I am at a crossroads.

Right now I have a good job with a good company that is experiencing steady and rapid growth amidst economic troubles in the state.  I am paid well for my position and age, I have a solid position in the company, and I have decent enough benefits.

I could probably continue here for the rest of my life, make my way up the ladder into the Jr. Admin/Admin section, make 90k a year and die 70 years later.

However, this is not what I want to do, at all.  The job is in the IT field, which was originally just a hobby for me, but it turns out it could pay bills too.

My grand plan was to go into the AF, then go into LE thereafter.

Unfortunately I need a considerable amount of money to cover my expenses should I go into the Air Force as I planned to do.  I have rent, a car payment, credit card payments, insurance, etc. that would all need to be paid monthly while I am away for basic/tech.  Additionally, my distrust for this current president is making me reconsider my enlistment.

Now as far as LE goes, the Oregon State police has openings. My grandparents who live about 15min. from the Academy said they'd be happy to put me up for the time I am there. Again, I'd need to risk losing my job while I have financial responsibilities that need to be paid.

Should I keep the steady job for a while and put off the career choice, or would making the jump and risking financial ruin be worth it?

I just don't want to be stuck doing something I don't necessarily feel that I am "meant" to do the rest of my working life.

If you don't follow your heart you will regret it later.

Thus endeth the lesson.

I'm in a similar situation.



I was hoping this wasn't the answer.

tuff choice.  

on one hand, you have what many people work very hard to achieve.  you have a job that pays the bills and you have stability.  to throw that away sounds foolish.  risk isn't always a good thing if you risk a sure bet on a foolish wager instead.

or

does the job make you die inside?  are you wasting your life one day at a time?  if this is how you feel, then you need to quit yesterday.  life is relatively short, and you will never make it out alive anyhow.  go for it

just remember, doing to same old things is secure and easy.  uncertainty scares everyone, but can be worth it

If you have a job in this market keep it.



Don't be silly.

if you have a degree and are good at the IT stuff... you could do VERY well in the mil




 

I "followed my heart" and it was the worst mistake of my life.  Stay with your well paying job and your benefits.  "Following my heart" has led me to throw away the last ten years on $100,000 in law school student loans, working myself into the ground, putting my marriage in jeopardy, and  leaving me with a completely exhausted ambivalence about whether or not I'll bother to live to see 2010 or not.  If I had just worked a job straight out of undergraduate school I would be WAY ahead compared to where I am now.

If I could go back ten years to the kid who was going into law school and thinking about getting married, I'd slap the shit out of him and tell him to get a regular type job with health benefits and a 401k, and shut the fuck up and work that job and keep life simple.  Instead, I did what I had always dreamed of doing, and I found out George Bernard Shaw was correct.  There are TWO tragedies in life.  The first is to lose your heart's desire, and the second is to gain it.

and elderly neighbor of mine once gave me a little piece of advice. Make of it what you will.

"It's much better to regreat a choice you made when you're young, rather than regret not making it when you're old"

VERY VERY few people actually enjoy their jobs. Most people endure them, some even hate their job. I've never had a job doing something I liked.



I can't tell you to go for it, B/C 90K is good money to look forward to. But as the old saying goes, "do something you love, and you'll never work a day in your life".

thats tough bro.  I made an absolute killing money wise doing a job I hated, but lived beyond comfortably.  I gave all that up and followed stuff that I was passionate about, but at the wrong time and it has been a tough road.  I can tell you I am truly happy right now, but the stress of working my ass off has been replaced by the stress of barely making ends.  It is a really tough call, just depends on the person I guess.  All I can tell you is I am happy doing what I am doing, but damn if there was a happy median it would be great.

Just remember that electrons take the path of least resistance. Life will teach YOU, if YOU are an electron or not. I was not an electron
and my path has always seemed harder than it should have been, but I have been successful in life with many difficult times and hard
roads traveled.

My .02cents..... YMWV

P.S.,
In the words of Tommy Lee Jones in No Country for Old Men, "My mind wanders".

After 50 times around the sun, I've come the conclusion that there is never a good or right time. You can make the leap and give it a shot and fail or never do it and regret it.

Look hard and long and weigh the consequences. I made the leap and landed on my feet but not without a lot of worry and teeth gnashing. I'm happy.


Do what makes you happy or at least try it.

Its your life, choose.

