Resolved Question

Right now i am on deployment to korea, and i am looking up my different options for careers once i am out of the military. I specialize in 14E/25F (patriot missiles) and (Communications) i have over 67 hours in college electives and could easily get my degree, but this is where my questions arises. What job do i go for, what are some good paying options that wont keep me from my wife and one day my children.

Electronics/computer fields may be coming back, but they are intensely vulnerable to the economy right now.

You and your wife need to get together and ask yourselves where you want to live, and that will give you some other options/limitations.

GET A DEGREE!! Sorry for shouting, but it's important. Rightly or wrongly, I have never worked with a human resources type who didn't look at your academic status in deciding whether or not you get in the door. All the degree can do is help get you in the arena. What you can do for the organization will get you into that job.

You have a better chance than a lot of former military types used to have. More and more employers take your leadership/supervision/self-discipline skills into account.

Realize the job you start with is pretty much guaranteed NOT to be the job you will finish up with. You'll probably have 5-8 jobs, most likely in 2 or more career fields. What a college education gives you is the skills you'll need to analyze the changes in the job market, learn what you need in order to get into the new jobs, have some way to show prospective employers what you can do.

From personal experience, please PLEASE do not make decisions about your future while on an unaccompanied tour of duty. Give it at least 6 months after you get back. Talk about your options between now and then, but take the time to get perspective. Last item: don't neglect the transition resources available at your home station. You might even be able to get some transition data where you're at. The more data you have, the better chance you have at making a good decision. Above all, talk everything over with your wife. The issues and effects are just too big not to tackle the task as a team.

Good luck. I've been there. It can turn out well.