Coast Guard/Retirement?

Posted:: 3+ months ago by LoadingCo...
Topics:: state, coast, guard, year, united, duty, retirement, united states, active, years

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Has anyone joined the United States Coast Guard? I am currently considering joining the Coast Guard active duty for 10 years and then transitioning over to either Air National guard or reserves.

The reason for this is the 10 years I am in I can save for retirement. I can put about 50% of all my pay and allowances into a retirement fund so when I get out at the age of 35-36 I will have a decent amount of cash saved up for retirement and then I was going to get my RN license after getting out and working as a registered nurse untilI I am 60 years old and putting in about 15% of my check into the savings as well. During this time I will work in the Air National Guard working towards my retirement. My question is do you feel this is a good idea or should I just neglect this and stick with getting my paramedic now in the civilian world and going Air national guard while working at the fire department? I am just worried I will not be able to retire with a good amount of savings. Is it possible to achieve my paramedic while in the Coast Guard?

I am honestly just overally concerned with retirement in the future that I want to be able to retire comfortably and not have to worry about working again but I am 25 years old and till havent started saving and that worries me a little.

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FauxPas

I haven't, but if I may, you are indeed overly concerned with the distant & vague future. Destabilisation of social structure might be a bigger issue in such scales (worst of all, genocide).
Why haven't you been able to save up so far - have you been unemployed, in debt or prodigal?
What sort of comforts do you have in mind for this retirement?
Signing for 10yrs I'd only consider as reasonable if you already have served for 10yrs, in exchange for sponsoring a roughly equal step in your overall design (for example doctorate), or having no other option which I'd deem on par with slavery. Though it's possible to get out early, you should avoid the necessity.
If the air national guard is your goal, then you need to find out what kind of people, skills & experience they want, and take the path of least resistance to that end; examining others who got there may have some merit, but that doesn't mean you can do it the same way & ease.

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LoadingCo...

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to comment of on my post.

You can say I am a bit overally concerned with my future. All I think about on a daily basis is how my future will look because I feel like I failed early. I did not really do anything special from the ages of 18-23. All I did was work at a Fire Department from 21-23 and before those ages I worked random jobs. I never really knew what I wanted to do at that time so I became a Firefighter/EMT. During that time I decided I wanted to become a nurse because of how much I really enjoyed the medical field but when I started to pursue my nursing degree, the fire department fired me due to conflicting issues.

Now I am turning 25 years old in a couple days working a random ambulance job hoping to get back on with the Fire Department. I do not have a whole lot of money saved up due to all the money I did have saved up ended up going towards school. I ended up getting 40 credits before deciding to leave college to pursue my paramedic license which starts in two days. I am not In debt but I am still living at home with my parents which makes me feel like a loser and bum. My long term goal is to become a nurse but right now I am looking to just get back on with the fire department while working towards my paramedic so I can have a steady career. Then I was going to bridge from my paramedic to my RN which only requires one day a week attendance here in the state of Georgia.

I'm worried about my retirement because I do not want to be 65-70 years old still having to worry about working. I want to be able to retire with my house paid off and just worrying about relaxing until I hit the can. Yes I would like to travel but that is not a vital component. I just want to retire and live within my means. Seeing that I am turning 25 and still haven't started saving for retirement scares me and I am a bit depressed due to living at home still with my parents. Once I get hired on with a fire department I can move out. I just need to get hired. I just wish I never made those mistakes. I feel like I wasted 6 years of life.

FauxPas

It's no trouble.

I can relate to the sense of squandering, and not just 6yrs but a lifetime. I was on a path of higher education, always barely making it, and didn't much care for the benefits of it in the end. Was recruited for 3yrs at a certain position (not exactly the most thrilling, but did my best at it), followed by another 3yrs as a civilian, till realising I was dissatisfied with staying at the same place, though it was easy & somewhat convenient. Left it, studied independently for a year and now struggling to get back.

I believe few people have a clue of what they really want before their 20s; there are some with a strong aspiration for a distant end goal & rigid plan, geniuses pushed in the direction of innovation and athletes who must sacrifice their youth for a shot at triumph, but other than that you have a lifetime to figure it out. You know you're fond of the idea of employment as a nurse, that's great already.

I'm tempted to think of this as a manifestation of quarter life crisis, the feeling of inadequacy and necessity of change. Know that you're not alone in being stuck in a random job, or living with the folks - in today's costs of independent residence it's insane (or indicative of obstinacy) to move out without a good reason (spouse) & high income; been only 10yrs since that crisis with the banks & foreclosures. Perchance you'd feel better about it if you paid rent to your parents? I don't think education is a waste if it's in something you like, as long as it doesn't break the bank.

What's the sort of issues engendered falling out with the fire dept, and preclude your return currently? If that bridge is burnt, don't be discouraged by some alternative career or temp jobs during your training (mayhap those to do with nursing). As stated, unless this training is as long or expensive, prolly shouldn't sign the 10yrs.