No degree, just some basic IT classes under my belt and the ability to smooth talk; I do my job very well, but I got there without any papers dictating my knowledge. So I don't have that piece of paper to use to my advantage.

I'm 20 so I figure I still have some time ahead of me. Maybe I should just ride out the storm and see where we stand this time next year, then make my decision.

I don't believe that.

What are your other goals in life, besides career goals?  Family?  Vacations?  Hobbies?  If you don't HATE your job and you can succeed at it, it will help you support your other goals.

The heart is a fickle creature.

I vote you shack up with some divorced mom.

Money doesn't buy you happiness. But it gets you pretty damn close.

Poverty SUCKS. Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt.

You're just going to have to decide which is more important. Good job/wages/benefits or something less.
Also remember this. One day you will be old too. Its a whole lot more comforting going into your golden years with something rather than nothing.

I had the same choice, but I was ALOT further along in life than you.

I was 40, had a great job (would probably be a partner in the old company by now), and decided to quit and open my own firm. I had some solid work lined up with a friend, we had a handshake agreement, and I took the leap. Well, after the first year on the contract, he decided he really didn't need the help of someone he had to pay half to, and I wasn't doing the job any longer. I hadn't worked in public accounting in my past, and I was hustling work daily. I made ends meet, barely. I racked up a bunch of debt getting off the ground, and then collecting money was a nightmare. After 2 years, I accepted a job as an accounting manager/finance director with a not-for-profit. They let me do audits on my own time, all my tax work, and I save them money by doing everything but the audit in-house.

I'm back on my feet again, but it was a struggle. I'd say if you have a steady job, with good benefits, save as much as you can, and then go for your dream. You'll regret it if you don't.  But, be sure to have a fall-back option just-in-case.

Go do some ride along in the PoPo Auxiliary on your spare time.  That way, you can scratch the "itch" and still make your coin.  Also, save your bucks and by 35 you can be retired and financially independent and then you can volunteer your time anyway you like.

YMMV

Pay down your debts, then enlist.

Tricky question. Ask people you trust and that know you well for advice. If you are religious pray ALOT.

That's a tough pickle, you want and deserve advice, and there's no way to can get much worthwhile here.

A bunch of well meaning folks that don't know you, who only can give advice based on their experience.

You'll have to make your choice and live with it - not much help.

For what it's worth - I'm an no degree engineer (dropped out for a promotion), been with the company 20 years, worked hard to get where I'm at, love my job, fairly secure - screwed if not (no degree).

OP, your story struck a cord with me and I really want to chime in on this. I was in your exact same position 4 years ago when I was 20 also. Like you I started off with IT as a hobby and quickly realized a wanted a job in this career path to make me some bucks. After high school I got lucky and scored a nice cushy Government IT job with excellent salary and benefits. Soon I was tenured and could easily retire there without ever having to worry about losing my job.  

However, after working there a couple years, it quickly dawned on me that I could not imagine working in this field for the rest of my life or at least until retirement. An aged co-worker of mine was 2 years away from retirement and he pulled me aside one day and told me, "Son, don't end up like me. Pursue your dreams and passions and use your talents. Don't settle for mediocrity." He told me about his dreams to get into professional photography. The years slipped by and he never took the risk to quit his safe and secure government job to get into it full time. I could see the sadness in his eyes as he told me his story.

I did some serious thinking and decided to turn in my resignation to pursue a business idea that I had. It was probably one of the hardest decisions I ever made it my life. I was tearing myself apart inside and was filled with fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Even after I had submitted my resignation I had to fight myself not to run back and retract it. I was living off my savings and funding my business with the same money. I only had a couple years worth of living expenses saved up not to mention capital for the business. It was a huge risk I was taking and I could easily wind up broke. Not to mention the fact that I only had 2 years job experience with no degree in a bad job market. However I was not willing to accept a life of mediocrity so I continued forward.

Fast forward 2 years later. With today being my 24th birthday. After many trials and tribulations, ultimately my business was a huge success. I did well enough to buy a house, buy my dream car, and pay off all debts. Financially speaking I could be considered "set for life" in most respects by the profits I've been able to generate. None of it would have happened had I not had the fortitude to take a risk and resign from that job.

I'm not saying that you should definitely go and pursue your new career, but just remember that risk has its place and the best time to do it is when your young. Everyone who has achieved what they really want out of life has taken a big risk once or twice. Don't settle for mediocrity or security by giving up your true passions. The years go by fast and you might end up like that co-worker of mine.

