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I used to be someone who thought that people who didn't see opportunities were too dumb to pursue them. I always wondered why people in poverty were stuck in poverty, when information all around them would otherwise help them break out of it. Why would somebody pay 24.7% credit card interest on small items? Why would anybody not make an investment to move away from their current state to another place with a lower cost of living if they aren't satisfied with the way they're being paid in a largely populated metropolitan area? Why do people think that education is a waste of time and money, when it's really an improvement in human capital?

A normal cynic may assume that one unable to see these things deserve to rot in the wage slavery for the reset of their life. What I didn't realize, was how privileged I was to be able to even see what the right choices were. How lucky was I to actually be able to see the opportunities I took, and how lucky was I to actually be able to take the correct risks to affect the outcome of my life? Two individuals could both hold roots in poverty; one individual may become successful because of correct life choices and the other may spiral into self destruction. The latter individual doesn't deserve to die because of his lack of understanding of the world; he was unable to see the choices he could've taken to otherwise circumvent his doom.

Which is why I am posting this now. I want to share with the people who are between ages 16 to 18 with an income discrepancy that may prevent you from pursuing higher education. Thinking about taking out student loans? Thinking about trying to find work immediately after high school? I can tell you that I know of people who started working immediately after high school; two of them are quite successful. The rest, however; are not. If you are competent enough to make the projection that working after high school will be most beneficial to you, then this is not advice for you. If you are lost; however, I would like to share a route that I took which placed me in a position of advantage; join the military.

I know a lot of people have plenty of misconceptions when it comes to being in the military that are perpetuated by the media, but you will find that a four year investment will help kick-start a lifetime of success. Because Afghanistan is dying down, what better time is there to join? Will you die? Most likely not; very few jobs are infantry jobs; the others are literally support jobs who seldom see combat.

Here are the benefits that you'll get:

- Relatively low wages, but free housing, free food, free health care; all of these things adding up to 60 ~ 70k / year benefits for four years.
- G.I Bill after; a bill that literally pays for the cost of the tuition to the most expensive four-year state university in the state that you choose to activate it in. Along with this, is a monthly housing allowance that is adjusted for cost of living ; in Los Angeles, this allowance is $2,200 a month. This G.I Bill lasts for 36 months that you will be in school, or 4 school years [not counting summer / winter courses].
- VA Health insurance 5 years after exiting the service.
- Veterans benefits; loans at extremely low rates for housings, automobiles, or other high-cost expenses.

If you do decide to become an infantryman, here are the better benefits you'll get :

- Deployments will suck, but you'll get more of them. My actual deployment time was about 12~ 14 months total in my four years being split into two deployments. What's so good about deployments? Combat pay, and tax-free pay. To give you a perspective, I was making 5k a month; [i]tax-free[/i] for 12 ~ 14 months. Do you have a family? Well, there is a $400,000 life insurance policy that every family gets if their servicemember dies.

Four years of time that will set you for a long time. Right now, I am going to school without worrying about paying bills, or having ends meet; and I haven't even started using my G.I bill. This is an opportunity that is available to [b]many[/b] people, and it's amazing that not a lot of people decide to take it. I know there are a lot of anti-military thinkers out there, but this advice isn't for the strong zealot whose opinions would deter reason. This is for the people who are not able to see the opportunity they have right in front of them, that could prevent their lives from going to rock-bottom. Take the opportunities that you have; you don't [b]have[/b] to take the same risks I did, but this is one of the options that you do have.

I'll leave the thread open for questions. If you would rather PM me for a personal question that you don't feel comfortable with, I am open to those as well.