Moving is the one constant about military life. It’s something we all know will happen every two years or so, sometimes a little sooner, sometimes a little later.

And when that time comes, the military tells us where to go. Sure, maybe we have a say in it, an option to pick the top two or three choices. But, most often, we don’t put much thought into it.

The military issues orders, packs us up and ships us off to the new place.

But what about retirement? Where will the military move you then? The short answer is simple – you can pretty much move anywhere you want.

According to the Joint Federal Travel Regulation – the DOD regulation that governs all military travel to include PCS moves - the military will move you anywhere in the United States you want to go, including Alaska and Hawaii. In some cases, DOD will even pay to move you outside the U.S.

Really. The choice is yours, and the military will pay for it.

There’s often a lot of confusion over the military regulations for a retirement PCS, in part because the rules are different for retirement than for a regular separation (for the purposes of this column, remember that we are talking only about retirement). One of the major points of misunderstanding lies in the terms “Home of Record,” or HOR, and “Home of Selection,” or HOS.

Your HOR is generally based on where the service member joined the military. It’s the place listed on military records. It may or may not be the same place you claim residency, but either way, HOR has little to do with retirement.

HOS is the important term to remember for retirement.

During the retirement process, every service member is asked for his or her HOS. This is where your household goods will be shipped, and the location to which the military will reimburse you for travel. HOS is the location that goes on what is the equivalent of PCS orders when you retire.

It’s important to note that you don’t have to choose an HOS right away. You have up to one year from retirement to do so (we’ll come back to why this is important later).

HOR only comes into play if the service member joined the military from outside the 50 U.S. states. For example, if a service member’s HOR is Puerto Rico, the military will pay for a move back to Puerto Rico upon retirement. In that case, the service member would choose Puerto Rico as his or her HOS.

A retiring service member can also choose to move outside the U.S. even if it’s not his or her HOR. Say you pick Costa Rica as your HOS. The military will pay a percentage of the cost, based on what it would have cost to move you within the U.S.

One of the key points to remember is this, as stated in the JFTR: “Once a location is selected, that selection is irrevocable if transportation-in-kind is furnished and used, or travel and transportation allowances are received after the travel is completed.”

In other words, if you accept delivery of HHG or turn in a travel voucher, that location is forever your HOS and all other entitlements/reimbursements are limited to the amount of money it would have cost to move or transport you there.

This is where the one-year timeline mentioned above comes into play. Upon retirement, every service member is entitled to one year of household goods storage. You don’t have to declare a HOS until that one year is up and you have your HHG delivered. This is important because it can give you time to job hunt and/or decide where to move. You can use that time to wait for job offers, travel to a few different places, stay with family, or rent a furnished apartment in the location you think you want to move to until you know for sure.

You can also choose to stay where you are rather than put your HHG in storage, and still have up to one year for the final PCS. Plus, if you live in military housing and must vacate quarters upon retirement, the military will move you within a short distance off base and that will not count as your HOS.

That year gives you a lot of flexibility. Use it wisely.

Here are some other helpful notes for planning the retirement PCS:

• In some locations, retirees are allowed to rent military housing.
• You can do a DITY move.
• Your weight allowance is the same as an active-duty move, and pro gear is allowed.
• As always, check with your local transportation office to get the most up-to-date information for your situation.

Some of us plan military retirement from the very beginning, with our goals firmly set from day

one of the start of our military lives.

Others wait until 20 years later, when the last day of active duty is staring us straight in the

face.

No matter what path takes you there, retirement is a lot to digest. Among those thoughts that

might keep you up at night: Where will we live? How will we get jobs? Will we have enough

money? What about life insurance, health insurance and investments? How quickly will we

adapt to life in the civilian world?

Some would say never to that last question, and that’s one reason this column is here. To help

you, as a military spouse, plan for and navigate retirement, whether you’re two decades or two

days from that milestone.

Every other week we’ll dispel a lot of the many myths (or just downright misinformation)

floating around out there about military retirement. We’ll talk about things like the different

types of retirement, VA benefits, life insurance, the Spouse Benefit Plan, education benefits,

PCS entitlements and healthcare – just to name a few.

We’ll also look at what you can do to prepare yourself now for a career after military life, and

how you can jump start your plans no matter how far from – or how close to – retirement your

servicemember is.

To put things in perspective, here’s a snapshot of military retirees as of 2016, according to the

most recent annual Department of Defense Statistical Report on Military Retirees:

- Roughly two million current military retirees are drawing some sort of pay from DOD.

