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Resigning Gouge
- Thread starter DanMa1156
- Start date
Go where the work is. The folks I know who have struggled the most post-separation are the ones who moved back home to a town with little to no industry.
Also, you may want to consider the military industrial complex. While I can understand some of the aversion to it, it's still an industry where your prior ACDU experience means you're not starting from scratch and counts for something.
If I recall I made $115-120k my first year as a CSS so the only reason I had to tighten the belt was taxes* and being house poor. My pay hasnt gone asymptotic like squorch's has but that's because I chose to go GS to be able to put my ACDU time towards a pensions. Unless I become an SES I'll never see $200k** but my work life balance is pretty dang good.
*All this special pays, FL resident, etc really help keeps your tax burden down when ACDU. My first civ paycheck was a wake up.
**I also live where the cost of living is a bit lower than DC
Of note, traveling can be super hard on relationships. YMMV.
ETA: pay isn’t worth. and you can’t take it with you.
Work environment is also key. I’m not making the FAANG money, but I’m not hurting and my boss has his head screwed on straight. Having seen “toxic” during parts of my AC career, there’s much to be said for decent co-workers. What’s the point of making bank if the stress kills you at 60?
One minor thing to add: you accrue leave days during terminal leave. Don't forget about these when you're working your separation date backwards.
I used the nosc to keep my time clicking over without a break in service. I drilled with the OSU with the understanding that if I missed out on pilot boards, I was walking at the one year point and not looking back. You don't have to do that, you can apply for any billet where you fit. Ask the O's at the NOSC how to navigate JOAPPLY. Peruse kelly beamsley's website and read the articles on there.
Figure out how you intend to shelter as many of your dollars from uncle sam's grubby mitts. The first time I looked at my paycheck without 4000+ of tax free allowances on it (O-4 in Hawai'i ain't bad), I channeled my inner Greta Thunberg. How Dare You!
I used the nosc to keep my time clicking over without a break in service. I drilled with the OSU with the understanding that if I missed out on pilot boards, I was walking at the one year point and not looking back. You don't have to do that, you can apply for any billet where you fit. Ask the O's at the NOSC how to navigate JOAPPLY. Peruse kelly beamsley's website and read the articles on there.
Figure out how you intend to shelter as many of your dollars from uncle sam's grubby mitts. The first time I looked at my paycheck without 4000+ of tax free allowances on it (O-4 in Hawai'i ain't bad), I channeled my inner Greta Thunberg. How Dare You!
Everyone - thanks for the help.
Riddle me this though: if I just sell my leave, is that not making more money in the long run? As in I am paid for my last 2 months of work, then sell 60 days of leave, I actually end up with more than if I had just taken the leave.
With that said, my preference is the leave, but I do not think my command will approve any/much terminal leave.
Riddle me this though: if I just sell my leave, is that not making more money in the long run? As in I am paid for my last 2 months of work, then sell 60 days of leave, I actually end up with more than if I had just taken the leave.
With that said, my preference is the leave, but I do not think my command will approve any/much terminal leave.
Spekkio
He bowls overhand.
What's stopping you from starting a new job while on terminal leave?
When you sell your leave back, you only get base pay. So if you have a job lined up day 1 starting terminal leave, you are probably better off taking the terminal and collecting 2 paychecks(one of which includes BAH/BAS/etc)
The key is to have another gig lined up, that way you're double dipping and getting paid for your next job while on terminal. As others have said, you do not get BAH, BAS, or Flight Pay if you sell back. Depending on location, that could be $3-8k you're leaving on the table.
Simple as that- if you need the money then run the numbers for both scenarios. That is if you can start your new job as soon as you start terminal leave, or more specifically, if taking the terminal leave enables you to start the new job earlier than you otherwise would have been able to start. Some jobs have earlier start dates popup. Airline class dates are doing that sometimes these days- there will be a random opening in a class a week or two out.
Do you want the time off? Don't overlook the obvious here. Two months off with the prospect of zero responsibility, not shaving... hell, you can wear pyjamas all day (real pyjamas, I don't mean a flight suit), drink coffee at first and then switch to beer when the time is right... although this gets old pretty quickly. Maybe you have a big honey-do list around the house, maybe you've been neglecting some project or hobby in your man cave for far too long, maybe you want to take the family to Disney.
As far as income and employment, those 60 days could be opportunity cost, it just depends on your situation.
Or as @nittany03 pointed out, there's more to life than just making bank. Those 60 days are your vacation that you haven't been able to take.
Do you want the time off? Don't overlook the obvious here. Two months off with the prospect of zero responsibility, not shaving... hell, you can wear pyjamas all day (real pyjamas, I don't mean a flight suit), drink coffee at first and then switch to beer when the time is right... although this gets old pretty quickly. Maybe you have a big honey-do list around the house, maybe you've been neglecting some project or hobby in your man cave for far too long, maybe you want to take the family to Disney.
As far as income and employment, those 60 days could be opportunity cost, it just depends on your situation.
Or as @nittany03 pointed out, there's more to life than just making bank. Those 60 days are your vacation that you haven't been able to take.
I think it depends on a) what your command is willing to let you do and b) whether that paid time off is value added for you (giving you time for a civ job, relocation, family time, etc). In terms of just money, it can be better for you, but that's only true if that time is used to generate other income.
Edit: or what Jim said, since he said it much better.
Edit: or what Jim said, since he said it much better.
If you're making bank then you're paying for it in some other way. Sure, the FAANGs (had to look that one up) may pay bank but they expect long work hours. I interviewed at Amazon and by the time the interview was over I was pretty sure I didn't want the job. Turns out they didn't want me either so it was mutual but while working at a big and exciting company was enticing, it was pretty clear that the work life balance wasn't there. The job I was interviewing for came with the expectation that you work pretty much non-stop from Thanksgiving to New Years. As another example my buddy went to an Ivy league law school and then went to work for a big NYC law firm. He makes crazy boy band money but because he's working so much he doesn't have time to spend it and he doesn't have time to start the rest of his life.
There's no wrong answer here, it just depends what YOU want to do. Also, the big hard working companies do provide a certain street cred to your resume so there's that too.
This.
I took 65 days of terminal (60 plus the 2.5 per month), and only double dipped for the last 3 weeks (just enough to ensure the paychecks were constantly flowing).
That time spent traveling around, sleeping in, and just decompressing with the wife was invaluable to me, my wife, and our relationship.
Seriously being able to say, "hey, let's get in the car and go to X" on a Thursday morning and not worrying about what's going on at work, who you have to tell, does it fit with the flight sked, etc ... is such a great feeling.
