Returning to School After Deployment: How to Do It, and Why It’s Important
Schooling has become necessary to get to many high levels of income in the United States. Luckily, having military experience makes you uniquely qualified to perform in a school setting. Here are just a few reasons it’s good to return to school.
Pay Rate and Income Potential
The most obvious reason to consider going back to school is the increased earning potential. Even if you decide to pursue other military work, pay is usually based on rank. Upper-level positions are generally reserved for people with a degree. Civilian jobs are the same. Consider utilizing your skills that you already have when picking a career path.
Increased Skills
You can take what you learn in the military and expand upon those skills. Since you have been deployed, it is likely that you already have a superb sense of discipline and work ethic. If these are the only skills you wish to bring into civilian life with you, you are still ahead of most other students. Sometimes your military job skills do not directly translate to the real world. The point of college is to help with this.
Assistance Meeting Your Goals
The great news for those returning from deployment is that you are taken care of if you choose to pursue an education. Your first step should be to look into schools. Look for schools that cater to veterans in the area in which you reside. Personal experienced in military benefits will be able to guide you. Your commanding officers will have the information that you need to get in touch with such people.
Once you find some schools that you are looking at, you will also want to consult them on your GI benefits and how to claim them. Some benefits require you to be enrolled before a certain time, be in the military a certain amount of time, or be a certain rank. There are also different bills that can help you depending on when you entered the military. This is why you need to seek individual counseling on the subject. The counseling needs to come through both the military and the school you are hoping to attend. This will assure that you will not have communication errors involving your financial aid. Your school can also advise on other aid available.
There are a ton of reasons to consider returning to school. The military service you performed has set you up in a good position to do so. Once you decide what you want to do with your life, you have the potential to do anything!
For more life tips and advice about getting back on your feet after your service, check out this awesome site.
Featured image via CCSD