Good luck

Kevin - Well said

Stay put for the time being, and sock away as much money as you can to build a nest egg.  Follow your dream once you do this, or else you will regret it later in life.  In the same respect, save that money, so you don't regret building that cushion while you could.

I worked at UPS for 13 long years, outstanding pay and benefits, union protection, and I hated every minute of it. Tested for the SO and got in. Huge cut in pay, and benefits, and I've loved every second. Wished I'd done it years ago. having said that, PAY OFF YOUR BILLS FIRST! Then it should be much easier to make your decision.

If you get hired and go through the LE Academy, they pay you.  

Do what you want.  If you can't live off of an Airman's salary, but want to, make your bills work.  Be careful of joining the military too late.  Once you're 24+ it gets tougher.  Not to say that many that age don't make it, just that its tough.  If you have a degree, think about the Officer route.

I agree. Even when I quit my job I had carefully saved my money by being extremely frugal on a good salary. You need at least 1-2 years of a safety pad, IMO when making a leap like this.

Build a nest egg while you can, I had no idea what I wanted at 20, I saved money for when I figured out what I wanted.

Never work for teh guberment. EVAR!!!!!!

but seriously, don't be a cop or anything that involves the government. Please don't.

At 20 you're definitely young enough to take a risk and recover if it doesn't work out. Biggest thing in your favor is that right now it's just you, the decision becomes much more difficult when you have a family depending on you.



The only thing I would add is that you need to have a plan with a timeline and key milestones to achieve before going with plan B. You should also have a plan B so if your dream doesn't work out, you're not standing there without direction.



LE is not for everyone. I know quite a few guys who were very enthusiastic to start but burned out within 5 years. It's different than IT work though that's for sure!

IT will drain your very soul of out you slowly day by day.

honestly dude, you have to figure out what is most important to you now, balanced against what may become important to you later.  it's easy to say "follow your heart/dream/whatever", but you have to use your head.  

to put it in very real-world terms, i'm a 37 year old college student.  there's a story there, but it isn't important.  what is important is this––i decided at about your age that i was willing to gamble.  what i mean by that is this––i had numerous connections that would have allowed me to make a very good living doing what i didn't particularly want to do.  so i had to ask myself one question:

what is money?

money is nothing except freedom of choice.  anyone that tells you something different is wrong or lying.  money is a substitute for time.  the only thing it can do is to help give you freedom to act.  with that in mind, my next question was "what do i want to be free to do?".  as i looked at myself, i came to realize that everything i really 'wanted to do' consisted of doing something rather than having something.  don't get me wrong––of course i would have liked a lotus esprit and a 42' yacht and nonstop luxurious vacations around the world.  but that wasn't what i really wanted to be free to do.  so i dropped out of college (which was a bad idea––should've finished first), and set out to do those things.

you've probably heard the aphorism "life is what happens while you're making other plans".  it's true––things didn't work out the way i had hoped.  this was partly the vicissitudes of life, but also partly my fault.  at the moment, i'm far, far below the economic level that i could have reached had i pursued the distasteful but fiscally advantageous path.

but i'm a hell of a lot happier for it.  i did things my way.  i took a calculated risk with eyes wide open, and reap the rewards of that every single day.  i have so many old friends that tell me "i wish i would have done what you did".  their cars are nicer than mine, and their homes are bigger, but they're fucking miserable because they wanted to do things, but settled for having things.

i have other friends though, who really wanted to have things, and took the right path for that.  i don't mean that in just a shallow, consumerist way.  i'm talking about a guy who wanted an airplane more than anything else in the whole world, so he did what it took to get one.  and that guy is incredibly happy.  or the guy who wanted a ranch, so he worked in finance until he had enough to buy and operate one.

i guess my point is that it's easy to be a romantic about the whole thing.  it's a lot tougher to really look at yourself and your motivations in life, and figure out the right path for yourself.

good luck bud.

As a career Air Force cop, it would be easy for me to say follow your heart and do what you want to do, but, the way things are now, the fact that you have a kick ass job and job security, forget it. If you don't like this job, yes, you can quit, but, if you join the USAF, and then go Security Forces, and you have any issues, be it bad base, or you just realize you hate it, you are fucked for 4-6 yrs. Then what?

