How Crazy/achievable Is This Plan For My Education

What are your future education plans?

When you are in a country where a good education is valued beyond anything else and you need a degree to get ahead, you have to be a life long learner.In some countries , a degree can just mean you obtained what other thousands of people could also achieve.In my country , a degree gives you a head start in life, you are a cut above the rest. An elite few. Even if you do not get a job for years after that , you have achieved the highest goal in your life. Simple.You have your masters, even better. In some work places, you might be better qualified than the manager. If you have a PhD you are deemed very successful. (I'm sure it's the same in other countries too.)I made a mistake once by calling my lecturer Doctor while she had recently moved a rank up. She ripped me apart and ( mind you I did not know she had recently changed titles) told me that she is Professor.Being a life long learner is what you should strive for, simply because it makes life more easier concerning making a living for your family and yourself.I am currently studying in the Ecology stream. This is my 2nd degree and I'm 22 years old. My plan is to study as I go in life. Nothing hectic. I have started, I might as well keep on going.I say if you can do something , do it well.

Why can European nations afford universal health care and the USA can't?

I am from Europe and live in the US now - hence, familiar with both systems.The short answer is: The US, just as Europe, can afford universal healthcare just as well as Europe does. But the political situation in the US prevents it from happening.Due to the facts that …a) US politicians (senators, representatives, presidents, …) need lots of money to be able to run their campaigns to get electedb) Citizens United makes it legal for companies to donate millions to such campaigns… many politicians are indebted to their donors (companies and rich individuals) and hence work to implement policies that are beneficial to THEM, i.e. the insurance companies, the pharmaceutical companies and the medical industry as a whole.The current US healthcare system is extremely lucrative for these industries while being extraordinarily expensive for the insured.When comparing the US health care system to that of Europe, it becomes immediately clear where the solution lies: to wit, in regulating or centrally negotiating the prices that healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies can charge for their products and services AND by making health insurance mandatory for everyone.This would solve all of the US system’s inherent issues:Prices and premiums would come down and there would be enough money in the risk pools to cover everyone and offer a fair profit for insurers.The fact that no one in the government is even talking about doing this or maligning any such efforts (by say Bernie Sanders) to do so as “socialist medicine”, is a telltale sign that they are more aligned with corporate interests than those of their citizens.Being a businessman myself, I asked myself:With so many readily available Best Practices out there in the form of the many countries that have working AND affordable health care, how come that the US population doesn't simply demand that their government copy and adapt any of these existing systems?The only explanation I found so far is that over many years of misinformation and outright manipulation, parts of the general public are so misguided by now, that they don't see through all this or even side with those that want to maintain a system biased to benefit the health care providers over the patients.Mass manipulation, funded by the corporations and aided by right-wing media, has managed to get many sheep to vote for the slaughterhouse.

If I join the US army straight out of high school, how high in rank can I go up?

Brian's answer is partially correct and partially incorrect. I will elaborate. As I type this an Army warrant officer (CW3) and an Army NCO (E-7) are sitting next to me. I, myself, was an Army Captain (O-3) and now work with NCOs and Officers in a training environment.  Theoretically you can achieve E-10, CW3, or O-5 during a normal career. Your question does not state you will start college part-time while in the military. Many people do this and you certainly may as well. Many senior enlisted have masters degrees and some have PhDs, albeit a tiny percentage.  You need a degree to become a commissioned officer. Then you can reasonable make Lieutenant Colonel during a 20-25 year career, assuming you commission within your first 5-6 years after graduating high school.  The army has a ton of warrant officers. Some of them are pilots but most aren't. The ones in my physical vicinity are intelligence warrants. You do not technically need a degree. However, warrant officer selection is competitive. A degree helps set you apart from your peers. You can reasonably expect to make CW3 assuming you are selected for warrant officer after 5-7 years enlisted in the Army, during a 20 year career.  Selection for the attainable enlisted ranks of E-8 and E-9 are also highly competitive. Though a degree is not required, it is recommended to help set yourself apart from your peers. As I look around the room, both warrants and all 4 NCOs are working part-time on either bachelors or masters degrees, and I am working on a doctorate. Lastly, NCOs do not get promoted to a new rank and retire two months later at that rank as Brian stated. Many NCOs choose to decline promotion because it typically adds a two year service obligation (ADSO). This may also be why many NCOs are offered key promotions around their 20 year mark when they would normally retire. You must also have a requisite amount of time in grade to retire at that grade. A few months would not qualify.