As an old guy who's been there and done that... I'd suggest asking other, Older, folks advice if you don't want to take mine: As others have said, hard no on military. Dad was ex-army and told me that if I learned nothing else from him, it was that military was the absolute worst thing you can do in life. You are 100% a slave to the whims and desires of Any and Everyone above you. If someone decides you're the next guinea pig for experimentation, you have no recourse. From direct personal experience (my own and about 4 other family members), state government is an evil best avoided. In all cases lies were told about work environment and "benefits". Insurance coverage changes constantly, "pensions" can and do change frequently (never mind the occasional embezzlement that they pass on to you, the wage slave) , and you get to "work" with the bottom of the barrel slackers. How bad all this will be depends on your location.. I was a Wyoming state employee, mine was the best case scenario. Everyone else I know was a Georgia state employee, and it's no surprise that none of them lasted more than a couple years when you hear the stories. I mean, to put a fine point on it, HR opted to keep someone caught, on video, sexually harassing another... TWICE, and after the 4 month paid leave while they "investigated", and pushing out a COL pay increase to him, they decided he could stay. Nigger, of course... if it weren't for the solidarity of the Rest of the department (90% white) against the state/HR... and maybe a little investigative journalism after I leaked info to the major local news outlets?, he wouldn't have suffered any consequence. Like the military, you get a lot of promises that evaporate once you sign on. Being young is hard, thankfully the young are blessed with energy and perseverance. I probably had it a whole lot easier in the 80's, but it didn't take That much effort to come back from being homeless and penniless. No college degree and no real practical skills to speak of at that time (I was 20 and screwing off in college, parts cut me off an wished me luck). As for where to go/what to do. That's on you. My path was more intellectual, I was good with numbers so I did hotel night audits, then learned their computer systems and moved up to supporting those and then moved into more general computer support, etc... took the It path (with zero formal training). If you're good at creating with wood, there are paths there too... money in is typically a relation of the time you put into your skill development with a little bit of marketing involved. No reason you can't up-cycle sad furniture into nice and off-load it at local markets. I've seen one antique dealer who said he started out by refurbishing solid wood doors, just lots of hustle. Don't worry if you don't Love your job/what you do... I've tried that, it killed my love and destroyed a hobby. You just need to Like it, find it interesting enough to be engaged. It doesn't have to define you, as a person (common misconception, btw that's a trap with kids too). In the end, just know that whatever you can dream, you can achieve. Lots of paths to do that, but it boils down to focus and perseverance.