Guidance needed. I'm getting out of the military.

Thank you for selecting my thread for review.

Things to know:

I get out of the USAF in 10 months.
As I grew up my strong subject by far was Art. I was always the best in my class.
Throughout my time in the military, I've been learning photography and photoshop.
My actual job in the AF is Vehicle Maintenance.
Very good on a team, been to 6 different countries and counting.
I've received the highest ratings possible on my enlisted performance report.
I won Airman of the quarter.
I've loved the internet since I was 13 years old (22 now)
I've deployed twice.

So basically I want to pursue a career in Web design with a focus in UI/UX design while working for a big company on a team of web developers.
I'm starting fresh; I've downloaded books and tutorials (lynda) I'm dedicated to learn them.
I'm going to attend Kaplan U online taking a few classes while I wait to get out of the AF.

As soon as I get out I'm moving to Philadelphia and using my G.I. Bill ($47,500 for school) I plan on attending Drexel University to finish out my A.A. G.I bill gives me $1000 a month for rent so I'll have to get a small studio apartment. I will be selling my 350z because I won't be able to afford the payments/insurance. I will also need to find a part time job so I can afford to eat. Basically I'm choosing Philadelphia because my girlfriend lives there, cities have lots of opportunities. and my family lives in NJ.

My concerns turn toward the plausibility to attend college full time, while working part time.
I'm also very behind on math. The highest level math course I've completed is Algebra in HS.
I know drexel's curriculum contains Analysis and Physics I & II. I'm not sure how I'll be able to handle those.
I was also wondering if Philadelphia has a large market for web developers.

Lastly, I was wondering if having a military background would prove beneficial when I actually applying for a web design job?

Please shed some guidance on my situation.

Additional notes: I'm going to try to get by with just my associates hoping that my portfolio and military experience will make up for my lack of bachelors degree. As soon as I get that job I will finish my BS degree online while simultaneously working.

Thank you for your time, it is greatly appreciated and have a nice day!

btw sorry for the giant wall of text.

Personally, being a person that hires "web designers" or consults and helps companies hire people with web skills...

Mitary experince "unless relevant", has no bearing on anything... I was in the USAF many years ago and my "just being there" had no relevance or gave me no credit.

Since your job there has no relevance to your desired field, the chances of finding a company that will look at it the way you expressed is slim.

My suggestion would be to start creating ( if you haven't already ), an online portfolio, to highlight your skills.

In the past 2 years I have hired or consulted in 20 or so hirings, as you know, anyone can write anything on a piece of paper, but if you have a visible portfolio where the people deciding if you would be a good match, can see where you are ( even just starting out ), can make a better decision...

I recently sat in on one, where the very nice lady had a resume that said she had 6 years design experience, but had no online portfolio, part of my interview process includes "basic troubleshooting" using notepad as the only editor, but she couldn't even look at the code to find some basic syntax issues.

The person that ultimately got the position had only been doing web design for about a year, but they had several "mockup sites" they had created to show that they understood the basics, and some intermediate skills... When ask for the troubleshooting part, they had no issues using notepad to find and fix the syntax issues...

As for Phili ??? Don't know, someone else will need to comment there...

If you're passionate about it, willing to learn, and put yourself out there, you should be fine... Sorry to say though that your experience in the military won't help you a lot ... My time in the USAF didn't help me a bit, but then again, not much call for bomb builders in the private sector.

First off I would like to say thank you for such an informative and timely response.

Your post brought me a lot of comfort. I can't wait to get started. My friend is actually beginning a tshirt company and I offered another friend and my self's services to create his website for him. I thought it would give me a chance to showcase my talent and start a portfolio.

As far as the military thing goes I wasn't putting all my eggs in that basket, so I'll be ok if lacks relevance on a resume. Although I am grateful for what they have taught me. When I joined I was a immature 19 year old with no work ethic and determination. Although I'm not much now, I have come a long way from being that boy I once was. I feel like I can accomplish anything if I truly want it. At least I have the G.I. bill

Btw, Thank you for your service Webzarus.

I didn't mean to insinuate that your military experience had no bearing, and by all means, you should list it as some companies do hire vets over non vets, but this industry ( web design / development ), is fickle... With littl or no experience you may get lucky and find an entry level internship that pays ok... But those are few and far between these days...

Now I'm gonna say something you may not like... But I got out of the military in 1983... If I had it to do all over again, I would have stayed in at least another 4 years and let THEM, pay for my education... While I had a secure job... I can tell you right now, it's a whole lot easier to focus on school, if paying your bills, is not a concern...

