OK follks, here's the gig. I just found out that I may very likely be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill. I would like to go back to school. Either vocational or traditional. I will have 36 months of tuition benefits plus a housing allowance. Getting paid to go to school can't be all bad. Here's the rundown on where I am in all of this:

I am 47 yrs old
I retired from the Air Force after 9442 days (25y 10m 1w)
I entered the AF as an Electronic Warfare Tech
I retrained into the Training and Education Management field
I have an AAS in Educational and Instructional Technology
I have a BS in Avionics Technology
I have a MS in Instructional Technology

You may be asking yourself "why is this guy looking to go back to school?" Well, where I live in South Central NY, there isn't any call for my skills. They are too specific to the military. I am a "victim" of the Air Force's penchant to "specialize in specializing".

While I enjoy the human interaction side of things. Additionally, I enjoy project oriented things such as home improvement, electricity, plumbing, etc. I am a pretty fair teacher/instructor, based on all the student critiques I received while I was in the Air Force. I happen to also know that the healthcare field is exploding.

So, with all that baggage, any suggestions?

After looking at your background and training I say go up to RPI and get a masters in technical communications. With that you can write instruction manuals for equipment or software (either "in house" of freelance), write for technical magazines or websites, become an instructor/trainer for a company, etc...

My wife did this, it took her a year to get the degree (she entered with a BA in English). Once she graduated she started her own business doing freelance writing of instructional manuals for different manufacturing companies. That lead to a permenant position with one of them. She originally planned on going back to it when the kids got older but she found that the same skills made her a great homeschooler. She's now using those skills to create homeschooling "classes" for other families. Unfortunately, she doesn't charge anything for them.

Anyway, just a thought.

-Blast

Thanks Blast.

I think Blast's suggestion is an excellent one.

Your history isn't baggage, it's life experience. It means you can walk into a situation and pick up the key points very quickly.

I've been making my living at this sort of thing for nearly two decades. A few key lessons I've learned:

1. Your network is everything.
2. Your network is everything. There are six degrees of separation between people who trust your work and every potential client on Earth.
3. Feed your network beer and hot wings, on a regular basis, and it will feed you.
4. Deliver what you promise, unless you are dead.
5. Under-promise and over-deliver.
6. Agree on a recognized standard at the start of a project (Chicago Manual of Style is good for tech writing). You'd be surprised at the extensive peeing matches regarding the serial (Oxford) comma.
7. Make the client look good.
8. A job is always worth more to the client before it's done as opposed to after.
9. Put agreements in writing. If it's not in writing, it doesn't exist. Good paper makes good friends.
10. Be pleasant in negotiations, but always be prepared to walk.
11. If things are going sideways on a project (personalities, other fatal B.S.), withdraw as gracefully as you can without screwing others. Use the excuse "given these factors, I don't think I can add value, so I think it's best for the project that I withdraw." Always take the high road. Bad news about problematic contractors travels faster than light.
12. If you're subcontracting (happens a lot), always dance with the one who brung ya.

Good luck!
Doug

Thanks Doug.

Well Said Doug, valuable information for many life situations.

Mike

It isn't baggage, first. If you go back to school, you have a major leg up.

Second, do you NEED to go back to school? Sounds like your background is great for a technical trainer as it is.

Since you're on a preparedness board, you could consider a degree in Emergency Management. It's multi-disciplinary and you sound like you have a wealth of personal life experience that can be used in the field. I could see you being specialized in communications in general (print, visual, and radio). Your training background would be invaluable. The military background could be useful in "homeland security" (which I consider a subset of EM) if you so desire.

This field is not limited to government positions, as you may find work in the business sector in "business continuity", something that you should be familiar with in the military after 25 years as Continuity of Operations. With 25 years, you are probably pretty good at navigating the world of interpersonal relations and can get what you need.

Thanks Mike.

Thanks Ironraven. You've asked a good question about the need to go back to school. The situation is that I have been back in my home area of NY (Binghamton/Johnson City area) for almost a year now. Nothing has turned up in the technical training/ tech writer arena. So, I looking to broaden a bit. In general I'm not that enthralled with the tech writing idea. Hangin' out behind a computer more time than not would drive me buggy. I did have a thought of possibly going to be a physical therapy assistant. I would get to around a variety of people on a daily basis. Also, I would get to help them improve their lives. It is a two year program. It would allow some extra benefit to get some training/education through the local vo-tech; maybe HVAC, Electricity, Welding, Culinary, something. Again, thank you.