- Another 52,000 are eligible to retire this year.

- Nearly all live in the U.S., although when it comes to foreign countries Germany is the

most popular.

- More military retirees - 209,000 to be exact - live in Texas than any other state. Florida is

the next most popular state for retirees, followed closely by California and Virginia.

- Officers retire at an age of 49.6 years, enlisted personnel at 44.9.

- Most officers retire at the rank of O5 (not including medical retirements), while E7 is the

most common rank at retirement for enlisted personnel.

Feedback is always welcome. Feel free to comment with your questions, topics you’d like to

know more about or see addressed in the future, or your own personal experiences. You can also

email Jan Childs at janwchilds@yahoo.com.

Can’t decide on a field of study? How about studying a field with plentiful jobs?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks careers, salaries and trends in the workforce. The bureau can also track what fields are hiring more employees and which are cutting manpower numbers.

For students earning associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees there, surprisingly, is not one overwhelming, clear leader in employment for 2018.

Every degree field runs the gamut of health services, teachers, tech work, teachers and even clery.

Check out the lists below for where the most jobs are expected to be in 2018:

Occupations with the Most Jobs Openings: Associate's Degree or Postsecondary Vocational Award

Registered nurses

Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants

Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses

Computer support specialists

Hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists

Automotive service technicians and mechanics

Preschool teachers, except special education

Insurance sales agents

Heating, air conditioning and refrigeration technicians

Real estate sales agents

Occupations with the Most Job Openings: Bachelor's Degree

Elementary school teachers, except special education

Accountants and auditors

Secondary school teachers, except special needs and vocational

Middle school teachers, except special needs and vocational

Computer systems analysts

Computer software engineers, applications

Network systems and data communications analysts

Computer software engineers, systems software

Construction managers

Market research analysts

Occupations with the Most Job Openings: Graduate Degree

Post-secondary teachers

Doctors and surgeons

Lawyers

Clery

Pharmacists

Educational, vocational and school counselors

Physical therapists

Medical scientists, except epidemiologists

Mental health and substance abuse social workers

Instructional coordinators

 Want to learn more about these individual careers, how many jobs the bureau projects will be available across the U.S. and where? Visit www.bls.gov

Tired of carrying around your husband DD214 forms to prove he is a veteran?

 Your veteran spouse can soon receive a veterans ID card. The Veterans Identification Act of 2015 ordered the VA to issue ID cards to all honorably discharged veterans for free. Recent reports say the cards will finally be available in November.

Currently a handful of states allow veterans to have their military service noted on their driver’s license. The new ID will be issued by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and is expected to include a photo, date of discharge and military branch.

The cards are expected to make it easier for former military members to receive discounts at local retailers and prove military service to potential employers.

The new ID cards do not give authorization for the veteran to access medical care, the commissary, PX or receive retired pay. The cards are nothing more than a means to identify an individual as a former military member.

The cards may also make it easier for veterans to have access to their newest benefit: shopping at the Exchange.

Earlier this year the military exchanges announced that all honorably discharged veterans would be allowed to shop at the exchange online stores. The benefit begins on Veterans Day, Nov. 11 with a test run of veterans who applied for the program through the exchange.

Officials said more than 60,000 veterans applied to be part of the test group. More veterans will be added to those ranks on a rolling basis until the program is unveiled for all eligible veterans. About 13 million veterans quality for the new benefit.

Want to know more ways to prove your veterans service?

The website, militarybenefits.com has outlined several options ranging from local ID cards to state issued letters. Browse the list below to see if your servicemember qualifies for any of these forms of ID:

State Issued Veterans Designation on Driver’s Licenses or Identification Cards – If you reside in one of the many states that currently offers a veterans designation on a driver’s license or ID card this is the easiest and best option that both government agencies and businesses universally accept.  The states require varying proof of veterans status so be sure to check with the DMV before applying.  Many will only require your DD214 but some states require additional documentation or will accept supplemental documentation to a DD214.  Costs be state range from free to about $15 although even if free there most likely is fee to re-issue a card if not already up for renewal. 

Free Veterans Identification Proof of Service Letter – Access and print a letter through the joint VA/DoD web portal, eBenefits which serves as proof of honorable service.

State Veterans ID Cards – Most states are opting to put a Veterans designation on a driver’s license or ID card.  Virginia, thus far, is one state that issues a separate Veterans ID card which can be obtained through the DMV.  This means you would have a driver’s license and a state veterans ID card.

