so I have a cross road in my life where there's 2 life changing choices - each have their benefits and each have their downsides

I'm sorry I'm always posting in the serious discussion thread with whiny threads and whatnot I just have no one to rant to in real life any more


okay so I'm a highschool drop out so my career choices are limited - I do plan on getting my G.E.D eventually but it's not possible right now

option 1

my current workplace - I work at Home Depot part time right now. in a month I can move up to full-time, and in 3 months I'll be elgible for full benefits package (dental, eyecare, healthcare, all that shit). the pay is alright, I love the job, the people I work with and it's super close to where I live

so in short

pros:
close to home, good benefits, good enviroment, awesome people to work with, awesome job

cons:
it's not a career, it's a job, nothing long-term in mind


option 2

the forces. I passed in an application 2 weeks ago and they called me 2 weeks earlier than their normal call-back time and scheduled a final interview/aptitude test/medical exam for me. THIS is a career, this could be a job I am in for the rest of my life if I wanted. the military is an excellent employer and has full benefits for all their troops along with very nice pay. the training is about 2-5 years depending on which of my chosen positions i get

pros:
career, awesome pay, fun job, get to see the world, training/schooling is all paid for

cons:
always away from home, no real time to settle down for the next couple of years, no real time to have social interactions as I'll always be busy



WHAT DO

I'm fine with either TBH

slayer!

thank you cyrus i will reflect on your advice as it has influenced my decision greatly

I guess you can look at it as... If for some reason neither profession is making you happy after say.. 1-2 years (I'm not sure if the forces require you to stay for so many years), what will you have at the end of it?

Home depo you'll have experience working in retail, with probably not a lot more else unless you attend training/skills courses or seminars to increase your skills. Or, if you really like the kind of work, will this job enable you to either work your way up within the business or enable you to have the desired experience to get a job that you like for the same reasons?

Will joining the forces, based on the types of skills and duties you get, give you more beneficial skills and experience IF you decide to do something else?
And don't forget that with the forces it's likely you'll be able to travel, meet new people, and you should also get similar healthcare, insurance, tax benefits etc (not sure how they work specifically).

Stepping out of the comfort zone and being a long way from home can be very challenging, however it can still be a very significant life experience and very rewarding, and the good thing is that you don't have to stay away forever. Even if you don't want to do it for a long time, you can still come back and at least say "I got out there and experienced something different."
Come to think of it, I think forces can help you finish school too? I'm not sure about that or if they have restrictions on it :s

The force is pretty beneficial to what they offer.

Soldiers in the military are very honorable men.

nick has had fantasies about army men?

Wouldn't be surprised.

Something about a man in a uniform...
Well, i guess not everyone relates to that...

very strong points, Esh. you pretty much spoke what I was thinking in the back of my mind.

I guess I'll stick to the Military, and hell, if that doesn't work out, I guess I can go back to Home Depot.

I don't really want to be any older than 25 and still working at a retail store - Military is a good long term career that I'd be proud to say I'm part of at any age

eshtaol wrote:Something about a man in a uniform...
Well, i guess not everyone relates to that...

Quite simple. Would you rather die a hero getting shot in Afghanistan or die a laughing stock when some crates fall over and crush you?


*Not saying that will happen, but its good to plan ahead*

everything just got fucked up I knew moving back in with my parents was a bad idea

my step dad starts fights with me while my mom isn't around because he knows I get mad easily and now she's kicking me out

I'm incredibly biased against military, I would recommend not joining, but I'm not going to go any deeper into it because it will just cause arguments.

I'd join the forces. The American forces are a life changing experience.

Hope Depot will be here 50 years from now. (I SHOP THERE )

Baroness Nic wrote:

eshtaol wrote:Something about a man in a uniform...
Well, i guess not everyone relates to that...

Quite simple. Would you rather die a hero getting shot in Afghanistan or die a laughing stock when some crates fall over and crush you?


*Not saying that will happen, but its good to plan ahead*

I'd rather not have to kill people to be deemed this 'hero'. But that's neither here nor there.

You'll have to take that up with society in general then.

Other "heroes" get less recognition in the street.

For instance, a man who attacked someone who was robbing his house in the middle of the night got jailed for assault, and the thief only got community service.

Justice is fucked.

Yeah, and there is that one where someone was breaking into a house by climbing through the window over the sink and cut themselves on a knife there, they sued them for having an unsafe home or something and won in court.

Only in America. >.>

I like how everyone hates america yet has never been here nor knows anything about us.

america isn't that bad of a place, just the stupidity overthrows anything good they do

I'm going to go with the Forces provided the interview goes well. I don't want to be 45 working at Home Depot

Actually, the event i was talking about happened in Britain, Penguin.

Baroness Nic wrote:Actually, the event i was talking about happened in Britain, Penguin.

Was that on a farm? I remember a similar story a while back (All I can remember is that it was on a farm >_>)

The one I was thinking of was in some town I think.

Sky, do you have to change the colour of your posts to white? The grey was chosen because the white is too contrasting to the background so it's easier to read, I actually can't read your posts without hurting my eyes. >.<

Mmm, option two...most likely get shot.

Option one most likely back injury.

Go to tafe, invest, learn the ropes to something beneficial to your life.