These are sensible retirement objectives. Any prospective spouse or offspring? Even in low income, if you can save up around a third of your monthly salary, I'd estimate you'd be done in a matter of 20yrs tops, avoiding debt and anything exceedingly ostentatious. Just make sure you don't touch the savings, planning for vicissitudes separately. As for depression, if it's not crippling, you're doing really well. Try to keep in touch with your circle when plagued by incertitude.

FauxPas

And in case I don't make the day, happy birthday dude!

LoadingCo...

Hello Sir,

Thank you again for responding back to me. It means a lot and it means even more that you have compassion towards me. I appreciate that sir. People always make fun of me or become really surprised when they see how overlay concerned I am with my future and retirement. I guess since I have so many goals I want to complete and the thought of not being able to accomplish them truly scares me. It’s funny because when we are a kid we do not even think about getting older, but we want to get older. Now that I am turning 25, it feels like time is just flying by now and I am now talking like an old person. The thought of already being half way to thirty is crazy but that’s just life I guess.

Right now, I am currently going through the process of getting hired on with the fire department. I was accepted to come for the written exam and physical agility test this November 7th. I am studying my heart out for it. I am going to do my absolute best to make sure I am the best candidate. I want this so bad that it is not even funny. I want to get this job really bad, so I can start working again. I just started my paramedic school yesterday and I will be graduating in January of next year. Its. 15-month course. My goal is to one day become a flight medic part-time while working a nurse full-time. One day pursue my education further and become a NP but that is still up in the air.

I can agree with you that many people in there 20’s do not know what they want to do in life. That is more than half the population. It seems like now a day’s majority of the young population is so concerned with just playing video games and working a dead-end job. I am by no means saying video games are bad for you, but they are addicting, and they can ruin one’s life. I like video games and I used to play them so much as a kid but in today’s day and age I play 1-2 times a week and that’s about it. We always here the saying we have a life-time to figure it out but it always goes by so quick. I just want to be old one day and be able to say to myself, I succeeded and lived the best life I could have. I gave life all I had, and I became successful in my parents’ eyes and my eyes.

This very well could be a quarter life crisis because lately I have been seeing so many successful people my age that it has been making me feel like a failure. My biggest issue is seeing that I am 25 years old still living with my parents while many other people my age are living on their own, engaged or getting married. Then you have me who is single, no love life and trying to get my career started back up. When thinking about all this it’s hurts to be honest. Yes, it is pathetic, but I just always compared myself and always got extremely jealous really quick and that’s why I have always had the ability to strive to be better. That’s why I am hoping to get this fire department job because then it will feel like all the doors will open up again and I will feel like my life to coming back together. Like a second chance at life.

I’ve offered to pay rent to my parent’s multiple times and they refuse to take my money which is great but at the same time annoys me. They are so caring and loving but they also want me to save my money. It annoys me because I hate the thought of living off my parent’s hard work.

No sir I have no spouse or offspring that I have to worry about. The only person I have to worry about is myself. Thank you, sir, for the birthday wish. Even though I am not excited for it ha-ha, Thank you. Also thank you again for responding to my post and for taking the time out of your day to read this!

FauxPas

Nickname's yeti. I'll call you costa, unless you prefer a different name.

I hear ya, derision is a pervasive cultural phenomenon. Difficult to uproot. But take comfort in the fact that planning ahead is an objectively positive trait; one of those which really keep a man away from the bread line, unlike a high salary which paves the way to greed.
If you have goals within reach, don't postpone them all till retirement - try to fit them in your busy schedule, even clear time for their sake. Notwithstanding the morbidity of the notion, life can be quite evanescent; grab any opportunities along the way just in case they won't be as readily available later, or at all.
Uh, your writing style might be slightly affected by mine here, sorry for any discomfort. Feel free to communicate as you would normally, I just like to use a grandiloquent dialect for personal amusement.

Ah, so it's just a matter of exams with the fire dept. Good luck with them, then; I'm certain failure isn't on the table, seeing as you're so determined.

Good point, though in some parts of the world it's more like video games, parties & drugs, innit... in general, I try to refrain from looking down on people's chosen lifestyle, but proud of you for getting that under control. I think it's important to strive for & acknowledge such steps, since a disconcerting part of how fast you've aged is forgetting the accomplishments along the way.

Have you been seeing them on facebook, or met in person? It might be best to stay away from that platform due to the false impressions of perfection it exudes. With the current divorce rates, the odds are not in favour of those who jump the gun on the ring. Be sure that there are worse places to be - on & off the wagon, permanently impoverished, indebted to unscrupulous individuals, physically or mentally impaired / handicapped... so many people wish for nothing more than an opportunity for a normal life like yours. Wouldn't say envy is pathetic, just built in to the human heart.
What I meant to ask was, do you intend to marry or have children somewhere down the line? If so, would you say there's been some significant inhibiting factor to it till now?

Well, in that case, how about you take the sum that you deem fair to pay for rent, and put it in a long term savings account from which you cannot withdraw till much further in the future (sorta like deferring it to their last will)? Two birds with one stone, the way I see it.

I'm not fond of my own bday either, but I uphold it for the sake of being reminded of the people in my life (rather than the shallow greetings offered by fb), and the opportunity to bake & decorate the cake.

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