County Court House  or Clerk Office Issued Veterans Cards  – Some Counties such as in New Jersey and New York have opted to provide county veteran ID cards until the states can begin offering.  Check with your local county courthouse or clerk office to see if they offer veterans cards.  These cards are not official but for the purposes of receiving discounts from businesses this should work.  This has been confirmed by many veterans.

Retired Veterans With 20 Years of Service Veterans ID – Retired veterans who have served honorably for more than 20 years can obtain an ID card on base by submitting a copy of their retirement paperwork and they will be issued a DD form 2 (blue colored) ID card. There are two types of ID cards issued to retirees. A DD Form 2A (Ret-Red) ID card is issued to “Gray Area” retirees (prior to retired pay eligibility), and a DD Form 2 (Ret-Blue) ID card is issued to a retiree who is actively receiving retired pay.

ID Cards for Eligible Family Members of Living and Deceased Retired Soldiers – DD Form 1172-1 (Uniformed Services Identification and Privilege Card) is issued to eligible Family members of “Gray Area” retirees. A DD Form 1173 (Uniformed Services Identification and Privilege Card) is issued to eligible Family members of a retiree. The same rules apply for the DD Form 1173 for Reduced Retirement Eligible Retiree Family members; their ID Cards will not have full medical benefits until the Sponsor is age 60.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Identification Card (VIC) – Also known as a veterans universal Access photo ID Card, many veterans are eligible for a VA health card and may not know it.  The VA issues IDs to anybody who needs to access a VA medical center and many businesses accept these as valid proof of service.

Veterans who may qualify:

• Veterans with a service-connected disability rating
• Served in combat or in a war zone
• Medical conditions incurred while in the service
• Location of service
• Served in theater of combat operations within the past 5 years
• Received a Purple Heart Medal
• Former Prisoner of War
• Receive VA pension or disability benefits

* This is not a comprehensive list and veterans should check with the VA to see if they qualify.  Many unique circumstances lead to qualification.

Service Organization Veteran ID Cards – Many national and local veteran service organizations provide ID cards such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the American Legion.  While this are not official government issued proof of id many businesses accept these cards as proof of military service.

Looking for extra money but not necessarily a commitment to a long-term job?

Fall is the season of everything pumpkin spice but it also marks the start of interviews for seasonal jobs. Even large, national retailers who need extra help stocking shelves for Christmas and managing long Black Friday shopping lines begin their employee search now.

First up, is Halloween. Haunted house industry experts, yes, they exist, estimate there are more than 2,000 haunted venues around the nation that all need employees willing to wear weird makeup, scream and run after folks with a chainsaw.

Acting is the number one requirement for haunted house employees. Both that and being willing to work late nights.

Experts say many of the seasonal haunting jobs are filled by white-collar professionals who sit in an office by day and use the late night gigs as boosts to their acting resume or an outlet for their creativity.

The bigger venues also hire makeup artists to help outfit the temporary ghouls. A search on most national job search websites, such as Indeed and Monster bring up not just locally owned houses but also national attractions such as Six Flags.

The median hourly wage for haunted amusement workers is roughly $9, though the bigger the city, the bigger the haunted venue, the bigger the pay. Experts expect the field to grow every year.

By Allison Marlow

Mommy zombies are everywhere.

School has barely begun and already my friends are bleary-eyed, hunched in defeat as they drive from tumbling to cheer to scouts to tutoring to here to there to everywhere.

This kid needs money for homecoming. This one needs band shoes. That one has the wrong color folder for science. Another can’t find the three brand new uniform shirts we purchased in July.

There are notes heading home to pump you up for fundraisers! To warn you that one preschooler has already been diagnosed with foot and mouth disease. To gently remind you, to remind your kindergartener, to please not wipe boogers on the classroom walls. And someone in the band wore flip flops to practice. This, the text sent to every band parent screams, is not ok.

My friends have begun disappearing from texts, from Facebook messages, from weekly walks. They are too busy. The school year has taken over.

Like a giant monster, it has consumed them.

I get it. It’s easy to become lost in the swell of back to school neediness. We have five children. They are all involved, they all need something. Every. Single. Day.

And it took every single day of the first 10 years of being a mom to learn that cutting myself out of my schedule is not ok.

I didn’t exercise. I didn’t eat well. I didn’t worry about scheduling time for my own needs or to spend time with my husband. Heck, between his deployments, my job and the kids, there were days I didn’t schedule enough time to pick up the house.

