What's the best advice you have for service-members trying to decide if they should reenlist or pursue a civilian career?

People may join the military for any number of reasons but they only stay for one. They discover a "calling". Yes, I suppose it's much like the clergy. You're not there for the money. It's not convenient. Most of the times its thankless. But there's something that calls you. If you don't hear it, it's time to move on

Based on your profile and rank you are at the point of a very wide decision point in your life. Your tree of life has not branch off too far down the path you are limited. You don't have a significant amount invested in your time in the military, and you can do just about anything.

My word of advice. Follow your heart. I didn't. I always took the logical safe path in my employment, and it led me to a career of frustration and pointlessness. Then when I did enlist at 38 I barely got in, and realized I'd would clearly have been far more successful with a military path (the one I wanted since I was a little kid) and been nearing retirement age at that point anyway.

My lot in life is about the same economically either way but I would have maybe felt better in my mind/heart if I just went down a path I had really always wanted instead of chasing professional credentials in an effort to make the most money.

The military itself as an employer is losing more and more traction between what it offers to its members and what can be earned with the same skill sets on the outside. You are generally not leaving behind a better economic situation with better working conditions if your skill set is in demand.

If it's in your heart to stay, then by all means stay. If you are there just to earn a paycheck and benefits, well you are doing so with scenarios that limit you greatly (deployments, military life as a lower enlisted, etc...) that you don't need to be burdened with while making no less in the civilian sector.

The upside with the new retirement plan is you can ponder this situation a little while longer, and take a large portion of your nest egg if you wait it out. You wont be faced with all or nothing at 15 years.

My advice is to make the decision from a place of experience and knowledge, not from what you "think" you know about on the civilian side.

If you entered the military later in life, then you have some experience on what to expect when you separate. You know what to expect in the job hunt difficulty, you know all the unexpected expenses, upfront costs of relocating, the possible months of unemployment before you land a decent job, job interview skills, faux pas, and all that.

If you entered the military out of high school then you really haven't spent much time of your life not having a babysitter yet. Seek out a retiree or someone who separated recently for their advice. You just don't know what you don't know, so you don't know all the normal complications that will come when you switch careers.

You do currently have a career right now, and you can expect that to walk into any other career field you will need to invest time and money to be qualified in certs to be on par with you civilian peers, and expect that you will usually start at a lower pay than you are in the military.

Do a real budget analysis. If you are living in the barracks you may think you are not receiving much money, but there is a real cost to housing as a civilian. Don't forget to calculate for taxes, health insurance, and housing costs. These are real expenses and they don't just work out on their own.

Do not walk out of a job that pays you consistently and into the unknown if you have debt. Any transition requires a decent amount of money set aside. Even though the military will pay you to move, there is always extra money you need to have up front. A shoestring budget is $5,000 assuming you are single and have no dependents. If you have a family, you need more. If you leave the military with debt, it's a fair assumption you lack the self discipline to control your spending and it doesn't get easier when you take away your primary source of income.

Are you single? You can travel the world when you are single, but when you have dependents you have more financial responsibilities. I left the Army as a 21 year old with no spouse or kids and I moved around between living on a ski resort and living in Alaska until I got married. Every time I moved I was completely broke, I lived in tents and dorms, lived off eggs, potatoes and other campfire foods. I didn't even have a vehicle. But once I had a family I had to keep a steady source of income, and health insurance. I rejoined the Army just as my second daughter was born and I knew it was the most reliable source of income for me at the time with my skill set.

Don't leave the military without the most education you can get. Too many people say they will get out and go to college, but they don't. VA surveys show that 50-75% of people who separate will have unexpected financial issues in college. A large percent of service members never finish college at all. But the worst part is, they are spending their GI Bill on something the services offer for free. College isn't easier just because you're going full time. You are either in the military full time and going to college part time, or in college full time and working part time to pay for your daily life expenses. Max out your college before you leave, or at least take as much as you can before leaving.

Spend at least a year on your transition. Make the decision long before it's time to make the decision and spend your last year prepping to get out. If you are a year from ETS and don't have a solid plan yet, then stay where you are at, extend or reenlist, and keep going to your next location after that.