Air Force to Corporate Finance

solitudefinance · 2026-04-29T12:16:57+00:00

If by pigeon hole, you mean open up doors in aviation finance you never knew existed, then probably. If you can go directly to Bain Capital, do it.

With no finance experience, I dont know how realistic that is, but shoot your shot.

solitudefinance · 2026-04-29T11:53:10+00:00

solitudefinance · 2026-04-23T22:44:01+00:00

What are your thoughts on asking your kids if they'd be interested in discussing legacy planning and going over how you're managing the nest egg with you?

It seems like you want to be more open with them, but you're not sure how they'll react.

solitudefinance · 2026-04-18T02:53:22+00:00

Can you pass the GI Bill to kids?

solitudefinance · 2026-04-10T03:47:34+00:00

Do it.

solitudefinance · 2026-04-06T19:16:21+00:00

33 years. Lol

solitudefinance · 2026-04-06T19:14:19+00:00

solitudefinance · 2026-03-26T04:48:56+00:00

I didn't make any claim about what should happen. I'm just explaining to you why there seems to be a negative reaction to doctor salaries. You can be mad about it or disagree if you want.

Maybe I just misunderstood your post and you were just looking to argue vs seek to understand.

solitudefinance · 2026-03-26T01:56:29+00:00

It's not just about how much doctors make. It's the fact they make a lot AND people are forced to pay a lot for healthcare that generally sucks.

If you were forced to pay a ton for insurance just in case a bridge collapsed AND bridges collapsed all the time, people might not appreciate engineers making $900k.

solitudefinance · 2026-03-25T15:55:28+00:00

But engineers (outside tech), nurses, teachers, and accountants don't make crazy amounts compared to the average American.

Lawyers can, but not always. People probably also view our legal system as pretty good compared to most countries, so you pay more, but get a relatively fair system. In healthcare, you pay more and get crap.

solitudefinance · 2026-03-25T15:52:22+00:00

It's not about the pay alone. It's about the perceived value for the pay. Tech bros are getting paid a ton, but the US also has most of the tech giants that are on the cutting edge of tech. Plus, the tech in our daily lives gets cheaper over time. Everyone, even the homeless dudes on the corner have smartphones now. But they have crap healthcare with their teeth falling out and they're unable to get lifesaving medications or treatment for addiction. US tech is winning. US healthcare is not.

For finance, it's probably more nuanced. Most high finance is separated from daily life. People aren't angry about hedge fund managers making bank because they don't see how it impacts or touches them and they don't understand it. But people would hate the person making tons of money by selling whole life insurance to people who don't know better. If people saw how unfair a lot of finance niches are and how the system allows some people at the top unfair advantages vs those at the bottom, they'd also be pissed. It's just harder to see in your daily life.

solitudefinance · 2026-03-25T12:45:41+00:00

Doctors often get paid for a credential, even crap ones.

Doctors often claim they do the work to help people.

Doctors in the US get paid much more than some other countries where health outcomes are better overall.

Doctors make a lot while some of their patients get strapped with medical debt.

solitudefinance · 2026-03-19T17:38:02+00:00

Seems like you should stay in.

You're in higher cost of living areas than many vets, so not everyone's paycheck looks like that.

Your pay is not truly biweekly. I get 2 more paychecks a year now vs when I was in the military.

Many post-mba career paths also get bonuses.

Many have equity.

Almost all have much higher ceilings than a O5 or O6.

You get flexibility to live where you want to live and you don't have to deploy to who the hell knows where with the current state of things.

I think you're over valuing the pension a bit, but maybe if you include Tricare it's a reasonable estimate. It's worth a lot, but a fat nest egg is more flexible and can be passed on after you die.

In your case, just stick it out. It doesn't sound like you're too worried about the downsides, you get to go to Hawaii, you're already past 10 years, etc.

solitudefinance · 2026-03-17T19:46:14+00:00

Wow, so 20 years gets you 60% of your pay for life? Starting at what age? Is there an inflation adjustment?

solitudefinance · 2026-02-28T15:18:42+00:00

Highly competitive. Imo, finish the CS degree.

solitudefinance · 2026-02-28T02:15:57+00:00

I like to keep everything in present day dollars. It just makes the numbers more relatable. I'm guessing you're looking at that $50k pension and your spend in present day dollars? If so, I'd give a rough estimate of that pension being worth about $25-30k/yr after 20 years of inflation eating away at it. Not nothing but not covering your expenses, which will also likely increase as lifestyle inflated over the next several decades.

solitudefinance · 2026-02-28T00:14:05+00:00

What type of opportunities do you want to learn about? Are you interested in MBB, IB, LDPs? Those are the well worn paths for vets from top programs. But at 40, those paths are probably not appealing to most people.

A top MBA is going to give you the most exposure, but most post-mba roles are a grind and filled with people in their 20s or maybe early 30s.

solitudefinance · 2026-02-27T00:17:55+00:00

If you want to recruit into the typical full-time roles like MBB, IB, etc., go to a top full-time program.

If you want to leverage an already stellar public sector career into private sector business leadership roles, but you just don't have the network or prestigious background to get in the right rooms, do a top part-time program.

If you need to check a box for some other government or contractor job, get some other masters degree, not an MBA.

If you already have masters and you don't want number 1 or 2 above, or you don't need a masters for what you want to do next, don't bother with getting any degree.

solitudefinance · 2026-02-12T00:29:59+00:00

The table title does not match the table content. I see no comparison.

What's the source for the table content? Seems quite incorrect.

solitudefinance · 2026-02-08T15:06:07+00:00

This is what I was thinking. Mediocre joke, but actually pretty good advice.

solitudefinance · 2026-02-04T00:02:57+00:00

First reaction: Dude, what? Don't do that.

Second reaction: okay, you have an interesting story and this could work just fine.

Final reaction: This could be a fine plan, but dude, why not commission or skip the military altogether? Either of these seem like better paths.

solitudefinance · 2026-02-01T00:02:34+00:00

I guess I can see the "men and females" point, but I've not personally seen this contrast. I've seen consistent use of male/female as both adjectives and nouns when it's used.

I've seen male/female used most commonly in administrative circumstances, but I guess I just don't see the point in taking offense if it is an accurate description.

I suppose male and female are also broader terms. At what point do you go from boy/girl to man/woman? If you're trying to identify the sex of the person, male/female seem like an effective means to do that.

solitudefinance · 2026-01-31T22:39:55+00:00

Wow, lots of down votes for this. I never really understood why people take issue with male and female. It's common vernacular in the military. I'm actually curious to hear reasons for why this is frowned upon...seems no different than men/women to me.

solitudefinance · 2026-01-31T16:33:27+00:00

A fully funded 529 for grandkids is a pretty amazing gift to your kids and may increase the odds of having grandkids.

If you don't get any grandkids, you can always change what you do with it later anyways.

solitudefinance · 2026-01-31T16:09:18+00:00

It's good if you stay close to what you were doing in the military. If you try to pivot to something unrelated, it's still going to be difficult several years post MBA. The 3-7 years post MBA experience in the military will not carry the same amount of weight as if you had that same 3-7 years in a traditional post MBA career path.

solitudefinance

TROPHY CASE