29.5 and out of military duty just like my father and grandfather and his father. Started in Air Force because I thought that only dumbaysses went into the Army because their asvab score prerequisite was lower than the AF. Went in as linguist and wanted to be in combat control, right opportunity came up when I had the chance to try out for TACP. This placed me in a unique position of being enlisted in the Army at the same time as Air Force. After 3.5 years of non-stop training and certification courses I was able to take part in quite a few joint spec ops around the world. After a specific incident, my left knee was slightly injured and I decided to retire after my 6 years. This was all after graduating from HS and then going to Toyota T-Ten program in Birmingham, AL. I was aiming for TRD Engineering Group, but then found after joining and attending for 3 months that TRD was after 2 years of in-dealership experience on top of the other prerequisites. 2 years of being a pawn changing oil filters was not going to be in my future! After retiring from active duty, I decided to teach level 6,7 and 8 hand to hand combat certification courses to SFOD teams for 1.5 yrs. I opened two martial arts training facilities in Atlanta before moving here to get back into the industry we all seem to love. I still dabble with private lessons for 10-30yr old students. Income has steadily risen to mid/high 90k region as of '05. Most of this is from investments by creating early on a big network of friends and business partners. Having good friends in many places was a key for me. This next year I look forward to about a 27-33% increase in personal income as well as 4x the vacation time. After fighting so hard to get the hell away from family, I actually look forward to spending time with my parents and brothers again.
For the pilot above, it definitely is an inner yearning you guys have to pull back on the stick.....my father was and is a pilot. I love C130 gun ships the most because of him, now he and my uncle, both retired full birds are the private pilots for Bruce Willis and Demi Moore. G5's are in your future too if you want it! Dad is loving life again at 55, "F home building" he says!
I hope that you choose to not "stay" in school, but to "GO" to school. High School doesn't prepare anyone for anything. It was merely a means to get you passed through a really crappy public education system. College is where you "can" actually start to learn, or learn how to learn. The military will do the same thing for you as well as give you a chance to serve your country, which gives a man a real sense of fulfilment that most men don't even know they are searching for.
As for the guy above talking about the jobs in Indiana, after talking with friends that speak all over the world, Bryan Tracey, Zig Ziglar, Bob Alexander and a few other friends all say the same thing, India will be taking over a lot of those kinds of jobs and it won't be an American position in the near future. Already doctors and engineers are being leased from India to do the work at 1/2 the price on American soil. I would not want to be in engineering in 2006+, personally.
Nothing but admiration for you asking these questions here. The will to learn, tenacity and to practice humility are keys no matter what.
