If you could do it over again.

I was lucky enough to join straight into the military as EOD and got out with all of my limbs, I now work the civilian side doing the exact same job but know it's something that can't be a life long career. Any time I think about what jobs to work in after this I always start looking at jobs in the energy fields, those are only going to become increasingly more important.
 
Yeah, its outdated the next week..lol


If you can't walk my beat unarmed, maybe you should consider becoming a police officer.
 
Philip *AZ* said:
Xray Tech! That would be a great job. I got out after 9yrs. Im a Detention Officer now.
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Berzerker said:
I looked into it but the programs are so competitive that they only take 10% of applicants that apply. So Voc rehab wont pay for it.
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I work in medical and have seen all angles of employment there. IF I were to do it all over again, and If the waiting list to get into school, and IF the job market wasnt so packed with people trying to get a job after school.....I would do Radiology, Ultrasound, or Nuclear med tech any day of the week! Great jobs!

But personally I would be a heli pilot :rock:
 
StrizzyChris said:
I work in medical and have seen all angles of employment there. IF I were to do it all over again, and If the waiting list to get into school, and IF the job market wasnt so packed with people trying to get a job after school.....I would do Radiology, Ultrasound, or Nuclear med tech any day of the week! Great jobs!

But personally I would be a heli pilot :rock:
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ultrasound pays well. not many jobs in nuc med though. even the huge hospitals only have 1-3 nuc med techs, and they are there forever. Great pay though. Radiology is a good field. Nursing is even better if you dont mind that kind of work. They have a strong union and make very goo pay. Basically anything in the medical field is an excellent choice. There is no ups and downs. its not based on the economy or stock market or any other bs. its just there and always will be. the more people the more business too. it is also 24 hours which makes more jobs available.

op: i would try to get into a VA job, or VA hospital. you will get credit for your active duty and will be able to retire sooner. Plus they hire veterans with disabilities all day long. You will get priority in job selection. If you cant do math radiology and nursing is out. FYI I have a B.S. Radiologic Science.

good luck!
 
I'm a cop and absolutely love love love love my "career".... I've been in Law enforcement for 8 years now... the biggest drawback (in the southeast anyways) is the rediculously low pay. entry level "good" pay would put you at 30-33k per year here in GA anything above that is a blessing but those jobs are hard to come by as ppl here don't leave them. The only thing I hate about my job is the pay. A bachelors degree will help a cop make an average of 5% more on their salary.... if your hard up on living out the cop career... degrees are pretty much useless in this area unfortunately.

In my town we have Warner Robins air force base and they hire a crapload of civies and contractors, alot of prior military tech MOS ppl.

Lots of software programmers and computer engineers, they are paid VERY VERY well. My ex had a bachelors in computer programming and she is a contractor on the base, I she racked in just under 80k back in 2011. Thats great money for this region.
 
I think a conservation officer would be a good field to look into, especially if you can get a National Park job. You'll be in the GS system which hold a lot of the same benefits as when you served. You can also put the time you served in the military towards retirement so you'll only have 8 years until you can retire.
 
White_JKU said:
I'm a cop and absolutely love love love love my "career".... I've been in Law enforcement for 8 years now... the biggest drawback (in the southeast anyways) is the rediculously low pay. entry level "good" pay would put you at 30-33k per year here in GA anything above that is a blessing but those jobs are hard to come by as ppl here don't leave them. The only thing I hate about my job is the pay. A bachelors degree will help a cop make an average of 5% more on their salary.... if your hard up on living out the cop career... degrees are pretty much useless in this area unfortunately.

In my town we have Warner Robins air force base and they hire a crapload of civies and contractors, alot of prior military tech MOS ppl.

Lots of software programmers and computer engineers, they are paid VERY VERY well. My ex had a bachelors in computer programming and she is a contractor on the base, I she racked in just under 80k back in 2011. Thats great money for this region.
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my sister works for the LASD. she makes over 6 figures, but has a bachelor's in criminal justice and a master's in community policing and is a sgt. It helps to be a female though too. her husband left the LASD to work as a DA investigator and makes over 6 figures with an associates degree. my father is retired from the lasd and DA's office. he too made over 6 figures but has a master's in criminal justice. guess it depends on where you work. cops out here make bank. degrees help here and make advancement much easier and faster.
 
