online or hybrid classes that combine distance learning and in class instruction.

It’s true that investigating and choosing class alternatives is a large project. However, degree hopefuls can make the project go easier by breaking it down into smaller tasks with finite deadlines. For example, a good starting task is to meet with an admissions counselor in 10 days or less. Finally, enrollees should follow their instincts when setting goals, being careful not to let the well-intended advice of others obscure their own desires.

John Scoccola ⋅ Wyckoff, NJ Verizon ⋅ 30 years experience

Bobby, Hope all is well. First area is conduct a deep review of what your curious and passionate about. What are your personal interest? What do you read for enjoyment? Then we can select a path and align to an area of job growth.

Sanford Walker ⋅ Wesley C, FL Verizon ⋅ 18 years experience

Hello Bobby,

You got a lot of great advise already. Based on what your goals are, I would shop around for a school and program that fits your needs. There are a number of degrees that are very flexible can be earned online, in a classroom or both. If you are currently employed, check and see if the company has a tuition assistance program.

Kevin Horgan ⋅ Roswell, GA UPS ⋅ 28 years experience

Bobby... all the advice above is outstanding. Keep in mind some additional things: college is not for everybody, but if you do not possess a trade that is in demand, without that degree you will not have an opportunity to makes lots of money. And don't charge into a field right away. Take a couple community college classes in general studies: language, teaching, history, math. The career you wind up pursuing may be a happy accident, so explore the avenues you have not walked upon until you have a more clear vision. Semper fi, K Horgan, USMC 1979-84.

Jim Riviera ⋅ Houston, TX Hewlett Packard ⋅ 20 years experience

Semper Fi Bobby, Good to see another Devil Dog take the plunge back into the world. I know it can be frightening but just remember there have been many of us in your shoes and we have survived and flourished.

That said, I agree with everyone here who posted . All good sound advice for finding your career path, so I cannot really add anymore. However, one aspect that has not been mentioned and I think Tom started addressing it but I would start preparing for the actual move into the university life. I think Tom mentioned it; will you be a single or married student? Will you need to work while going to school or not? If you have a family these are some key things to discuss with them ,once you commit and are accepted. Your time is going to be taken up and you may not be there all the time due to school commitment. If you are single then it may be that big of a deal.

The other thing I would look into is where will you be attending college and financial aid . Whether you will be attending in your home state or out of state, every university has a veterans affairs office that can help you transition into college life. These offices are usually staffed with a lot of former vets who are students also and they can provide you with good info. Plus they can assist you in the paper work for your GI Bill eligibiity. Speaking of GI Bill, a good site to read is www.gibill.va.gov. This has tons of information on the Post 9/11 GI Bill and other programs that you may be elligble for . Additionally, I would check into your home state for additional state funded college education . Here in Texas, we have the Hazlewood Act , that has additional programs that most Post 9/11 veterans can use to subsidize their education.

Well its not much but I hope it gives you a start of where to look and start researching while getting ready to be released . Remember you have a lot of good leadership and sefl discipline. Put that to use in the world and get that degree.

All the best .

Jim Riviera
Sgt. USMC (1970-1974)

Tom Tuck ⋅ Reston, VA ⋅ 16 years experience

Bobby,

I certainly agree with the advice to look at all options, develop a plan based on what you want to get out of going to college and find a veteran-friendly school. A few questions I wished I had considered when I went back to school:

1. Can you go to school full-time or do you have to juggle work, family and school? Pace yourself until you are comfortable with the workload and your other commitments.
2. Are you comfortable with online classes or do you learn better in a classroom environment? On-line classes are convenient and will give you more options, but some people aren't comfortable taking classes online.
3. Does your employer offer tuition assistance and, if so, are there annual limits? What type of degrees will they pay for?

I wish you the very best in school!

Tom

Christine Nowakowski ⋅ Minneapolis, MN ⋅ 17 years experience

Bobby,
You've gotten some great input here already, but one thing I thought to add to the string is: Think about what jobs you're interested in and go talk to people who have those jobs. For example, if you're interested in civil engineering, contact your state Department of Transportation and email or call the district director. Ask that person what schooling they needed and how they got to where they are. Connect with several people to get a broader view of ways to accomplish your goals.
Best of luck!
Christine

Wayne Heuett ⋅ East Wenatchee, WA Alcoa ⋅ 28 years experience

Bobby,
It can be a big challenge finding your way now that you are out of the military, but a very rewarding and worthy challenge. Make a list of what careers interest you. Find out what schooling/training you need to get a job in those fields. You should consider how healthy the job market is in your field of interest and how marketable you would be.

Good luck,
Wayne

Brian Berenbach ⋅ Edison, NJ Georgia Institute of Technology ⋅ 45 years experience

Bobby,

It is much easier to teach an engineer economics than it is to teach a business person engineering. I just came out of a systems engineering conference attended by companies such as Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Grumman, etc. as well as most of the major rail agencies and suppliers (EMD, GE, Siemens, Bombadier), and there is a tremendous shortage of qualified engineers, e.g. electrical, mechanical, systems, and so on.

It may seem difficult, but as someone who has served in the military, engineering will be a lot easier for you now than when you entered the service.

I know several enlisted people who served with me, then went back and got engineering degrees after they separated. They have all had fascinating and rewarding careers. If you are up to the challenge (and i am sure you are), I would highly recommend an engineering degree for yourself or any young person coming out of the military with drive and desire to do good things for society.

Best of luck - Brian

John Stevens ⋅ Middletown, MD ⋅ 20 years experience

Bobby,
You've gotten great advice from Tom. Something to consider is your approach to finishing a degree. Go back to school to finish your degree - don't go just to enroll. Choose to be a traditional or non-traditional student. Traditional students go to school full time and experience campus life. Non-traditional students typically attend part time and take much longer to complete a degree program.

After you've chosen what type of student you want to be then look at what colleges/universities fit your needs. Some schools are more non-traditional friendly; these are schools that typically offer multiple campuses or on-line classrooms. Either way, find a veteran friendly school. Don't just look at GiJobs recognition which is good, but look beyond. Schools offering a veteran counselor in the admissions and financial aid office is minimal. If they have an active student veteran organization, all the better. Also, having a veteran adviser in the career center is a real plus.

Thanks - John