Linda Welch ⋅ Plano , TX United States Postal Service ⋅ 40 years experience

The United States Postal Service is the second largest employer in the U.S. We offer our team variety, training, and ways to move up. We have specific programs for recent grads and skills matching for applicants with military experience.

From mail carriers to corporate management, we work together to provide efficient, affordable service to the American public. USPS is an excellent workplace for self-motivated people who enjoy independence and measurable goals with the added satisfaction of serving our communities. Visit USPS.com and check out the Careers tab!

Doug Bohrer ⋅ Northbrook , IL Retired IT Cyber Security and Compliance, USAF 1972-76, MSM 1976 ⋅ 45 years experience

There are a lot of computers in the world, and all that hardware breaks from time to time. I would recommend a 4 year degree as the best way to get into this field. However, if you are impatient, you may be able to get an install and repair job directly based on your MOS skills. You will have to explain that you are a MULTIPLE LAUNCH ROCKET SYSTEM (MLRS) REPAIRER (94P). I'm ex Air Force, so I had to look it up with Google. Civilians are not going to know enough to be able to do that. You will also have to lay out what that takes in terms of working with electronics and diagnostic software and hardware. I have worked with both Hewlett Packard and SAP hardware maintenance organizations as a customer. They have world wide operations. I am pretty sure that big companies like Allstate have internal hardware install and maintenance guys also, although I have not worked with them directly. If you're interested send me a message.

If you did not enjoy working with the hardware, there's a lot of software running on all those computers in the world. If you are going to college for either hardware or software, try to get some training in the Linux operating system. It's the hot ticket at the moment. Here at Allstate, all of the application and database servers are moving to Red Hat Linux. It's a relatively easy operating system to get hands on experience with, because you can download a version of Linux to an old Windows PC. Hardware diagnostics often use a Linux platform to run.

Michael Mitchell ⋅ Nashville , TN EMF Telecom Inc ⋅ 25 years experience

David,

Phil gave some great advice, I don't think I could add too much.

There are very few opportunities for you, maybe 4 years of higher education (especially if someone else is paying for it) would make a huge difference in your life 10 years from now.

Remember this, its a Marathon not a Sprint. You're young and it will be very tough but the Army gives you a free ride plus living expenses. Go back to school, get a 4 year degree and I can pretty much guarantee, if you choose a marketable education, you'll make a ton more money in your 30's, 40's, 50's & 60's if you don't go to school.

I wish you the best,
Michael

Phil C. ⋅ Fort Worth , TX ⋅ 3 years experience

David,

Brother, it's a free country. You can get into any career field you want. Since you have a technical background, I would recommend transitioning into engineering. Collin college would be a great place to start school. From there you can transfer to UT Dallas, which has many engineering programs to chose from. The GI Bill is great. If you enlisted from Texas, then you get the Hazlewood Act, which is another 150 tuition-free semester hours (you have earned) at any state school. With your technical background and an engineering degree, you will get to write your own ticket.