My quandry for when I come home

x-angel

x-angel

Well-known member
As I have mentioned before, am I in Kosovo, and I am due home -- well -- soon. (Damn that Opsec!)

When I come home, I have NO permanent job. (as it stands right now)

So this means that whatever savings my wife and I have, will have to go to keeping the lights on and a roof over our head until I find permanent employment....

Which in turn means that I will not be able to get the 2 DVX 100B's that I was hoping to get...and really crank up my production business. (yet again, as it stands right now)

I have a Panasonic PV-GS120 3CCD camera, but thats not really going to fly when you present it to clients. "Yeah... I am going to capture you most important moments on this little hand held....and I am going to charge you $1000+ for it"

Renting the cameras is a pain because you pay $200+/weekend (if you are lucky) and that comes out of your bottom line.

So I really don't know what to do.. I could re-enlist for 6 years while I am over here, and get $15,000 tax free... but that means I am still doing the "weekend warrior" thing which means "one weekend a month, and 2 weeks a year" which will cut into my wedding video production big time, and plus there is always the possibility of another deployment, and I would lose a ton of clients, and have to start all over again when I come back.

Also, I am not just focusing on weddings... I do other special events, legal depos., etc, etc...

Any suggestions would be helpful.
 
Where are you going to locate when you get back to the states. Perhaps some DVXusers in that area could help get the ball rolling to get you employed.

:)
 
I go back to my S.A.S.A. - Sweet Ass San Antonio :)

Most Beautiful city on the planet. Why? Because my wife is there... :)
 
my sis was in iraq for about a year and a quarter, and when she got back, she re-enlisted. Except the 15 G's that the army reserve told they would give her, turned into 5 and she had to fight hard for months to get another 5.

As for employment opportunities, what did you do before, what kind of skills/education do you have? And most importantly, what do you want to do?
 
thanks for your service and good luck on the transition. i'm sure you will do great, whatever your path.
 
hybridtheory said:
my sis was in iraq for about a year and a quarter, and when she got back, she re-enlisted. Except the 15 G's that the army reserve told they would give her, turned into 5 and she had to fight hard for months to get another 5.

As for employment opportunities, what did you do before, what kind of skills/education do you have? And most importantly, what do you want to do?
Click to expand...

Man that sucks about your sis.

I WAS a federal technichan... Iresigned in disgust because of the CPT that was out of control on a power trip trying to hang everything under the sun on me.

Skills: If its computer related I have done it, or can do it, or can pick it up very quickly. I have been ripping apart computers since I was 9...and I am 29 now. (ALTOS 580 forever baby!!)

Also my video skills are growing as well as my graphics design and post production skills. (updating my portfolio on my website now)

Education: Here's my down fall. I have NONE...officially..other than 74/25B school. It's been all OJT. I have no certifications because I really think they are useless wastes of money.

What do I want to do?

Here's what I DON'T want to do: I don't want to be in the same situation as my father - 68 years old, and taking contracting jobs not because he wants to, but because he HAS to.

I have always loved video, and I am kinda burned out on the computer/automation stuff because X-Angel's #1 Axiom about technology always rings true:

"As the technology gets better, the customer gets more stupid/demanding"

I have worked all thre major areas of the job market: corporate, federal government, and active duty military. Bearaucracies (sp?) ... all of them.. I can't even really do my job as a 25B (Information Systems Analyst) because I have frigging contractors in my way.

My portfolio includes:
1 wedding
2 news segments (Army)
1 feature segment (Army)
2 special event videos (memorial Day and Army Day)
1 "Corporate-Style" briefing video (Army)

and finally...one "Mess with my PT Test, and this is what happens to you" (but I don't list this as part of my "professional" portfolio...it was a complete gag I did.. heres the link to that )

Working on another special video commisioned by the general, and also am storyboarding one for the 5th anniversary of 9/11, as well as the "end of Rotation" video

All of these have gotten good reviews by the clients/viewers of them. (I say it like that because I know they are not "jaw-dropping, awe inspiring" to most pro's like here on this site, but the target audiences were pleased, and therefore I did my job)

I want to take my fledgling little company named after my daughters (Michaela and Angelica) and grow into something I can live off of, and not have to answer to idiots who make 10 times as much as me but have the tenth of the knowledge I do. (I know...clients can be this way, but at least they rotate)

Clear as mud now? :)
 
I have seen that GS-11 one for Cust SPT in SA . And I am tweaking my resume for it... especially since anyone who has served 180 consecutive days on Act. Duty since 9/11 gets "veterans preferance" (excluding Basic/AIT)

Thanks all the same. :)
 
hey Thanks so much for your service to our country. You cant really know how much you guys mean to me and my family. So here's to you!

On another note, have you thought about trying to find a position in the army where your video skills can be utilized? When I was a news photographer, at least once a week, I had to go onto our local A.F. base for a story, and had to be escorted around by the sergeants in the media relations group. They had some excellent equipment that they used to produce various videos for the A.F. Maybe you could do something like that if you are not ready to leave military life.

JD
 
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