And the monster consumed us. It exhausted us. It made us irritable and mean.

Now, I keep a written list of what I am going to do that day. At the top of it is my daily 2-mile walk. I make the trek, and cross it off. I plan the day before what our meals are going to be – including mine. No more running in and grabbing a handful of Oreos and heading to work. I make myself breakfast, a good breakfast and eat it alone in the quiet after the kids have caught the school bus. It’s delightful.

And sure, we still hustle through the day, and the hours between the end of the school day and dinner are insane to be certain. We still drive here, there and everywhere. But, time for homework is set aside when the running is over. We make a point to find that 30 minutes squashed between the activities to eat together, even if one person is finishing their meal at that point and the rest are just beginning. We are all together.

And bed time is a sacred time. Anything scheduled past 8 p.m. on a weeknight, doesn’t happen. The door is shut. The kids are sent to bed. My husband and I stop worrying about the dishes or the project we are in the middle of and sit down and spend time together. Sometimes it’s 10 minutes, sometimes it’s an hour, but it’s our time.

This is hard to do. It’s hard to shut off the internal voice saying we have to be everywhere, do everything, volunteer for everyone. That daily list of to do’s stares me in the face. Some days it saves me from myself. Other days it feels like punishment, keeping me from what I should be doing – keeping me from everything pulling me in the other direction.

But now, as a mom of five, I exercise daily. I eat better, though Oreos still call my name. I actually get enough sleep.

As we sail the chaotic waves that is fall and back to school time, keeping myself and my own needs at the center of that crazy schedule has made all the difference.  

By Salute to Spouses Staff

Nature strikes. After the tears and the destruction, it is time to pick up the pieces and start again.

For military families who move between states, and climates, knowing what to do after a natural disaster can be even more difficult. They didn’t grow up learning about tornadoes, hurricanes or mudslides. Every piece of information is new information.

Military spouses around the nation have been sharing - and adding to - a list of things “to do” after disaster strikes. It is the culmination of decades of experience of hundreds of women.

Keep it handy, be prepared and help those around you. Together it will be better.

If your home has not flooded but looks like it will:
* Get a time stamp app and take photos of every room in your house (including closets and pantries)
* Take photos of all your furniture and appliances, including a photo of the label with the model and serial numbers (this includes computers, vacuums, and small kitchen appliances - basically anything with a plug)
* Keep all important documents, insurance information, receipts for appliances, and important photos with you
* Put as many valuable items up in your attic or high in your closets
If your house has flooded:
* Cut off power to the house asap
* Contact your insurance company
* Contact FEMA
* Order dehumidifiers, box fans, face masks, and Microban/sprayer bottle online asap - these things will be very hard to find once clean up starts
* Get a time stamp app for your phone so you can document the damage for your insurance company. BEFORE entering your home, take photos of the water line around the outside of your house. Take photos of the water line in every room, including the garage, pantries, and closets.
* Keep a sample of flooring (1 square foot) from each room in the house so insurance gives you proper compensation for those materials
* Make a list of all appliances, furniture, and clothing that was damaged
* Look up videos on YouTube on how to quickly remove sheet rock. It will save you demo time and it will make things easier when your contractor reinstalls your walls
* Get license and insurance info from every contractor you talk to! Do not hire someone who is not licensed and insured. A good contractor will have this with them and will not hesitate to give proof of these things

By Jenna Moede

I already told you all one of my secrets that I keep locked away - that I messed up my first go-round on my Master’s degree. Coming from the top of my class in high school and a Dean’s List student in college, it hurt, but I also learned how to choose a path that, this time, will help me reach my goals.

I realized that when it comes to choosing a degree, I didn’t have to see all my high school and college friends as competitors. Instead, they could help me and guide me.

Right away I rebuilt connections that I had let slip away. I needed the help and support of those that I’ve always had friendships with. Starting my master’s after they finished didn’t matter a bit to them, and it never should have mattered to me.

Next, I took the pressure off myself. I knew I wanted my Master’s and I didn’t want to put it off any longer, however, I had to train my brain to understand that researching and choosing a program that fit me didn’t mean I had put college off, it meant I wanted to do this the right way.

I always say if not now, when? But when it comes to this situation, you can’t rush the decision-making process. I’ve mentioned this before with choosing to start undergraduate studies as undeclared, but since graduate programs don’t require generals, you don’t have built in wayfinding time. Make your own but just make sure you’re not delaying in the name of research.