Thanks ki4buc. Good idea on the EM. I'll scour the local university and community college for programs.

EM isn't as prevalent as some other program, so you may have to look for programs that are online. Online is good in that you don't have to physically attend a campus, but it requires more discipline to get things done. They may appear to be flexible, but most programs have some sort of mandatory lecture time. You also could benefit with lower tuition.

First, please allow me to say thanks for your service to our country.

In response to your question, I would suggest going to a local community college and making a visit to their career counseling department. I'm getting the feeling that you want to do something different but aren't quite sure what. Please correct me if I am wrong. I'm in a similar boat as you (although my career is not in the military). I am 47 as well and I have spent over 24 years as an electronics test engineer at my company and I just needed a change. Mid life crisis, boredom, you fill in the blank. I went to the local community college and took a very long interest and aptitudes survey. Turns out that I need a high tech kind of field with more people interaction. I chose nursing as the one to best fit the bill. I'm graduating one month from today with my degree. Based on my clinical rotations and how much I have enjoyed it, it was the right thing to do. Hope this helps.

LW

LW,

Thank you for the kind words.

Your assumptions are correct. I am looking for a change. Right now I am looking at Physical Therapy Assistant through the local community college. Hands on, helping people, not too much time at a desk, not too much time on my feet. You get the idea.

I will visit the college for the aptitude survey. I'm sure it will turn up like the others I have taken. As long as it is not strictly administrative I usually get told "you can do anything you want". Therein lies the problem. I don't know what I really want to do if I grow up. Midlife crisis? Maybe.

Finally, congratulations on your upcoming graduation.

Again, thank you for the kind words.

Here's an update.....

Too late for the PTA program. I'm going to the fallback option. I am going to take the Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) 1-year certificate course at a local college. Having been in the military I have been a round alot of non-English speakers and have managed to get thoughts across OK. I spent one whole military course (4-weeks) basically interpreting for a Turkish captain. He and I managed to pass the course. (He couldn't have failed anyway; he would have been shot or hung upon return for "disgracing his country".)

Since I already have my Master's I can just take the concentration courses and "attach" the certificate to my Master's. During the year I'll also try to set-up the other things for the PTA course.

Thanks to all for their encouraging words and great advice.

Here's another update:

I am fully enrolled in the TESL certificate program. I suffered through Freshmen Orientation. They managed to jam 45 minutes of information into three hours and 45 minutes.

This course of study is going to stretch me quite a bit. One of my classes has to be independent study due to scheduling issues. The class is College-level TESL and Business Writing. One of the requirements is that I perform as a teaching assistant in Freshman Composition. My skills in regards to picking apart a paper are minimal to non-existent. My panic was growing by the second as spoke with the department chair this morning. I hope to be able to pull a strong C or possibly a weak B in the course. We'll see.

On another subject: I checked into an Emergency-Disaster Preparedness Management program at Elmira College in Elmira, NY. The college is about 50 miles away from me. I'll give it some consideration over the next year.

That is all for now.

If PT assistant is interesting, consider RN program. There are 18 month accelerated bsn programs (NYU has one) and programs that admit non-nursing bachelors degree folks directly into a masters program (pace university has one). There are external degree aas programs (excelsior college, empire college) that let you do it all at home-get a job as a patient care tech at a local hospital and the nurses will help. The fed is about to pour a ton of money into health care, or leave it be-either way, it will continue to be a huge market-nurses are less scarce in the current economy than when times were better, and will be scarce again. You can spend as much or as little time with a computer as you choose, and you have a direct track to an 'informatics nurse systems analyst' gig, and every health care org will want to hire one-

nursemike,

Thank you for the input. I will see if Binghamton University has a program for non-majors. My goal is to be in-resident with my schooling. The new Post-9/11 GI Bill will pay me a living stipend if I am enrolled full-time in-residence for schooling. That is how I will be "employed" until the whole economy thing turns around a little. Again, thanks for the input and I will see what BU has available.

Here is the latest...

I have managed to slog out the semester. Being a TA in Freshman Comp I has stretched me quite a bit. I have learned how to grade a paper for content and grammar. The content is easy; the grammar has been a steep learning curve.

The most interesting event in the last week has been the chair of the department has asked for a portfolio from me. She is going to try and bring me on as an adjunct professor for the TESL program next fall. Imagine that, me teaching at the college level! We'll see if it pans out.

Interesting perspective- definitely pushes Master's over Bachelor's and life experience
Degrees Worth It?