Seems like you've got your head screwed on straight, not expecting to keep you car, because you realize you can't afford it... But take it from someone who got out of the military in one of the worst economic times ( and I had a job lined up ), today's economy is even worse the 83, jobs are tough to come by, rent is higher than ever... At least you don't have a family to support... I worked minimum wage job(s) for 4 years just to get by and provide... Forget about going to school, even if the GI BILL pays you something...

If you have the option to stay in and get a BA in something ( even an associates ), then get out and use your GI BILL to finish your degree or get another degree that will
Compliment what you already have. In this field, a degree and a good portfolio will land you any choice of jobs you want.

Charles,

I'm currently active duty AF myself, 12 years. Webzarus hit the nail on the head. If you had a lot more time in, particularly as an NCO, you might be able to score a supervisory role of some kind, but it still would be far out of reach without relevant experience and the ability to demonstrate the necessary skills. There is hope, though. I went from knowing almost nothing to, I'd say, quite proficient in about the amount of time you say you have remaining on active duty. You can too. If you put in the time to truly learn web design from the ground up, and more than just code, you'll be well on your way. And, if that doesn't work out, you certainly have a set of skills that are very relevant in another industry. That would give you the time you'd need to get proficient in web design while making a good income.

As an NCO, I gotta ask, are you taking advantage of the education benefits other than GIB that are available while you're active? You have $9500/yr to use toward tuition that doesn't come out of your GIB. If you have the time, get over to your education office and get the general ed classes either taken care of or CLEP'd. The on-base extension schools generally offer abbreviated semesters, which means more credits in less time. Maybe even dip into some degree relevant courses, and be even further on your way when you get out. If I was able to knock out my bachelor's in less than 3 yrs (not in design, regrettably), you can certainly do some serious damage in the next 10 months.

You may also like to give this little gem another look:

I took the route he wishes he had, and I'll tell you, he's right on every point.

To answer your question Ronald Roe, yes i'm going to start taking advantage of Tuition Assistance, as soon as I get back from this deployment I'm on (within the very near future). I would have been taking classes this month but it got interrupted by the deployment which ended up being a good thing because those were business classes. Now that I found out what I really want to do, I've never been more motivated. It's funny how life unfolds itself.

As for $9,500 I'm not sure where you're getting that number from as all the limit for TA is $4,500 unless your taking into account some other additional resources that I don't know about. But I will definitely take your advice and complete those General Ed classes, learn programming and polish my photoshop skills on the side. The Physics is whats going to kill me. So I guess I better take care of that first. Oh, I emailed Drexel and they said if I have been out of school for more than 2 years I'm considered a transfer student and will have to complete 25 college credits before I can be accepted.

I respect both of you and your advice. I feel bad for asking for help and ignoring some of the best advice given to me. I really do not see myself staying in any longer. As soon as I stepped through those doors at basic training I knew I didn't want to stay in, but I made my decision, I took an oath and intended to fulfill my duty. I still feel that way to this very day. No offense to anyone making a career out of it, I give them as much respect as possible. Its definitely a life of sacrifice. I know i'm young and inexperienced. I know that staying in and having the government pay for college is in my best interest and its smartest thing to do in my situation, there is no arguing that. I just can't stand being in anymore, I've been counting down the days for the past few years. This may be the most retarded thing you've ever heard but I've always been ok my whole entire life knowing for sure that I'd live to see another day. I've felt that life will workout for the better, even if things aren't going the way I'd like them too. The person who I am today is a result of everything I have learned, experienced, or have been taught by the many great people in my life. I am tired of always being ok, I intend to test myself. I'm just trying to make sure I do everything I can to set myself up for this. Both of you have helped me out a lot.

I intend to continue to be a member of this community, Both of your help is highly appriciated.

Thank you,

$4500 is right. the 9 was a typo.

Funny, I'm deployed myself right now. I tried to see if you had a deployed email on the global list to see where you're at, but all I found was your home station address. I know we can't talk about it here, but I'm curious to see if we're at the same location. Hit me up on either of my addresses on the global. There's a 3rd address on there for PACAF. That one's no good.

Hmmm, that would really be something if we were actually at the same place. I don't have access gov email right now and won't for the rest of the time i'm here. I'm trying not to give to much information away but I was called here for a pretty short assignment. By the way are you stationed at Tinker?

I am.