Re-Up or become DOD Civilian?

Please tell me if I am wrong here:
-You are an 11X (just saw that you are a 25C but your profile said rifleman which confused me)
-You have not completed a degree, certifications, etc
-You have a family to support

Think about how this translates to the civlian World. The jobs that you will qualify for will likely not pay as well as you would like. The benefits are likely to cost you much more than what it takes to cover you and your family now.

Let's say you land a job out there paying $14 an hour (which would probably be a bit of a reach in most locales). Your monthly take home for 40 hours a week (with a 20% tax rate attempting to factor income tax, SS, etc that will be withdrawn) would be approximtaley $1,792 a month. Take out the cost of your medical benefits which will probably be between $200-300/month with coverages that are lower than what you have now. You might be able to get a cheaper plan, but it will be coming from your pay to afford it. Take rent, groceries, diapers, etc. out and you can see how slim the net income becomes after expenses. DOD civilian jobs can be a challenge to land and many people have to start off taking the lower paying ones just to get their foot in the door. This could reduce this. I know many who have taken DOD civlian jobs paying around $10 and hour just to land something and get their foot in the door. The positions that pay the big bucks require education, experience, and/or certifications.

You are young and have tons of time to move forward in your life. I would strongly consider staying in the Army, getting a solid education, and then seeing where you sit in a few years. Education does not have to be college if that is not your interest. IT certifications, technical certifications, etc can be just as lucrative in the long run. You may also look at MOSs which would help you gain some skillsets that your MOS does not offer. 12P is always looking for solid Soldiers to apply. 35Q is becoming very hot if you are into comptuers and networks. The Army is huge and there are opportunities for you to expand your experience and skills through potential reclassification into another MOS IF...IF...that is what would interest you.

This is just my $.02. You have to make the decision which is best for you and your young family.

About DoD Civilians and Contractors - they are NOT the same thing at all. I have a Masters degree and I am a triple minority with Veteran's preference who currently works on an Army base and after 2 years of efforts, I have not been able to be picked up as a DoD civilian. I was completely unemployed for 8 months. Despite all the "hire vets" talk, do not expect the civilian world to welcome you will open arms. It will be the opposite. Add that to the hiring freeze which pre-dated the sequester and the draw down. I am a contractor and those jobs are drying up too. The office were I work handles the College Internship Program - we cannot even get those people jobs. We have cut the number of interns allowed to start the program for the two cycles I have been here.

Stay in or get out, but please don't do it imagining that there is a government or contracting job waiting for you. It will be a battle to get one, especially if you do not have any degrees, certifications, or other special qualifications to put you ahead of the thousands of other vets out of work right now.

I would re-up. Having a family, the benefits of the military, what they are now at least, is way better than trying to find a new job and getting decent medical for the toddler and mother would be difficult. If you could get a contracting job with the military, that might make it better, but I would re-up.

I would be considering the medical coverage since you have a family. Given what you list as your work history, you may not find many jobs that will provide the medical that the army does.

Attend ACAP classes and you'll get a better understanding of what's out there and how to get it.

The key is to understand youir long term goals.... If you go to DOD Civilian you can go to school at night and better your job resume, I think the majority of soldiers come in from high school becuase they have no real plan in place. The military is going through many disheartening changeswhich prompted me to retire after 20 years and work for the the State of NC.

Here is my advice, right now, stay in. You need a realistic plan.

Tomorrow, not later, go down to the education office and get a plan to get your Bachelors degree. You NEED your education. I am currently a DoD civilian, right now in my office, out of nine people everyone has a Bachelors degree, one of those has his JD (law degree) and five of us have our Masters degree. Education is key.

Next, find a MOS that relates to the civilian world, specifically something that interests you, if you need a security clearance for it, that's even better! This will help you to get the training and job experience that you need when you finally do leave the service. Experience is very important for a Govt job. That clearance is a bonus can make your job hunt much easier, especially if you go the contractor route.

Finally find a mentor. This is huge as well. They will be able to help guide your military career, education and civilian career with good advice. Plenty of people out there willing to help. Personally I try as much as possible to mentor people getting out with the transition, because its not easy. Quite frankly its scary.

Best thing you can do is use the military to get the training and skills you need, because you damn sure better believe the military is going to use you! Get yours and if someone has a problem with it, screw them, its your family and life, not theirs.

As the DoD/DA Civilian jobs are feeling the pinch of the drawdown as well as the Army, I can tell you, from personal experience, that landing one of these "coveted" jobs is very hard to do right now, even with a plethora of experience. Also, without much of a civilian education on your part, jobs in the regular civilian market may well be few and far between. As you have a young family to think about, I would recommend that you think very long and hard about getting out of the service, unless you have reached the point where you no longer wish to serve.

Ultimately you need to make this decision for yourself depending on your own personal goals. I will tell you the same thing I tell my Soldiers. Which is I stand behind any decision you make for your future. That is as long as you have a real plan in place. If you are getting out while crossing your fingers and hoping for the best, that is the wrong answer. If you have done your research and have a job or are enrolled in college, you have a plan. However, if you plan to stay in the uniform, you need to have a plan for your career there as well. Don't be one of the folks that reenlists because you have no other options. Have a plan for how you are going to move up and take my place some day.

Here is the advice of a current veteran who just recently obtained his first federal government job:

If you have a Master's Degree in signing welfare checks or selling over-hyped health insurance policies, then there is a powerful man with a pen and a phone who has a job for you. If you are anyone else, getting a job with the federal government is a difficult uphill battle which will take many years and involve many disappointments. Veterans commonly fall into the "anyone else" category.

Go onto USAJOBS.com and look for the type of job you might want to have. You will probably notice right away that the majority of these jobs require "specialized experience" that is difficult to obtain if you aren't already a federal employee. Some allow for a substitution of college education to meet the experience requirement, but that only helps if you have a college education. Having veteran's status gives you a bonus over other applicants, but if you don't meet the requirements for the job you will still be bumped off the list.

Now, what others haven't pointed out is that this simply isn't an easy time to find a federal job, perhaps least of all with the DOD. The war in Iraq is over. Afghanistan is winding down. Military budgets are being slashed to make more room for "entitlement" programs. People in positions of power have decided that it is easier to ignore criminal behavior than to implement effective law enforcement policies. For all of the above reasons, there aren't many jobs to go around, particularly for people like ourselves whose primary skill set is wearing a uniform and carrying a weapon.

Given the circumstances, you are probably better off staying on active duty.

However, as soon as you re-enlist, the very next thing you should do is ask where the education office on your post is located. Go down there, get yourself enrolled at a school which offers decent online classes, get signed up for Tuition Assistance (TA), and ask about the schedule for CLEP and DSST exams. In a few years down the road, when you have a college degree and some "political factors" have changed, the outlook for getting a job with the federal government might be a lot better.

Or, you can always apply for my old job fist fighting meth addicts in the Emergency Room for $12 an hour. A position just recently opened...