Current Events > Do you guys have a college degree?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Xenogears15 posted...

No, I work in government. Not federal, unfortunately.

so federal is much better? why don't you try, federal?

GranTurismo posted...

so federal is much better? why don't you try, federal?

Federal government employment is one of the best jobs you can have in the US, period. Due to that, the competition is insane. I'm staying at my governmental level because the pay is great, and I'm too old now to start over in a new pension system; I've made my bed and now I gotta lie in it. It's not so bad though, as I'm slated to make over 100k in a few years, and the pension is generous.

Xenogears15 posted...

Federal government employment is one of the best jobs you can have in the US, period. Due to that, the competition is insane. I'm staying at my governmental level because the pay is great, and I'm too old now to start over in a new pension system; I've made my bed and now I gotta lie in it. It's not so bad though, as I'm slated to make over 100k in a few years, and the pension is generous.

use like u.s postal service considered that? the competition to work at the local post office is great? too old to start over, you wanna say how old you are? cause i kinda wanna change career fields.

GranTurismo posted...

use like u.s postal service considered that? the competition to work at the local post office is great? too old to start over, you wanna say how old you are? cause i kinda wanna change career fields.

The USPS may be one of the exceptions, but it takes time to put in dues and the work is backbreaking. No thanks. Besides, my work experience is in clerical stuff. That being said, if you can hack it, eventually it's better than even UPS.

Xenogears15 posted...

The USPS may be one of the exceptions, but it takes time to put in dues and the work is backbreaking. No thanks. Besides, my work experience is in clerical stuff. That being said, if you can hack it, eventually it's better than even UPS.

really? so like what is mostly considered a federal job? i'm drawing a blank. Or what part of it employs the most people

GranTurismo posted...

really? so like what is mostly considered a federal job? i'm drawing a blank. Or what part of it employs the most people

Military
USPS
Probably the VA but they only hire veterans nowadays
National Geological Service

MrResetti posted...

Military
USPS
Probably the VA but they only hire veterans nowadays
National Geological Service

FBI and other alphabet soup law enforcement/intelligence agencies

Congress + aides (I think?)

Various clerical staffing at multiple federal agencies (someone has to push the paper...)

MrResetti posted...

Military
USPS
Probably the VA but they only hire veterans nowadays
National Geological Service

so most military you get a pension? is it a large pension?

GranTurismo posted...

so most military you get a pension? is it a large pension?

Sorry I thought you were asking who employs the most.

No, you have to actually retire to get a pension so most people don't. It's like 50% active duty pay though so if you make it there it's great.

MrResetti posted...

Sorry I thought you were asking who employs the most.

No, you have to actually retire to get a pension so most people don't. It's like 50% active duty pay though so if you make it there it's great.

but for how many yrs service do you need to accumulate in military for that though? yeah so maybe long time military is like much better than something like walmart or mcdonalds

Smallville posted...

did you have trouble with them hiring you with that degree? many employers are picky

I hit the job market in the early 90's, things were a lot different then.

ItsNotA2Mer posted...

I hit the job market in the early 90's, things were a lot different then.

yeah i guess so. Sadly with degree stuff maybe employers are much much more tough now, sad.

MrResetti posted...

Sorry I thought you were asking who employs the most.

No, you have to actually retire to get a pension so most people don't. It's like 50% active duty pay though so if you make it there it's great.

Used to be, under the new system (which anyone who joined after 2017 is automatically enrolled into) it's only 40% (2% per year served) of whatever base pay you had when you get out, if you get out at 20 years.

So at minimum, for Enlisted, retiring an E-6 with 20 years, your base pay would be 4,856.40. 40% of that would be 1942.56 a month, least before taxes. probably around $1400-1500.

however most people doing 20(+) years hit at least E-7 and as of the moment, they're keeping Senior NCOs and Officers around because systemic recruitment issues, so they're not even letting people retire at 20. Which means you'll be serving more than 20. <_< Not holding everybody but I've heard retiring is definitely not guaranteed at the moment.

Yes, it is legal because once you're an E-6 who has served for more than 10 years, your next contract will be an indefinite contract (which you don't have to sign) which is exactly what it sounds like. You serve without a guaranteed/definitive end to service. Now, there are existing mechanisms like maximum years for certain ranks(pay grades), but if push came to shove those can be extended or ignored.

Yes, I have two bachelors degrees.

BA in English

I was bit slow on getting my degree due to financial reasons. Classes werent hard, but I didnt make use of anything to actually find a job I can
grow in and screwed myself over.

