[puckerman]

Where are you, by the way?

From what I've seen in the real world, military hires military. Your best bet is to go to a town where lots of ex-military live. Try San Antonio, for example.

As far as agencies go, the VA hires nothing but military.

[lowbudgetballer]

When you hit your lowest point.

http://www.proudtoserveagain.com/

Troops to Teachers was established in 1993 to assist transitioning Service members and veterans in beginning new careers as K-12 school teachers in public, charter, and Bureau of Indian Affairs schools. The program provides counseling and referral services for participants to help them meet education and licensing requirements to teach and subsequently helps them secure a teaching position. Since 1993, more than 20,000 veterans have successfully transitioned to a career in education.

'baller

[xmlenigma]

(04-05-2017 11:46 AM)Easy_C Wrote:  

Hell he should because he reminds me very much of myself 5-6 years ago. I took a career that was a LOT like his (a shitty assignment I hated leading to me flaming out of the military) and have leveraged it into a top business school and now investment banking starting later this year.

Would I do the military again? Hell no but I feel like I've been able to right the ship and get on a good path. I'm going to be about 3-4 years behind where I'd be if I'd just gone to the best school I could get into -> finance to begin with, but where I am at is hardly bad.

And yes my attitude was similarly shitty. Even worse perhaps.

By the way, the reason those relationships have worked isn't because the wife was a nurse. You're almost there but not quite: they worked because the woman had a caring personality, which is why she worked in that job as a nurse. Mine has a very caring personality and consequently found a very similar line of work that she loves.

However because you noticed that I can see that you're coachable. You're smart enough to observe what works and try to reverse engineer it....a key trait of successful people. You just need to get in the habit of thinking one level deeper to understand the root cause and not just the surface effect.

Great to hear you helping out a fellow in the same boat..

Any updates on both of you? I'm not military but always love to hear turn around struggles and stories..

[tomzestatlu]

I don´t want to start new thread, but I want to share my thoughts with someone. My situation is some kind of related to OPs.

At the beginning, I am not talking about US military. I am not out of the military yet, but I am thinking about getting out of it.
I was kind of military since my 15, when I entered military high school. Then I left for civilian university, which I quit soon and next year I continued to military university and ended up with bachelor degree last summer. My whole adult life I was living in this and I thought, that assigning to unit after university will be something, what will finally fullfill my life. I passed selection for above-average combat unit and joined it as an officer.
But since this I feel my life is getting worse and worse. I moved to city I work in and rent my first own flat. Anyway I am very homebound and everytime it´s possible I travel to my home city (80 miles) where my girl and good friends are. First months it was big challenge to do the work, I struggled and had a good feeling. But last few months I can´t stand it here. The system is too bad to do work with healthy mind and there are many toxic coworkers around.
I am totally burnt out, I almost decided to quit, everyday of this week I force myself to tell my boss, but I can´t find courage.
My view of life also changed this forum. I want some progress in life and found out, that only progress I can do here in the army is to shut up and kiss someones ass. I don´t give a damn about military career. I only entered for maximum period of my contract, which is 6 years, just to gain experience. But I feel, that after 13 months, it has nothing to offer me anymore. I even lost passion for the basic things for this job. Before, I loved to do sports, going to nature and so on. But now I can´t enjoy it anymore and foce myself to do that.
I dream about coming back to my city, building family with my girl and getting a job or starting some bussiness. But I don´t know how. My whole life I was programmed like.. do the good school, get a job and do it forever. That sounds ridiculous for me now, but I don´t know anything about civilian life and what can I offer to them. I know, that there´s strong competetion, because of money and people act bad. And I thought army will be different, but here it´s the same, people behave horribly to each other and actually without any real reason, there´s no profit. The most of the jobs offered are technical type or "talk poor people into some siht and then you will get some money". I can´t do that. I basically know something about everything and have very wide knowledge, but I am not professional in any area, that could feed me.
Civilian sallary is also much smaller than military. And in the end, I would have to pay for my unfinished contract - at this moment 8 times average net sallary in this country. I would be able to pay this even with some badly paid job, because I could work as club security on weekends. But I at least want to live better than majority of citizens without education and some higher goals. I do have higher goals and I am willing to do something for them, not just flow in some system. And once, I will have to do it, jump into the river and swim in it. And I feel the sooner I do it, the better for me.

Of course, there are positions and other units in the army, where I could be probably doing well with clear head. The problem is, that they don´t let anybody leave the unit. There´s only unit I could join, which is so far, that there wouldn´t be point to go to home city, which is crucial for me (and assigning to that unit is punishment for soldiers). I thought I could start new life anywhere else, but I don´t want to change my beautiful region and big city for some small abandoned town, where half of the citizens are trash and the other half are burnt out soldiers.

I just needed to get it out of myself, any opinion appreciated.

[Unfadable]

The military experience varies wildly by unit/position and it sounds like you are stuck in some shitty staff position or something and are homesick. The only answer here is to suck it up and drive on until you can make a move. No one is going to care about your career or personal growth more than you are, so you have to get out of whatever rut you are in make something happen. You could start by talking to your supervisor and/or behavioral health to get some perspective on shit, but they are probably not going to tell you want to hear.

You say you want to make progress in life, but tucking your tail between your legs and walking away from all the hard work you have done to this point, just to go back to where you came from, with the same people you have known, sounds like the opposite to me. There are a lot of cool assignments and places that are probably better than your hometown, but it will all look like ass if you keep the same attitude you have.

[Kona]

It doesn't sound like you are in the United States Army, correct?

Just keep your head up, and when you are finished apply what you've learned to the real world.

Also, you are only 80 miles from home. When I was in the navy I'd have killed to be 80 miles from home. Just get a car.

Hang in there.

Aloha!

[DarkTriad]

Vets go to the top of the list on lots Civil Service exams. Get an 80k a year part time job as a firefighter, and figure out what you want to do from there. If you're still bitter about not having the opportunity to command men in action, find a quality police Department (some of them actually do pay well), rise up the ranks, and lead men into action. Heck leading men into fire as a fire captain may be the same for you.

Don't get to hung up on the disappointments of your military career, most civilians aren't even going to remotely understand this stuff (their whole job, including the one you're applying for, is paperwork). You could polish a turd and make it sound cool to them. Just telling them you were a US army officer is already going to check the "Leader" box for them in a big way.

Don't be defensive about anything, just make it sound cool, and turn your negatives into positives. It will help you internally as well.

[DarkTriad]

Heck, even move someplace warm and take a postal job, walk around in the sun every day until u figure out what works for u.

[Numbers Man]

Military service takes you on an extreme emotional roller coaster ride, some days are great, while the flip side is frankly depressing. Are you able to re muster (change category / mos)? If so look at those opportunities, as another five years in a role you hate will eat you up. In the short term, try to find something to make you happy.

Chin up mate.

[choichoi]

Read OP's stuff above then skimmed through the rest - that sucks. I completed 4 yrs of active in the Us Army (4 yr E-4, Hoaah!), one tour in A-stan and now I teach English in China. I am also going to school for another foreign language B.A. (Chinese), using my 9/11 GI Bill of course!

OP, I say you go teach overseas. China has alot of opportunities. You can stack some cash and then head into a field that is more to your liking.