[quote]DBCooper wrote:
The Golden Gate Bridge looks wonderful this time of year…[/quote]
lol! too bad I live in the UK
FTR I don’t believe that education is the be all that it’s sometimes billed as. That said, depending on how things unfold for you as your life goes on you may find there are certain hoops you will need to jump through in order to get the chance to do the things you want to do. Many of those hoops may have to do with education, even if that education is, from a practical standpoint, irrelevant to what you may want to do.
Seems to me that, with some basic time management and efficient training strategies you should be able to keep up on both your school work and your training. Even if everything goes as planned with regard to your military service, you may find that you want to pursue a civilian career further down the road and a decent education will keep more doors open for you. Not to mention that, as Ambugaton mentioned, solid numeracy and written communication skills will be a bigger asset than you might expect in the military.
I don’t know what it’s like in the UK, but here servicemen have access to some excellent educational benefits both in terms of specific courses (languages, electronics etc) as well as financial assistance for regular post secondary courses. I would encourage you to exploit both to the fullest, even if you don’t like/value school. Whenever someone offers to teach you something for free, for cheap or better still while paying you, seize the opportunity. If you’re not into pure academics, look into more trade/technical options. Again, I don’t know about the UK but there is very solid earning potential in those fields here.
You have more discretionary time now than you likely will at any time in your adult life. I suggest you take advantage of that freedom to do things that will be much harder when you are older (like getting an education).
See it as an exercise in mental toughness i.e. forcing yourself to do boring, seemingly pointless crap that you don’t feel like doing and doing it to the best of your ability because it’s what you “should” do. Regardless of your career path, you will likely need to do a lot of this.
[quote]batman730 wrote:
FTR I don’t believe that education is the be all that it’s sometimes billed as. That said, depending on how things unfold for you as your life goes on you may find there are certain hoops you will need to jump through in order to get the chance to do the things you want to do. Many of those hoops may have to do with education, even if that education is, from a practical standpoint, irrelevant to what you may want to do.
Seems to me that, with some basic time management and efficient training strategies you should be able to keep up on both your school work and your training. Even if everything goes as planned with regard to your military service, you may find that you want to pursue a civilian career further down the road and a decent education will keep more doors open for you. Not to mention that, as Ambugaton mentioned, solid numeracy and written communication skills will be a bigger asset than you might expect in the military.
I don’t know what it’s like in the UK, but here servicemen have access to some excellent educational benefits both in terms of specific courses (languages, electronics etc) as well as financial assistance for regular post secondary courses. I would encourage you to exploit both to the fullest, even if you don’t like/value school. Whenever someone offers to teach you something for free, for cheap or better still while paying you, seize the opportunity. If you’re not into pure academics, look into more trade/technical options. Again, I don’t know about the UK but there is very solid earning potential in those fields here.
You have more discretionary time now than you likely will at any time in your adult life. I suggest you take advantage of that freedom to do things that will be much harder when you are older (like getting an education).
See it as an exercise in mental toughness i.e. forcing yourself to do boring, seemingly pointless crap that you don’t feel like doing and doing it to the best of your ability because it’s what you “should” do. Regardless of your career path, you will likely need to do a lot of this.[/quote]
Such a good post from so many fronts. This advice is applicable to all, military or not. Time management skills are essential and so much can fit into a 24 hour day if you’re smart about it but it requires planning.
I really like how you say to see everything as an exercise to make you better, stronger, mentally more tough. Throughout my working career, I would always take on every opportunity offered and don’t regret any of it. Hard work is its own reward.