Reenlist vs getting out?

Ultimately, the decision is yours and must be made after much soul searching. That being said I can share my experience. I served almost 11 years and for whatever reason lost sight of the only place I have ever felt like I belonged. In 1992 I took the buy out thinking I would be starting a new life as a civilian, raising a family and all would be good. I have been miserable almost the entire time I left the military and desperately wish I could go back in. 22 years 7 months 24 days ago I made the biggest mistake of my life....don't do the same.
I have read people complaining about how the military has become to civilianized, to politically correct and to much crap you have to deal with instead of doing the job. If you are leaving because the military is to civilianized, what on earth do you think the civilian world will be like. I know I'm not there living it now, but I do know no matter how bad one thinks the military life is the civilian life is far worse. It's not as dangerous I know. But there is no team work, there is no lifting each other so the collective whole is a stronger unit. There are few, if any, leaders but crap loads of managers. The only thing that matters is looking good so share holders are happy or the boss is happy so bigger bonuses are given. Coworkers are nothing but whiny sniveling little cry babies who need their noses wiped.
As far as being a physical therapist, you will need a PhD for that. Not sure about the Navy, but I do know the AF has a career filed called physical therapist assistant. It's not the same, I know, but it's a foot in the door. I also know the AF offers outstanding education benefits while on active duty. All I can advise is talk to a Navy and Air Force recruiter and explain what you are wanting to do. They will be able to give you the answers you need. Look up this url, it explains the AF road for physical therapy - http://www.airforce.com/careers/detail/physical-medicine-specialist/

If you have a degree, certifications or a top secret SCI security clearance... then I would say yes...get out now. Otherwise the military provides a steady paycheck as well as decent benefits. You can always do another hitch and work on your resume so when you do get out you are prepared.

You don't always appreciate what you have until you lose it. Coming from a guy that relatively recently left the active duty side of the Army there's a lot of things I look back on and miss. The camaraderie and always knowing that someone is looking out for you. Having a sense of purpose, and surrounded by peers filled with that same drive and determination as you. Simple things like free medical, dental, food, rent, utilities, etc. A stable paycheck. The military provides so much, and for so many they don't realize what's holding them up until it disappears and they come crashing down. All I can say is that if you want out then more power to you, just be damned sure you have a fool proof plan ready to execute the moment you hit your ETS. If you don't then you're in for a rough time.

I'd stay in if you don't have a set career planned out in the civilian world. Even people with degrees now a days over here is having a hard time finding jobs.

It is hard to find civilian employment that matches military benefits, if you don't have anything plan I would strongly suggest that at least stay in the military until something promising is waiting for you on the outside. I don't know if you are married with children, if so think about your family security we all have to sacrifice something to make sure our families is secured. Whatever you decide to do I wish you well, keep doing your homework before you make your final decision.

If you can, I recommend staying in and getting your degree. While you will still be working in your MOS, you won't have to worry about rent, clothing, food or health care. Plus I think, not sure that you will get some type of tuition assistance also.
If you just don't want to stay in, make sure that you check out your benefits for the most current status of the Montgomery GI bill, and whoever you go to work for supports the apprenticeship programs. Before I retired from Virginia Department of Corrections, I was signing off on the apprenticeship paperwork for newly hired corrections officers and I believe it was like a grand a month.
My best advice, do your 20, and get your degree while you're doing it. You'll still be young enough to start a second career and have a retirement check coming in plus the new check. Invest in a 401k as much as you can afford to, and by the time you decide to retire for good, you will be able to live comfortably. Two retirement checks and the 401k.

I'll say it again. Stay in. How many people have responded by saying they wished they had stayed in??? You will not find the benefits in the private sector that the military offers on active duty and into retirement. Period! Learn to deal with knuckle bosses. They are everywhere. Enlisted ranks, officer ranks, private sector.

Degrees??? Everyone has them now including people working entry level positions. Put in your time, invest in yourself, get a degree, stay grounded and DO NOT LET the military consume your way of thinking, NETWORK, and bring something else to the plate when your start a career outside of the military.

I'm a retired E6 with a retirement and disability check, a six figure government check, a wife that makes six figures and we live in San Diego county. We didn't have any hand outs along the way and live in a big house with a pool, a great school district, have a few nice cars, and great portfolio all compliments of the US Government. You see -- the Navy allowed me to invest in myself and have the financial flexibility that you will not find in the private sector. I mean, tell me where else you can live rent/mortgage free, 100% free tuition available, moving expenses paid for, per diem paid daily, free medical coverage AND earn a salary? NO WHERE....

It's a tough out there. Make sure you are FULLY prepared for it.
I was.

I originally enlisted for three years; ended up staying for 25 years and retiring as a LtCol. During those years I earned a college degree and experienced more variety in living than any of my friends I left behind in my home town. As others have said, your first enlistment is a payback. The second is where you start reaping the benefits. More responsibility earlier than you will ever find in the civilian world. Opportunities you can not imagine, but all must be earned by your performance and initiative.
Don't know if it is still available, but Southern Illinois used to offer medical administrators degree you could earn on base (LeJeune and Pendleton) with a good chunk of the expense paid by the Corps. Prospective employers generally appreciate the increased responsibility military personnel have normally experienced. Add some good military schools you can get as an enlistment incentive, and college courses generally available on or around the base and you've set yourself up for success.
I'm betting you're in your early 20s so you have time. Set yourself up before heading out into the civil jungle.

