Glad
 

I am glad that you have got it all figured out then. No doubt you will succeed where most others have had difficulty. If the day comes at least you will know that you have been briefed.

SkyHigh

To add, it is one thing to be blindsided in life, it is another when someone takes you by the hand and leads you to the wall to read the writing.

Lateral Moves
 

Pilot skills and experience have slim value beyond the company minimums and training investment. For the most part a new pilot regardless of experience is just another numbered meat sack to plug into the seat, nothing more and nothing less. An individual pilot is limited in their contribution to the company since they can only fly one plane at a time and the best they can do is to perform to the average of every other random line pilot. At some point experience becomes a detriment since past procedures and operating methods at previous employers can cloud the machine and discourage the establishment. Blank disks are better that re-written ones.

SkyHigh

"Meat sack".....love it......

Possibly. Every officer I ever talked to told me flat out to stay in school and get a degree. So i've got the mindset now that it is basically impossible(at least around here) to get a job without one.

A degree of some form, yes, and that is sound advice if Law Enforcement is something that you intend to pursue. It's just highly unusal to see folks with JD's kicking around. Anyway, I'm waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy off topic here, so I'm going to shut my fat trap now.....

Not impossible Brav but difficult. Your potential is limited. My current job is IT, specifically SatComm and IGX Switching. I can get a good job making good money with the certifications the military has given me and the OJT that i have, HOWEVER (big however) once in the door I am limited in my potential for growth. I will mostly be a field worker for the duration because without a degree I would be unable to move into middle to upper management. Most of the jobs in my field in the civilian sector are starting just under 100k per year with most making almost 200k a year because alot of my friends who got out of the Marines are right back out here in Iraq with me working along side me only as civilians contractors, same job better pay...but you have to be in Iraq for a year to make that. So the pay starts well but it will top off and leave you stranded without a degree for further advancement. Just my two cents on that topic NEXT.....

As far as military pension, SkyHigh is correct, you can join at 18 and retire at 38 however you are only looking at a 50 percent pension off of your higest paid year. The only time your pension starts to look ok is if you put in closer to 30, at that time you get 75 percent of your highest paid year. The only way to really go IMO is to be a Warrant Officer or a Commissioned Officer of course. If you do 30 years as a Commissioned Officer you are more than likely in the range of Colonel or Brigadier General and that pay is fairly respectable. Go to google and type in 2006 military pay chart and look at O8 pay at the 30year mark. Also the difference between an E7 enlisted pay and an CWO3 pay is something along the lines of 120k more over a 10 year period of retirement, so the officer route is clearly the way to go.

I have not met a Marine yet that has retired and actually retired. They are usually in their 40's and just start a second career, usually CHP or state or local police. One of my Chief Warrant Officer 5's just retired after 33 years and he works for a local telephone company out digging holes for poles and what not, so the pay is not enough to retire off of alone, you will need proper investment over the years. My plan that i have been working for 6 years now with my wife is Roth Iras and mutual funds and a few stocks. We put ten percent everymonth into investments to help fund our retirement because the only guaranteed pension is the one you fund yourself.

Just my oppinion on the matter. And yes a Commissioned Officer will tell you to get a degree because they are typically intelligent and educated.

Yeah, a 20-year military retirement is just a stipend to help your transition into the civilian world. Nobody (including officers) can really expect to live off of that alone unless you reside in a motor home.

I do know a few guys (ex-frogmen) who travel around from one outdoor action-adventure location to the next and collect their retirement via ATM machines. But I assume they'll get tired of that eventually and get a job.

Get a job working for Paul Allen, maybe?

http://www.yachtcrew-cv.com/paulallen.htm

Lucky bastards...

Lol 10 man submarine