I like my acronym.

B.Ling

Bachler of Linguistics

Considering moving on to philology or masters, but I wanna do that abroad in Oslo or Dublin anyway. Sadly N.Ireland is part of the UK so that rules out staying with my family in Belfast lol.

LonelyStoner posted...

The fuck? How?

Had a buddy I met in college offer me a job as a simple manual/regression tester while I was looking for a teaching gig. It pretty quickly became obvious that I would be better utilized for writing test scripts.
I stayed with the company because the pay was good, and they were offering to foot the bill for coding, DB management and MS certs, (which I took advantage of).
Eventually, I just stayed and had no desire to leave. Ended up coding for automation for many years, became super familiar with their systems, and eventually became a systems engineer. Spent 25 years with that company.

I just finished up a BS in Cybersecurity in January. Didn't take long once I started. Used military benefits for it.

dummy420 posted...

I just finished up a BS in Cybersecurity in January. Didn't take long once I started. Used military benefits for it.

oh like g.i. bill is still a great deal?

GranTurismo posted...

oh like g.i. bill is still a great deal?

I actually used active duty tuition assistance. GI bill is still pretty great though especially now that they have housing allowances. I wish I transferred some to my wife because I didn't know you could transfer a partial GI bill to family but it's to late for that.

dummy420 posted...

I actually used active duty tuition assistance. GI bill is still pretty great though especially now that they have housing allowances. I wish I transferred some to my wife because I didn't know you could transfer a partial GI bill to family but it's to late for that.

Yeah, TA is nice.

Between the courses I took before I joined, the military schools I've attended being counted as college courses with my Joint Service Transcript, and my TA, I won't have paid a dime of my own money towards tuition for my associate's and I can go all the way up to a Bachelor's with it.

dummy420 posted...

I actually used active duty tuition assistance. GI bill is still pretty great though especially now that they have housing allowances. I wish I transferred some to my wife because I didn't know you could transfer a partial GI bill to family but it's to late for that.

are the 2 almost the same? do they cover all college costs?

Tried Community College... Failed every class I took... Decided College wasn't for me...

DoubleOSnake posted...

are the 2 almost the same? do they cover all college costs?

Tuition assistance is only $4K a year. Some schools offer military rates, like $250 a credit hour, so it can go pretty far, up to like 16 credit hours a year.

Its specifically for tuition though. Other costs would be self paid, but most colleges that are the most military friendly, in terms of course requirement demands and schedule flexibility, are online or distance learning. I haven't had any specific costs outside of tuition, but all my stuff has been online

wackyteen posted...

Tuition assistance is only $4K a year. Some schools offer military rates, like $250 a credit hour, so it can go pretty far, up to like 16 credit hours a year.

Its specifically for tuition though. Other costs would be self paid, but most colleges that are the most military friendly, in terms of course requirement demands and schedule flexibility, are online or distance learning. I haven't had any specific costs outside of tuition, but all my stuff has been online

oh no books, room and board stuff like that? and if tuition is over 4k it won't cover that part?

random_man9119 posted...

Tried Community College... Failed every class I took... Decided College wasn't for me...

and community college classes are kinda notoriously easy, right?

DoubleOSnake posted...

and community college classes are kinda notoriously easy, right?

Yeah, you have to basically not do any of your work and not show up for exams to fail community college

DoubleOSnake posted...

oh no books, room and board stuff like that? and if tuition is over 4k it won't cover that part?

well its for active duty, chances of you getting to go to a college in person are exceedingly slim, so room and board or food wouldn't apply. Any classes you'd go to in person would be after work (5 pm/1700 most units) and the Army/military already provides you a place to live (or the money to afford a place to live).

Books would be on you.

Anything over $4,000 is on you as well.

It doesn't sound like a lot but if you space it out, it'll last the year and you won't have such a class workload that you're burning yourself out.

Euripides posted...

Yeah, you have to basically not do any of your work and not show up for exams to fail community college

yeah how did that guy pull that off? it's like h.s.,? easier?

wackyteen posted...

well its for active duty, chances of you getting to go to a college in person are exceedingly slim, so room and board or food wouldn't apply. Any classes you'd go to in person would be after work (5 pm/1700 most units) and the Army/military already provides you a place to live (or the money to afford a place to live).

Books would be on you.

Anything over $4,000 is on you as well.

