TSA job, going to college, and military reserves?

[swimmermom3]

How's that for a confusing title? :tongue_smilie: 

 

I wrote a ways back about my oldest son being fortunate enough to be hired as a TSA agent even though he is 19 and only a high school graduate.  He loves his job and has moved out with a friend to an apartment near work.

 

Today he called to ask me if I would let him know what he needed to do to begin taking classes at our CC. He works from 4am to 10am five days a week.  He's home by 10:20am and his roommate doesn't get home until 5:30pm. Ds often picks up extra shifts, but he still has plenty of time on his hands and is bored.

 

He has given me permission to check with the board for ideas.

 

He is an average, sometimes ambivalent student on paper. When he's interested in a topic, like history, he's in the A-B range. He never skipped classes in high school, but if he wasn't interested in the subject or he didn't understand it, he didn't do the work. He is perhaps mildly ADHD as he moves quickly and talks even more quickly. He can't remember to take the trash out, but can tell you everything he's ever read about WWII. The highest math course he has taken is Algebra II and his critical reading score (his highest) on the SAT was 600. After high school, he continued to ask for reading suggestions and roared through Michner, Hemingway, and Dumas.

 

For his career path, he thinks he would like to continue with the Federal government taking advantage of his basic security clearance, possibly with enforcement like an air marshal, or CIA, FBI.  For classwork, he is interested in criminal justice, history, cultural anthropology and psychology. 

 

Someone that he works with suggested that he join a military reserve. He's open to that, but I am not sure he wants a long-term career in the military. Seeing someone a few years older than him come back from Iraq fairly messed up, changed his ideas about being in the military full-time. He's not a big guy, nor super athletic, but with conditioning, he's a fairly good runner and of course he can swim, but just doesn't love it like the rest of the family. I think he is considering the reserves but it would take up some of his time and give him extra income and he did enjoy being in Civil Air Patrol.

 

I know this is a bundle of mixed information, but I really have no idea of where to start other than to call the CC about entrance exams. What are potential career paths? I am so unfamiliar with the direction he wants to head that I know I will miss many of the possibilities. I am just so excited that he wants to return to school. He's been making noises, but today it was, "Let's get the ball rolling, Mom."

 

 

 

[JennW in SoCal]

I think it is very wise for your ds to start working towards a BA.  The major probably doesn't matter, and he can start whittling away at it at the community college.  I could be wrong, but having a college degree will probably matter long term if he is going to in advance within federal government jobs.  But he first needs to get himself comfortable with the CC.

 

Have you looked at admissions information on the CC's website?  He probably just needs to fill out the application on-line, and will only need to take placement tests before registering for classes. It really was that easy for my oldest ds. I'd start there and only call if you can't find an answer on-line. The entire class schedule will be on-line, payment, and registration -- everything is on-line!  Get yourselves familiar with that website!

 

Other regulars can address the pros and cons of joining the reserves.  I'm just an ignorant civilian!!

[Sebastian (a lady)]

My general advice on the reserves is that you should want to be in the military (because in a very real sense you are) and you should be in a ace where you can at least do the unit training and drills. Even better if a recall or individual augmentation isn't going to really wreck things. It can be hard to be a student and a reservist at the same time because there are times when neither schedule is very flexible.

 

I've been trolling our cc website. Here registration is online and free. Then the assessment/placement exams are walk in (at least at this time of year). The cc does have online tests for interests and careers and a counseling center to help students figure out what they want.

[Laurel-in-CA]

Many CCs have a single-unit class called intro to career planning or some such, also one on study skills. Once he takes placement tests he can also go sign-in and wait to see a counselor who can help him with a general study plan. I would agree that for a federal govt. career a 4-year degree would be most helpful for advancement. He might consider getting an AA first at the CC, because he would have *that* degree on record as he works on the next part of the degree plan.

[Nan in Mass]

How happy you must be, Lisa! I was so happy when our oldest mentioned he might be interested in going back to school. At that point, since he was working full time and I was already in guidance counselor mode for his younger brother, I did as much of the application process as I could. I figured out what he had to do when, called the school with a list of his questions, set up for us all to go to the open house, scheduled the various appointments, sat with him while he filled out the application, etc. (We continued to lend a hand with the business end of his life, leases and insurance and all, until he graduated, but once he was there, he managed all the college part by himself. Just in case you are worried about that.) In the process of helping him, I realized that a school that is used to dealing with older students who are working is awfully nice under those circumstances. This is one of the advantages that you will have if you work with a community college. Community colleges are set up to work for students who have jobs, also. They also have career counseling that might be able to help him define his goals and find other ideas. I was happy that our oldest was in a program where he aquired certificates as he went along; we weren't at all sure that he had the academic stamina to make it through his four year program. The certificates would have been handy if he hadn't, and meanwhile, they gave him a sense of accomplishment. Community college would have that advantage, as well, although it might be a good idea to make sure that he (and you) knows the full scoop when it comes to transfer programs, so anger and betrayed feelings over things not transfering doesn't derail him. He doesn't need that. If he's like mine, pecking away at a degree might not be the best idea. He might be better off going to school full time, or at least close to full time, so he can finish in some sort of reasonable time frame and doesn't get depressed thinking that he's stuck being a student forever.