rtguy1 said:
my sister works for the LASD. she makes over 6 figures, but has a bachelor's in criminal justice and a master's in community policing and is a sgt. It helps to be a female though too. her husband left the LASD to work as a DA investigator and makes over 6 figures with an associates degree. my father is retired from the lasd and DA's office. he too made over 6 figures but has a master's in criminal justice. guess it depends on where you work. cops out here make bank. degrees help here and make advancement much easier and faster.
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sounds like a pedigree doesnt hurt either
 
rtguy1 said:
my sister works for the LASD. she makes over 6 figures, but has a bachelor's in criminal justice and a master's in community policing and is a sgt. It helps to be a female though too. her husband left the LASD to work as a DA investigator and makes over 6 figures with an associates degree. my father is retired from the lasd and DA's office. he too made over 6 figures but has a master's in criminal justice. guess it depends on where you work. cops out here make bank. degrees help here and make advancement much easier and faster.
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Yeah thats the big advantage out west... here... law enforcement is blue collar as you can get... communities and local governments do not see the need to pay officers much at all... hell the state's investigations bureau, GBI, entries at 36k.. LOL

Id have to be cheif of police at a very large department to end up a 6 figure salary anywhere in GA.

IN FACT.. the dispatchers make more than the cops do LOL.... GED is only requirement.
 
White_JKU said:
Yeah thats the big advantage out west... here... law enforcement is blue collar as you can get... communities and local governments do not see the need to pay officers much at all... hell the state's investigations bureau, GBI, entries at 36k.. LOL

Id have to be cheif of police at a very large department to end up a 6 figure salary anywhere in GA.

IN FACT.. the dispatchers make more than the cops do LOL.... GED is only requirement.
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man thats not fair when you have to put your life on the line dealing with the whack jobs out in the world. you could always move out this way, but then you'd have to deal with us crazy califonians!:crazyeyes::sFun_tease:
 
rtguy1 said:
man thats not fair when you have to put your life on the line dealing with the whack jobs out in the world. you could always move out this way, but then you'd have to deal with us crazy califonians!:crazyeyes::sFun_tease:
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Im actually originally from california and all of my family still lives there... I refuse to live in california due to personal political views and the gun control issue in the state. I sure wouod like the money but im not trading my rights for a better paycheck.
 
Berzerker said:
The Va has me on track for transfer to the forestry program at CSU. The problem is it only pays like 34k a year and with my my medical condition im not sure that I can do the math required for a bachelors in forestry.
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Personally I would worry less about the pay and more about what type of environment you would like to be in. If outdoors is your thing, then forestry is definitely one of the paths you can take. In regards to the math part of it, you could probably get by with a cheat sheet and some good notes, possibly some tutoring as well to help you work around any roadblocks your injury may be causing. It won't be easy, but since it is something you have to live with, it would be best to learn how to work around it now so you are better prepared later. Quite often, instructors are more willing to work with you when they know the circumstances.

Look at entry level jobs for the Forest Service, or at the state level (here in Washington state, it is the Department of Natural Resources that takes care of our forests).

Also check out the national park service and what requirements they have for different types of jobs. And there are a lot of different types of jobs. Everything from interpretive guide, to law enforcement.

If you are physically fit, I'm sure there are companies looking for guides to take people down rivers on a raft, hiking in the mountains, anything where the average person would need to be babysat through their experience they just paid for. Jeep trail guide in Moab comes to mind.

As for the money part. I had a jeep I went wheelin' with when I worked at McDonalds. It wasn't awesomely built, and it wasn't pretty, but I found a way to make it happen on $3.25/hr in the early 80's. Not saying having a decent paying job doesn't help, but if you want it bad enough, you will figure out a way to make it happen.

Hope this helps.
 
Hmm I seem to be a little late here but your location says Colorado, have you concidered maybe looking into one of the goverment contractors out there? They usually love previous military experience no matter what it was.
 
bl17z90 said:
Hmm I seem to be a little late here but your location says Colorado, have you concidered maybe looking into one of the goverment contractors out there? They usually love previous military experience no matter what it was.
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The problem with that is if you don't load a degree into the education page of USA jobs the computer won't load it into the system.
 
Hey fellow BHS Alumni, first off Big Mahalo for your service to this Great Nation. Having Retired from the Army and now being in Law Enforcement, I would say if I had to do it over I would look into Mortuary affairs. I don't know if the VA has this type of training on the voc rehab side but if using the GI Bill you can get the training and get paid to go to school. For some it may be a bit morbid but it is a field that is required and needed.
 
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