Jeremiah
What happens if I want to go to the Coast Guard instead of college?
#Forcedlearning
3 answers
Nicholas Johnson
Nicholas’s Answer
It kind of sounds like you want to do coast guard, but your parents may want you to go to college, if I am reading into this right.
If that is the case, what it boils down to is, it is ultimately up to you, you should pursue what you want to do. This is your future you are talking about hear. My recommendation though would be to research what exactly you want to do in the coast guard and sit down with your parents and talk about it. They want you to succeed they want to see you thrive, but if you have a plan and you sit down and discuss it with them, they may be supportive.
You should follow your dreams and your goals. I will tell you right now that you will make enough money to survive being in the coast guard. You won't be super rich, but you will make have enough money to live off of. As time goes by you will earn more, and you will have the ability to go to college while you are in, and if you find a new passion while you are in you can pursue that degree, when it comes time. I hope I wasn't to far off, please feel free to reach out if you need to.
Dwight Mathers
Dwight’s Answer
What interests you? In the Coast Guard you can drive small boats, big ships (cutters), do search and rescue, inspect merchant vessels or waterfront facilties, be a cook, corpsman ( medic), or diesel mechanic. As an officer, you can also become a pilot and get responsibility at a relatively junior level - the 87 foot patrol boats have a Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG or O-2) as the Commanding Officer. The Coast Guard also has command positions for enlisted personnel starting at the E-6 level. Since its a small service, ~40K (smaller that NY police department) you often get to cross-train and do more things than you might in another service that has more people.
The Coast Guard has some great duty stations, too, many in tourist areas and some overseas, but not many.
If you are unsure of what you want to study in college, you could join the Coast Guard for a few years to figure out what you want to do, and use tuition assistance while in the CG to take classes and use your post-9/11 Montgomery GI Bill to pay for college when you get out. The non-traditional college students I've seen often do better going to college later because they have some life experience and a better idea of what they want to do in life or in a career.
There is a lot of information on the internet about careers in the CG, check it out and see if there is a rating (specialty) that appeals to you. There is also the Coast Guard Academy where you could go to college while also being in the CG. That's what I did and I was very drawn to the service aspect of the Coast Guard and the value it provides to the country.