 

If he doesn't want to commit to getting a BA or BS right now, he might be interested in certificate programs, either the ones that involve classes for college credit or the ones that are issued by people like Microsoft that don't. For example, our community college offers an EMT class for college credit (and a first responder class, and a nurses assistant class) . It also has a paramedical (think I got the name right?) certificate program that includes the EMT class (or first responder class or nurses assistant class), can be completed in one year if you go full time, and includes some of the first year nursing classes. There is a two year nursing program. That two year nursing program can be used at the near-by state college as part of a four year nursing program. Aquiring a BS in nursing this way is bound to take more than four years, but in a way it is safer because there are good stopping points along the way. On the other hand, your son might be less likely to finish his BA or BS if there are good stopping places. My husband and I have talked about this trade-off quite a lot. There are advantages both ways.

 

I think it is a good thing that oldest's program included some very interesting classes right away. I think he might not have persisted if his first semester had been the typical psych 1, calc 1, comp 1, Spanish 1, biology 1. It would have been too much like going back to high school. One of the disadvantages of community college is that the beginning classes listed above ARE a lot like their high school counterparts. More high school might discourage him. On the other hand, our community college has some very un-typical-highschool-like classes, like that EMT one. Maybe he'd like to take one of those (they often are more than 3 credits), along with geography and psychology or something more mildly interesting like that?

 

We've known several young people now who have gone back to school later and finished. Best of luck to him!

 

Nan

[Julie of KY]

Best of luck. I think it is great that he is thinking about his future and asking your input.

 

While I agree with what's been said above, I don't really have anything new to add to the conversation.

[JuanitaL]

 

 

I wrote a ways back about my oldest son being fortunate enough to be hired as a TSA agent even though he is 19 and only a high school graduate.  He loves his job and has moved out with a friend to an apartment near work.

 

Today he called to ask me if I would let him know what he needed to do to begin taking classes at our CC. He works from 4am to 10am five days a week.  He's home by 10:20am and his roommate doesn't get home until 5:30pm. Ds often picks up extra shifts, but he still has plenty of time on his hands and is bored.

 

 

 

For his career path, he thinks he would like to continue with the Federal government taking advantage of his basic security clearance, possibly with enforcement like an air marshal, or CIA, FBI.  For classwork, he is interested in criminal justice, history, cultural anthropology and psychology. 

 

Someone that he works with suggested that he join a military reserve. He's open to that, but I am not sure he wants a long-term career in the military. Seeing someone a few years older than him come back from Iraq fairly messed up, changed his ideas about being in the military full-time. He's not a big guy, nor super athletic, but with conditioning, he's a fairly good runner and of course he can swim, but just doesn't love it like the rest of the family. I think he is considering the reserves but it would take up some of his time and give him extra income and he did enjoy being in Civil Air Patrol.

 

 

 

I'll throw some more out there to consider about the reserves - basic training and AIT - for me (many, many years ago) that spanned November through May - will several months absence work for his job/roommate/apartment? As for the bolded - there are many reservists who are also wounded warriors (I automatically think Army - the reality for reservists in other branches is probably different).

 

Best wishes for whatever he decides to do!

[Teachin'Mine]

Great news!   I know a lot can be done online, but IMO it's always helpful to go to the campus and talk with people directly.   You can find what paperwork he'll need for registration online and bring it with you, and can schedule his placement test.   After the test, he can speak with an advisor and go to the career services to find out what they have available.   A course which focuses on career options is a great idea as is the study skills one.  Personally, I'd make sure he has a history course he'd enjoy that first semester.  If your community college offers an honors course, I'd suggest he take the honors version for history at least.  The students there will be more enthusiastic about the course content, the professors are the best on campus, and there's more discussion and active participation.

 

No info about reserves, but I wouldn't recommend it if he doesn't want to possibly end up in a conflict.   If he's considering it for help with the finances, he should check with his human resources dept at work about possible reimbursement for tuition.  To help him feel more connected on campus, I'd suggest he look into clubs and organizations to join.  Getting him interested in classes and involved on campus would be my main goals.   He'll likely take off from there.

[elegantlion]

Has he considered GIS certification? That might be a good option to consider.

[katilac]

Post-2001, a great number of reservists in our area were called to active, long-term deployment, including overseas. I wouldn't consider the reserves unless I was very open to being a full-time soldier as well. 

 

Foreign language study would be a huge plus in the fields he is interested in. 

 

The FBI lists certain critical skills that would give you an edge: 

https://www.fbijobs.gov/1112.asp

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lanny]

I will briefly reply to 2 of the things you mentioned. First, I was in the Reserves. As PP have pointed out, one can have their "normal" civilian life, disrupted, severely, if the unit is called up and deployed. During recent years, many reservists (Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine and Air/National Guard members have been deployed overseas, in Iraq and Afghanistan, multiple times. Also, if a member of the Reserves is in a war, the enemy does not discriminate against people who are Regular Army/Air Force, etc., and those who are in the Reserves. They would like just as much to kill a Reserve member as a Regular soldier. In fact, at Bagram Airfield in Kabul, the Civilian employees wear military uniforms. Enemies of the USA don't discriminate if they see someone in a U.S. uniform...

 

Second, the fact that your DS has some kind of entry level Security Clearance does not mean he has a clear path to the CIA, DIA, FBI, etc. One of my Cousins has a son who is an F.B.I. agent. Before he was an F.B.I. agent, he was an Attorney...  There may be some entry level position(s) your DS can qualify for, but he will need a lot more education to progress in one of those agencies. 

 

Much GL to your DS!