u/mazer225

I got out of the Army in 2022 after 12 years of service. I was a 88M (truck driver) and ETS'd as a E-6. My spouse was active duty and is ETS'ing and will be out of the Army soon in a week.

We make enough to survive on our VA disability ratings, but it basically leaves us house poor with no money to do much of anything or save up for things we need in the future (car, house, emergencies etc.). It basically covers our rent and food and that's it; which I am thankful for.

Mentally I am at my wits end...I'm exhausted. When I ETS'd from the Army, I went to college before we PCS'd and became a licensed pilot with an instrument rating. It was a ton of work, and when we moved I had hoped to start working towards my commercial rating. My goal was to become a flight instructor, build hours and eventually work my way into a regional airline position. However, the job market for aviation has dried up (mostly due to the economy and other issues with Airlines [Spirit etc.]) and is expected to be quite stagnant for several years. I have friends who have graduated and have been unable to find flight instructing jobs as pilots anywhere. I've even networked with a few regional and legacy pilots, who work at different airlines. No one is hiring.

Since we have moved, I applied for hundreds of jobs. I have a CDL (Class A) license, and couldn't get a job as a truck driver. Companies want documented CDL experience for their insurance. I have a ton of experience in logistics management and administrative work. I applied for jobs in logistics management, local CDL driving and many administrative positions (management).

I went on base to talk to someone who specializes in resume writing and had them review my resume to see if it needed improvement. They gave me a few tips, which I used, but they said my resume was decent and not too diversified (which is what they see a lot).

The only job I have gotten is with USPS as a city carrier making $21.21 an hour. Yesterday I walked over 22 miles in the hot Texas sun delivering mail all day (it was 97 degrees), avoided getting bit by a dog and got home late. I'm exhausted and for the first time in my adulthood, I think I am experiencing depression. I feel mentally beat and frustrated.

I went to a the M&FRC (I am a veteran spouse here), to seek out some advice for my resume. The job market has been tough lately.

No shit, the people who run the center sent me an AI auto-generated email and gave some terrible advice for resume writing. This woman sits behind a desk and watches TikToks all day and has Claude send out emails for her job, doesn't answer the phone...like WHY are we paying her? No wonder there is a soft-freeze on Federal jobs.

Edit:

Just to clarify, I did go in person. I went in person, since they weren't answering the phone when I first called them.

A maintenance worker showed up at our house unannounced today and was about to walk straight in. My husband was home and called me and asked if we had heard from the property manager about any maintenance requests. The worker was extremely polite and explained that the property manager had sent them to replace the water filters and do work on the water softener.

I called the PM and asked if they sent anyone (even if it was unannounced) and they said no and that it is a scam. I was polite to the maintenance worker and asked who sent him and if he had the correct address. He said he was sent by a woman with the name of Bianca. I told him we didn't have any maintenance requests and he seemed okay with it and said that was fine and packed up his tools. He said if we hear anything from the PM that he would stop by again. I also asked him who would have been billed, and he said it would have been us.

PM got back with me an hour ago and said that this is a fairly new scam, targeting renters who are renting houses. The maintenance workers will show up a month after the lease has been closed and attempt to do work on the home, footing the renter with the bill. They will usually be vague and polite about who sent them. I'm assuming the scammers observe ads on zillow etc., and find out when the homes have been rented out and then attempt to make their move.

Tl;dr Beware of unannounced maintenance workers and crosscheck with your property manager, so you don't get stuck with an expensive bill.