My feelings were similar to yours when it was time for me to decide. I was tired of deployments and alot of the bs. I have found out however, that there is alot of bs in the civilian workforce as well. I miss the comradery that I had found in the military. And while I enjoy what I do for a living , I don't get the same satisfaction that I did from being in the military. I felt that it was difficult at best maintaining a relationship while I was in. Being gone all the time seemed to take its toll on them. Ultimately you are going to have to sit down and decide what is more important to you. Try writing a list of pros and cons that go along with each choice. Whatever you choose, good luck to you, and thank you for your service.

Honestly I think it depends on you, and how much you're willing to work for it, and a bit of luck.

I don't know that this will help, but, I knew early on that I wasn't going to do the career thing if I could avoid it. And from the very first time I raised my hand to recite the oath, I knew I was trading a set number of years in my life in service for an education and a career path. I committed to give everything the military had coming to it as my end of the deal, and I would make sure that I got everything out of it I could along the way. Originally I was only planning on doing one tour, getting the education benefits, and a trade, and then rotating back to civilian life to go to school. Then, just before I was due for my first re-enlistment, I found out that my wife was having twins. It was at that point that I realized that I hadn't done anything really to prepare myself for a career on the outside, and simply getting out and going to school, or "hoping" for work, wasn't going to pay the bills. So I sucked it up and re-enlisted. That said, I also promised myself that I wouldn't be in that position ever again. The next time my date rolled around, I'd be damn sure that I had done everything I could to prepare myself, and I would know exactly what was, or wasn't available on the outside. If there was nothing available, I could always re-up again, but if that happened, I could do it without any remorse, or frustration that I let it slip through my fingers again.

After, I re-enlisted, I stopped ALL partying, prepared for the birth of the twins, and then started taking the classes I needed to finish my degree. It sucked for a while, but I followed through on my promise to myself and prepared for life on the outside. I researched and worked on the skills I'd need on the outside, as well keeping an eye on areas I was interested in. At about a year and a half before my next re-up date, I felt I was ready to dip my toe in the water, and started the process of actively searching and applying for open jobs that I was interested in. Ironically, it all happened much faster than I expected, or ever dreamed of really.

I got called for an interview, about 16 months before my scheduled DOS, and at the time, my thoughts were "Yeah, I'll go do the interview, but really at this point it's more about getting civilian world style interview experience in a position I'm interested in." So, I took the interview, did my absolute best, answered their questions, gave a presentation that was part of the interview process, and through it all, I was pretty sure that even though I was very interested in the position, I was going to lose out, just due to the timing of it all. I will say that through the entire process, I was very forthright about the fact that I still had a commitment to the military for another 16 months. I did let them know there was a possibility that I could get an "Early Out" but it was just that...a possibility...to my surprise, they said "no problem" and offered me the job. I was kind of shocked by all of that to be honest. In any event, I immediately started the paperwork for the early out request, got approved, and about 5 months later started terminal leave and went to work as a civilian in the exact job I wanted about a year earlier than I was really supposed to, or really hoping to. To this day, it still blows me away that they held the job for me as long as they did.

At the time about half the people I worked with in the military, told me I was making a huge mistake and I'd regret getting out for the rest of my life, I can honestly say, no, I haven't. I'm still working there today, and have enjoyed a fabulous civilian career along the way. Upon starting there, I immediately more than doubled my annual income, was actually treated like an adult and a professional, given a flexible schedule, allowed to telecommute, and over the years, have traveled the world in style (Business/First Class and Five Star Hotels) and paid AWESOME per-diem on top of it. That said, I've earned every nickel I've made, and have done my absolute best to exceed every expectation anybody has ever had of me. I neither regret my time in the service, nor my decision to leave when I did, and am very thankful for how it has all worked out. I have been extremely fortunate through it all, and that's not really the norm. In fact, to be fair, I really cant see that happening today. My transition took place during the internet boom, and I only had a bit over 6 years in the service at that point. Had I waited, I would've reached high year tenure, as an E-7 last December, and been forced to retire, (unless I'd made E-8/E-9) and be trying to find a job in this economy. Getting out when I did, and going about it the way I did, was the best career related decision I ever made as far as I'm concerned.

I guess my overall advice would be, if you're going to go for it, don't just go after it half-assed (not that you would, I'm just sayin'...) Now for the specifics, first, decide what you feel is your "point of no return" date. In other words, the point where it makes more sense financially etc, to you to just gut it out for a career, even if that means that you might have to actually work for McD's, Walmart etc, for a while to pay the bills after you retire, while searching for your next career gig. Next, decide what you want to do on the outside, and do a bit of research as to how much work it is to get you to the point that you're marketable in that area. Now, if you actually decide you're making the move, make a workable plan. Like a: "I'm up against the wall and I don't have a choice, so I'm going to do everything I can, as early as I can, to set myself up for success." kind of plan. Then give yourself the time to actually follow through on it and work the plan.

If you approach it in that fashion, at the end of it, you'll have no regrets. Either you'll find what it is you're looking for, or find out that there's nothing out there available that your interested in doing. As such, you'll have no reason to have any remorse in re-enlisting, because at that point, you did all you could, and you're as informed as you can be. The key if it doesn't work out and you have to re-enlist, is to take what you've learned from your first attempt, apply it to your plan for the next time around, and then work through it all over again. Once you find it, make the move, don't wait, unless you're past your point of no return. Spend your entire career in the military preparing yourself for your next career. Too many people I've known, said I've got plenty of time, before worrying about any of that, and didn't put the work into prepping along the way. They waited until they were on their last enlistment, and a rapidly approaching their retirement date before they started the process...that type of transition plan is pretty tough from what I've seen. Especially in this economy. Prepare for success, then succeed.

Best of luck to you!