It doesn't sound like a lot but if you space it out, it'll last the year and you won't have such a class workload that you're burning yourself out.

only if active military? isn't g.i. bill for former miltary? you might spend like over 35 yrs in the military, you ever seen combat or anything close to it?

Euripides posted...

Yeah, you have to basically not do any of your work and not show up for exams to fail community college

I dropped out of college and joined the Army, in part, because I wasn't disciplined enough to do the work lol <__<

DoubleOSnake posted...

only if active military? isn't g.i. bill for former miltary? you might spend like over 35 yrs in the military, you ever seen combat or anything close to it?

My understanding is only active military, or for reserve/national guard that are on active duty orders (ie a deployment or rotation away from the States).

Unless you're a General/Admiral or Sergeant Major of the Army/other branch equivalent (only one of those at a time), you likely won't spend more than 32 years in the military. Some exceptions out there, but not the rule.

I haven't seen combat personally, but I have been part of the support unit for a unit that fought in the Battle of Mosul in 2016. I wasn't in Iraq though, just other members of my platoon were(only a few went).

so the g.i. bill is for guys that left military and they will pay for room and board?

The GI bill can be used when your still in or after you've seperated/retired and qualified to receive it. I think qualifiers for it are 3 years of service and a discharge that is above dishonorable and those are like felony convictions so you screwed up bad.

Tuition assistance is for when your active and up to 4500 a year for school. Like the other person said it's just for school but my last college did digital books that rolled that in to tuition so I was able to use that for all of my expenses except one class to stay on course for graduation. TA is a bit more restrictive and needs supervisor approval and no current disciplinary problems.

Euripides posted...

Yeah, you have to basically not do any of your work and not show up for exams to fail community college

You can also turn in bad work and fail every exam to fail too... I always showed up, I'm just an idiot...

Had to drop out senior year to support my mom who lost her job and never went back. 91 credits down the drain.

Makeveli_lives posted...

Had to drop out senior year to support my mom who lost her job and never went back. 91 credits down the drain.

They should still exist and you should be able to go back.

If you're worried about loss of skills, I'm sure they'd have some sort of remedial program you could go through.

wackyteen posted...

They should still exist and you should be able to go back.

If you're worried about loss of skills, I'm sure they'd have some sort of remedial program you could go through.

Depends on where you live. Im reading that in the US they stay valid but colleges in The Netherlands let them expire after 5-10 years.

dummy420 posted...

The GI bill can be used when your still in or after you've seperated/retired and qualified to receive it. I think qualifiers for it are 3 years of service and a discharge that is above dishonorable and those are like felony convictions so you screwed up bad.

Tuition assistance is for when your active and up to 4500 a year for school. Like the other person said it's just for school but my last college did digital books that rolled that in to tuition so I was able to use that for all of my expenses except one class to stay on course for graduation. TA is a bit more restrictive and needs supervisor approval and no current disciplinary problems.

felony convictions? don't the army want to handle all that stuff in military court like court martials anyway? for active military they don't want to go through the local prosecuter..etc...

College dropout here

I have a theoretical degree in physics

GranTurismo posted...

felony convictions? don't the army want to handle all that stuff in military court like court martials anyway? for active military they don't want to go through the local prosecuter..etc...

Yeah its all UCMJ but ive always heard it as the equivalent of a felony. Most times I hear of it happening are drug or sexual assault type of things.

Just wrapped up a MA in American History.. I'll be graduating in a few months.. thankfully its all over. I highly doubt I go any higher than my MA.

Have a BA in Poli Sci and an MPA

Dropped out 12 credits before finishing.

I'm in IT and have several certifications. Didn't need a degree.

Idk, I may go back to finish since I'm only 12 credits away. But I also may not bother. I'm in my career making good money, so it's not like I really need it now. TBH I kind of regret the money I did spend on college, could have saved thousands....

dummy420 posted...

Yeah its all UCMJ but ive always heard it as the equivalent of a felony. Most times I hear of it happening are drug or sexual assault type of things.

Why does military not like going through regular courts, do the ever?

Got me a Master's in Physics last semester and it's on to the PhD now.

GranTurismo posted...

Why does military not like going through regular courts, do the ever?

Depends on the situation, but they can and do, especially if it happens off-post of involving a civilian.

Master's in chemical engineering, currently working towards my PhD

wackyteen posted...

Depends on the situation, but they can and do, especially if it happens off-post of involving a civilian.

mostly i read that they like doing military courts. Not sure if it is a very high percentage or what makes them choose one or the other, or if the general decides which