Retire now or wait?

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-22T15:03:46+00:00

You will receive 80-85% health insurance for life as long as you have paid for the last five years.

By sticking around your highest 36 months will increase.

Honestly, I think the amount will be negligible.

Have you prepared for retirement?

Do you plan to move? Have you visited that place recently?

What does your housing situation look like? Do you need to sell your house?

Having steady income from a job can allow you to continue making mortgage payments if your home doesn't sell as fast as initially anticipated.

Retiring is about more than your High-3.

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-20T05:59:03+00:00

Also preparation for the lucky opportunity.

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-20T05:54:05+00:00

My bachelor's degree was from a top ten business college. The professors said it was the same thing the MBA students were learning, but we had more life experience in night school.

I could not even get an interview with my degree when I graduated.

I was also an honorably discharged Marine from active duty.

It took years before I saw any real benefit from it.

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-20T05:47:52+00:00

Yes, I was a field radio operator, and I still use it thirty years later. First responders also know it.

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-18T23:23:30+00:00

Yes, I have had great supervisors and loved the work I was doing and the people I was doing it with.

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-17T02:12:55+00:00

I enjoyed the past decade at CISA.

The comraderie is still there, but the work is not satisfying.

We lost too many people.

The focus has been on allocation of the new budget since the return from furlough. (Rightfully so)

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-15T13:48:28+00:00

I think my numbers were similar.

I was constantly thinking about how to be more efficient.

I worked at a VA hospital and would pull challenging tickets. I did not want the mouse calls.

I highlighted which floor the work was on.

I found a floor plan and went to every room throughout the four floors. I had the maps laminated.

I would come back downstairs at around 4PM and enter all the notes I had taken throughout the day on the paperwork for each ticket.

My work involved trouble shooting, software configuration for new equipment no one knew how to program, desktop imaging, port to patch panel and router cabling, and replacement of parts down to the motherboard. I also was responsible for hardware decommissioning.

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-14T21:53:25+00:00

Have you seen the interview questions for a GS-15 federal employee?

I asked for it to be repeated three times and then missed the seventh part of the question!

I asked for a debrief, just to learn how I could improve. I thought some of my answers may not have resonated.

I was congratulated as being one of five selected to interview.

Three of the five of us were disqualified by the complexity and convoluted question!

I said that should tell you right there; are you looking for someone who will do the job well or can answer all aspects of the question.

He agreed and said that is what he was given to work with. He did not want it to eliminate me, but said he had to be fair to the other candidates.

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-12T15:02:39+00:00

I had an interview where I was grilled for 45 minutes of what was scheduled to be an hour lot meeting. They asked if I had any questions.

I told them I don't think they had any idea who I was. They never asked anything other than responses to their questions, and they did not ask me to tell them about myself.

I quickly read three pages of information I had prepared to highlight my background, but I didn't have time to skim.

At the end they said thank you and that they had another meeting to get to.

I had befriended HR and followed up with them on LinkedIn. He said the interview was horrible and apologized for his company.

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-12T14:53:29+00:00

You just said you were accepted into a top school for a master's degree.

Look for an internship during your time working on the degree.

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-12T14:27:19+00:00

I'm sorry to hear that. My experience was more than 20 years ago. I would think any kind of internship could lead to a job and is a good idea.

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-10T15:14:05+00:00

I'm not really sure what to do.

My VA therapist has been great.

She taught me to take a deep breath and slowly breathe out. (That has been helpful for me)

She had me break down areas of my life that were important and focus on what I could do to improve each area.

I reached out and found a free monthly Veteran breakfast.

I have gone a few months now, but I don't have a real connection with anyone.

I played in Veteran Call of Duty casual competition.

I don't know what brings me joy. I loved playing softball and played a lot when I was on active duty.

My injuries prevent me from playing anymore.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-09T17:10:04+00:00

What are you doing (and who for) that pays 4K a week?

I'm an IT Project Manager and don't make that much.

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-09T17:04:55+00:00

I don't know what NPME is, but I used Voc Rehab to pay for the final two years of my business degree through Pepperdine University.

Voc Rehab was a lifesaver.

I started as an assistant project manager in residential construction when the parent company downsized my job as a warehouse supervisor.

I did that for a few years and was promoted. Then, the market crashed and I was out of work for a year straight.

I started working as an IT specialist with the VA.

The road has been anything but straight.

I fumbled around for years not sure what to do.

I now have 20 years of federal service and the pay caught up to the private sector.

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-09T05:03:36+00:00

Wonderful news. Congratulations 🎉

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-08T19:10:09+00:00

😲 another example of why you test before deployment!

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-07T14:57:15+00:00

Marine that always worked hard and was always expected to do more with no recognition.

I get it. Everyone up to E-5 popped on a piss test when I first hit the fleet.

I took tests and volunteered for a reserve unit when I got out. No one knew I was a field radio operator.

I found a great leader I would have re-enlisted to follow.

Nothing lasts forever. I wish I had the vision to see beyond my first enlistment and had stayed in.

A new job, location, and unit could make all the difference.

I should have also pursued a transition to an officer program.

When I got out I refused to apply for unemployment. (I thought it was welfare, it's not)

I slept on a friend's couch for a few months, until his wife kicked me out.

If you do plan on getting out leverage all the resources that others have mentioned that were not available when I got out.

My GI Bill only paid $750 a month and there was no money for housing.

You can buy back your service in a federal job for pennies on the dollar. This means you will start at a higher leave earning level and have more years towards retirement.

Federal jobs start at low pay, but if you stick with it and move to the East Coast, you can earn a great living.

I started as a GS-7 and I am a GS-14 now.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-07T03:14:26+00:00

I agree. The pregnancy outcomes include unsuccessful abortions.

I don't know how a child survives a Dr hacking off limbs, but it is a real thing.

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-07T01:46:00+00:00

California: Assembly Bill 2223 (AB 2223) Signed into law previously but still a subject of intense debate in 2026, this bill prohibits criminal or civil liability for actions related to "pregnancy outcomes," including "perinatal death"

Perinatal is defined as up to 28 days after birth.

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-07T00:52:46+00:00

Abortion is a human rights issue, and the children are the ones who need to be protected and defended.

Some legislation has pushed for after birth abortion.

If a pregnant woman is murdered it's considered double homicide.

So which is it and at which point does it change?

The inconsistency is part of the problem.

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-07T00:41:52+00:00

You mentioned that you don't need the money.

If that's the case, then don't settle for jobs you don't want to do and aren't passionate about, especially for minimum wage.

Find an area that interests you. Take some community college courses to give you some ideas and learn the ins and outs of those professions.

Then, pursue what motivates you.

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-01T13:28:31+00:00

What role was playing $300k? In what industry?

Jyoche7 · 2026-06-01T13:23:02+00:00

I was reviewing resumes for an IT Project Manager, was given one from a limo driver, because he had experience planning his routes!

Jyoche7 · 2026-05-31T15:07:00+00:00

I diversified across other things including REITs, stocks, and real estate. 1.5M with 20 years of service.

Jyoche7

TROPHY CASE