Next, I really thought about what I wanted to do. Hopefully you’ve already made the right decision for your undergraduate degree so you won’t have as much trouble with this as I did, but if you haven’t take your time to really find what you want to do, take this crucial step.

This time around I chose something based on firsthand knowledge and experience rather than something that I thought sounded okay. I know that I enjoy teaching English because I have done it for the past two years, and I know I enjoy writing because I have experience doing so.

If you lean toward something you haven’t had hands-on time with, I highly recommend job shadowing or trying to interview someone who has that “dream job” just to learn a little more about it. Choosing a Master’s means a huge commitment, so make sure you take all the precautions.

Next I took my goal and started to research it. I knew I had a lot of options and routes I could take so I narrowed them all down. I looked into job positions with each degree, licensing (if applicable) per state, and the projected growth rate and salary of each.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics became my best friend for finding information I felt I could rely on, and I felt better after researching exactly what positions I could go into after I attained any one degree.

I took it a step further on my own after finding a few positions that really interested me, and I researched those to make sure I didn’t miss anything if I pursued the degree I hoped would provide that opportunity.

Lastly, I compiled my notes and focused on a few graduate programs that I felt had a lot of potential to lead me where I wanted to go. That coupled with an attainable, reasonable and passion driven goal helped me in my search for the school that fit me the best.

I didn’t have an easy time getting here, and I know that I will hit bumps in the road this time too, but at least this time I feel like I put ample thought, reason and passion behind my decision.

I put myself in gear, did the research and made the decision without letting unnecessary time go by or extra delays. I had to find the balance between giving my decision thought without action and action without thought. 

By Amy Nielsen

Today was the last booth of our season for our local grass roots community flea market. Once a month I have been setting up a little booth there to get my name and face out and about in the community. I decided in the spring that I needed to find a way to study my community, to see who really lives here and who comes in the summer. This was one of the ways I chose.

I have had the pleasure of seeing several of the same local vendors month after month. Some I see around the county at the feed and seed or supermarket, others I know are snowbirds up for the summer, most originally from the area, who are soon to be packing up from the camp ground and moving to their southern roosts along the coasts of Florida and North Carolina.

I have tried several tactics each month to showcase different parts of what my practice offers. The last two have been a combination of bake sale for a national charity organization and business offerings table. Before that I showcased aspects as different as healthy eating, joyful exercise, and local partnership organizations I support.

I have a new shared office space and I spent today promoting that space along with the bake sale items for my chosen summer campaign. It was a fun day spent chatting with friends and familiar faces.

I was lucky enough to have my two daughters with me today. It was an opportunity to have them see me in action. All too often, when I ask my younger students what their parents do for a living, they are not able to articulate what it is they do. I think it is really important that kids see and understand at an age appropriate level what their caregivers do for a job.

I happen to really love what I do for a living and am blessed enough to have to opportunity to be working in my field and continuing my schooling at the same time. I also have chosen to homeschool our daughters. To that end, I was able to count today as a school day by allowing them to be in charge of the donation jar for our bake sale while I met new friends.

The day dawned cool and blustery with big puffy summer cloudy and deep blue skies. I shoveled everything for the booth in the car and zoomed out just as the girls were waking up. I arrived at the site and was greeted by my dear friend and event coordinator. I made my way to my spot and unloaded the booth set up.

Part of the reason I really like this event is that they ask the vendors to arrive early enough to have a leisurely set up time. As I have done this now several times, I have a system that works quickly to get the sun shade up and tied down easily and allows me to take the time to shuffle through my materials and feel out what kind of booth I feel like running for the day.

We were asked to use unbaked goods for our bake sale by the owners of the property. We made cookie mixes in a jar using the ultimate pinterest DIY project evening. They were very pretty and effective on the table.

The combination of holistic health coaching and a bake sale seems at first glance cross purposes, but the tie is that I teach kids meditation and the bake sale beneficiary is an organization supporting summer lunch programs for school age kids in our rural county.

The event started off at a slow trickle being middle of the morning on a Sunday in a rural church going community. Our regular summer crowd arrived right on cue about an hour after opening. There was a small lull in the action as everyone slowed for a long slow lunch at one of the area restaurants. The mid-afternoon crowd ended up being mostly newer deep city summer visitors too chilly to be on the lake or in the pool. Another quiet hour then the end of the day rush.

In the past few months, vendors have started to pack up as soon as the last of the fifty-fifty raffles is pulled. Today the weather was so beautiful and the crowd happy to part with a few more pennies, we all lingered a little long before starting to put away the first of the easy to pack trinkets.

