I would go for rotc, but that would require my bachelors in something at an accredited college. no worries, I could do that with ease, but I would never use that bachelors degree for something. The town I grew up in is very blue collar and working man, same with most of the neighboring towns for a 15 mile radius. a very blue collar community. I know I could do better then blue collar and working man, but that isnt me. I just cant see getting my degree in something I will never use. thats been my issue with air force. I would love to be a pilot.
First off, if you don't have enough motivation to graduate high school, then you can kiss any career as a military pilot goodbye. Seriously.. they don't just give anyone control of a multi-million dollar aircraft. You have to at the very least be an officer which basically means having a degree.
Secondly, if you don't care about secondary education and don't plan on taking advantage of any of the numerous career-building programs that the military has to offer, then you might as well join the Army and grab the job with the highest paid 'bonus' you can find, because you're going to need every cent of it. These are usually either the high-risk jobs, or the jobs that no one really wants to do. You'll be working with "second-chance" criminals (you know.. the kids that get on the wrong path and are ordered to either join the Army or go to jail) and other uneducated and unmotivated people who are just in it because they have no other option. You'll be putting your life at severe jeopardy every day and you'll make little more than minimum wage (actually significantly less if you figure out dollars per hour)... working your
off and hating every minute of it.
If you can find it in yourself to motivate yourself even a little bit, you need to graduate high school, and you *NEED* to join the armed forces with the idea of "milking them for every thing they have to offer". You'll want to take advantage of every education opportunity they have to offer, and you'll find yourself out on the front lines a lot less, and in the classrooms a lot more. It's your choice. You can walk away from the military with hearing loss, an arm blown off, and a boot kicking you out of the door... or you can walk away from the military with education, a college degree, and a HECK OF A JOB REFERENCE! It's kind of like playing for a pro sports team.. once you are significantly injured you are useless. They patch you up, pay your hospital bills, and then boot you out the door and then you're on your own, unable to get a job because of being injured, and with almost no assistance whatsoever.
I know a guy who got blown up in Iraq. His two buddies in the Humvee with him were both killed. He was jacked up pretty good. He didn't lose any limbs, but had to get a considerable amount of plastic surgery on his face and walks with a permanent limp and is usually in pain. He is doing OK enough, but only because his dad's ex-boss gave him a job. If he were to lose this job he's be SOL. He's got a five year old that was just diagnosed with Leukemia. Good thing he gets good insurance from his job, because beyond that he'd be getting no help. He joined the Army as an infantryman to get the $15,000 sign-on bonus which he blew on a new car and weed. He really hates his job but simply has no other choice. I worked with him for a time and I ended up transferring to another location because I couldn't stand his "arrogant and entitlement" attitude that he developed while in the Army. Don't worry, I don't necessarily blame the Army for that because his Dad wasn't really much better.
My point is that you DO NOT want to end up in a similar situation. Believe me, I completely understand about your blue-collar upbringing. When I was growing up I had really good grades and my parents always acted all proud and whatnot about how I would be the first in our family to go to college. Then times got tight and I started working full time to help support the family (and still going to school) just before I turned 14. I somehow managed to keep my grades up, but by my Senior year I was literally BURNED OUT! I actually ended up getting a full engineering scholarship but then once my parents realized I might be going away, all of a sudden all I got were guilt trips about how they won't be able to make ends meet without me, and how they would not be able to offer me ANY help if I leave and how I would truly be on my own if I left and blah blah blah so I ended up turning down the scholarship. Pretty dumb move. I ended up moving out right after I graduated high school and I've been on my own ever since, and only just now starting to get somewhat comfortable financially. By the way, I'm 35. Looking back I know I handled it all wrong because you know what? I ended up moving out anyway and my parents lived through it! That is one big reason why I don't maintain a relationship with my mom but that's another topic altogether.
Come on... step up and be a man! Nothing in life is worth the easy route. Don't be afraid to put some effort into it.. and don't be afraid to endure the bad times because it makes you a better person. Even in the military, nothing is EVER handed to you and if you wait for that to happen you'll end up with the lowest, crappiest assignments that could get you killed. You have to step up to the plate and put some effort into life, as you'll only get back what you put in. You said that you want a challenge. Life *IS* the challenge. Picking up a gun and walking into a battlefield isn't a challenge.. it's a roll of the dice. And if you crap out, then you die. Think about it that way.
And you're right about Hollywood glorifying everything. You'll find life to not be that exciting, and it will be more like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuTkgi7scKo
