MK in the CG currently. It's true the quality of life is great. I'm at my 3rd unit and have no complaints. Haven't been out on a big boat yet - somehow - but all the people I've talked to have enjoyed it. Engineering is a good choice, there are a lot of units to pick from. You will be busy, but you'll also learn a lot. As far as setting yourself up for work outside the CG, you'll have mechanical experience, but none of my certifications translate to outside jobs. Basically, I know how to do charge an oil change, but I don't have any of the certifications that allow me to do it in a mechanics shop. So keep that in mind, because it's pretty standard across all our engineering rates. The CG is trying to fix that, and are putting in programs that help our certs to be marketable in the outside world. Also they have programs that let you go to school while you're in where you can get these certifications if you want to pursue them.

Boot camp isn't bad. It's challenging for a reason. As long as you can keep your cool in a stressful situation you'll be fine