By the time we had packed up the booth, the girls had sold three of our jars, two jump ropes and collected five straight donations to our cause. I had handed out four sets of class information and collected another three email addresses for my newsletter. I ran an informal poll and have decided on the next course of action for my practice.

My girls and I rounded up the evening at our local pizza joint then home for ice cream and scrabble. We are all looking forward to selling the remaining cookies in ajar to our friends online to round out our summer campaign. I am happy with the progress this summer project solicited and the ground I gained in being the newest kid on the block in our small rural community. All in all the few dollars I spent each month to pay for my space was well worth it.

By Christine Cioppa

We all choose online learning for different reasons. Behind that decision is a motivating factor, most often a career-related one and sometimes a personal one.

Experts are studying why some of us gut it out, and why some of us quit or put it off -- for what seems indefinitely -- until we finally stick it out and achieve completion in our certificate or degree program.

What is known, though, are things to watch out for – things that can shake our motivation to the core or throw us off track.

Market research on students obtaining an online education shows that the desire to finish can wane when certain circumstances occur:

• Family circumstances change
• Money for school runs out
• Relevance of program content becomes unclear
• Interest in classes diminishes
• Time not as abundant after starting a new family
• Illness

A report by BestColleges.com listed additional roadblocks to success:

• Internet and technology access issues
• Maintaining minimum GPA
• Keeping up in pace to graduate in time
• Scheduling campus visits to support some portion of an online program

We can’t always control circumstances that delay our success, but we can do everything possible to continue to strive toward success.

If any of the above is an issue, or may become one, you can brace for it and look for possible solutions or work-arounds. Here are five ideas to start with:

Make Time for What’s Important

Let’s face it: What’s important to us, we will make time for. That goes for anything: the people in our lives, our activities, our school or work, our level of fitness and diet decisions, etc. It’s important to balance our lives. But, with collaboration from family and friends, we can set priorities that include the most important parts of our lives while also balancing the challenges of earning a higher degree. That may mean waking up earlier in the morning, or giving up a few favorite TV shows, or asking for help from others, but often it can be possible. Maybe a life crisis calls for dialing it back, or taking only one class instead of several. The key is finding a solution that keeps your education goal still in eyesight down the road. The most important thing is to just never quit if an education is important to you. The pride many of us feel with achieving a certificate or higher degree is so worth the marathon-like mindset we have to have to push past the exhaustion and discomfort we sometimes can feel, sprinting toward that finish line.

Reel in Discretionary Spending

One of the top reasons people quit is money. Of all the leisurely ways we spend money (cable TV, dinning out, food and/or alcohol, clothes/beauty products, etc.), there often is room to squeeze some more toward something else. And if not, there are student loans. Also, think about creative ways to help pay for school (working at a company that provides excellent tuition reimbursement, working for the university for discounts) to reduce the overall cost.

Boost Long-Term Earning Potential

Of all the ways we spend money, higher education pays us back in the long run – through employment opportunities and higher pay. The Department of Labor’s employment projections show that people who earn any type of higher education past the high school level are less unemployed than those who just finish high school or who don’t complete high school. And with every degree earned, the rate of pay significantly increases, topping out around a “professional” or “doctoral” degree. Weekly pay can double or even nearly triple with the highest degrees.

It’s not just about money; a degree shapes us. For many of us, it is who we are; we are lifelong learners. Former Vice President Joe Biden has famously said, “Don't tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value.”

Steer Clear of Complainers

If there’s not a lot of people striving for what you are, it’s time to find some like-minded, positive people to chat with. Negativity, within ourselves or around us, is completely unproductive and can make one lose sight of long-term goals. If your online program has a forum, embrace opportunities to collaborate with peers and cheer each other on. Don’t let the chronic complainers, in class or elsewhere in life, make you feel your goals or your classwork, is not as valuable or exciting as it can be. So team up with people who love school and who look for the best in others, and steely your resolution to complete your educational goals.

Never Quit

The most important thing is to never quit. When things get tough and life circumstances try to derail us, or doubt or negativity or discomfort make the challenge so much harder, just keep taking one step forward.  Richard Branson, creator of Virgin airlines, is an example of resilience. He says, “On every adventure I have been on – whether setting up a business, flying around the world in a balloon or racing across the ocean in a boat – there have been moments when the easy thing to do would be to give up. By simply not giving up, brushing yourself down and trying again, you'll be amazed what you can achieve.”