I'm also a career USAF cop and I could not have said it any better.  Once you raise your right hand you have to make do with what the AF gives you.  Also keep in mind that being an AF cop will do NOTHING for you on the outside when you apply to a department.  I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, just that don't expect it to be easy after your enlistment is up.  Feel free to drop me a line if you have questions.

Sell everything you can part with to pay off your bills and join the AF. You won't have to pay rent, you'll get some training, hopefully see some of the world, and if you decide to get out in 4 years you'll have some money for college and veteran's benefits such as added points and veteran's preference in civil service jobs, i.e. LEO.

I have too many conversations with people who say they regret not serving in the military. If you feel the need to serve your country, do it, you don't want to be that guy 20 years from now wishing he had.  It's a great experience and a chance to meet some outstanding people, travel, and be part of something greater than yourself. It'll change your life.

truer words were never spoken.

Follow your dreams kid. If I could do it all over again, I would have joined the AF and stayed there! I could be retiring with 20 yrs, next year. My uncle did that and then got a postal job. He gets a retirement check from the AF and another check from the post office.

After 15 years in LE I can say  STAY AWAY!!!

Some of us "old timers" were discussing things just yesterday. The caliber of street people and crooks  get steadily worse all the time. It used to be that even thugs had a little respect for LE, now they would just as soon kill you as look at you. Also the people that are hired now don't have their hearts in it. We're getting people now that just needed a job and the dept called them before Wal-mart did. Keep your current job or go Airforce.

I think it sucks that I am at the age where I completely understand what you are talking about.

If you can get the State Police Job, do that.

I'm 55, retired on disability, married, 2 kids, (1 still at home) wife working, etc.

In 1976, I seriously considered going to the Rhodesian embassy in DC and joining their armed forces.  It seemed to me that they were fighting the good fight and holding their own against incredible odds, and I wanted to be part of a group of men like that. Instead,  I fell for some girl and ended up married.  4 years later, divorced.

I put my life back together, remarried, built houses, rented houses, bought a couple and turned them for profit.  I learned a new career and was successful at it.  We are living a middle class lifestyle on near poverty income, things are tight but they will get better.  Life had been hard, but we are living well, all things considered.

Do I wish I could turn back the clock 30 odd years and do it differently?  EVERY DAMNED DAY.

ymmv.

Ops

Here's what I told my son, who is 18. Never stay in a job or career for the money alone. You will be miserable. Do what makes you happy. You can be poor and happy at the same time. I told him I didn't care if he was a ditch digger or waited tables the rest of his life but I would care if he went for the money and was unhappy.

Money is not the only thing in life. There are plenty of unhappy rich people which tells you money cannot buy happieness. Only being content with who you are and what you produce in life will make you truely happy. I was in L.E. for 24.5 years and retired last month. I didn't get into it for the money but I was happy. I can't advise you to go for L.E. or not but you should pursue your dreams, not dollars.

Work like a dog if you have to in the short term to pay-off any bills then go for what makes you happy. Staying with your company simply because it is financially secure will eventually leave you feeling empty inside.

You can combine your IT expertise with LE by going into computer forensics.  Help put pedophiles, terrorists, drug kingpins, etc in prison.

This...Wait for everything to bounce back and the cities to have some type budget for the LEO...You might get hired and fired a year later with the way states and sities are looking for money...Pay off all your bills, save some money and keep training...

This guy is truly wise....

I spent several years of my life getting a BS degree (then starting a MS) in order to be a wildlife biologist. I loved hunting, loved conservation, loved the outdoors, was fascinated by the technical/scientific side of conservation.......


Walked out of grad school after 6 months, sick of the politics, and never looked back. Found something along the way that I did enjoy, was blessed with a few years of experience in low-paying jobs, then ended up a self-employed consultant/contractor that basically makes as much money as he wants to make on any given day.

(Translation: I can work 2 or 3 hours a day and go deer hunting or surf arfcom if I care to. That's why I'm here right now...)


The upshot is this: I coudn't enjoy hunting with a career in wildlife management. I was that kid with lots of promise, really smart, involved in all the right organizations......just couldn't stand seeing my hobbies ruined by turning them into work. Now I make decent money and can spend my off time (lots of it) doing whatever I want. Yesterday evening I spent some time shooting my muzzleloader. Saturday I'll haul it to the woods and try to shoot a deer with it.

Life is scary. Embrace being scared. You will be amazed at where this takes you.



To the OP. Be the ultimate tightwad and save every dime you can for six months to a year. Then take the leap into the abyss.