basplar

Thanks Pete. I filed online on Aug 9th, so I'll hope to hear something by year's end. Thanks again! I've got nothin' but great things to say about the good folks on this website. Searching through the forums and getting answers faster than I EVER could for anyone working for the VA is a GODSEND!! THANK YOU!

So,.... I finally decided to go ahead and follow the advice of the VA counselor at the local office and file for VR&E. I went online and filled out the form 2 months ago. I answered all the questions honestly and described how I really felt about my disabilities and how it prevents me from obtaining gainful employment, especially because I don't have any other job skills. I also stated, and I was serious when I said, that I really DO want to get a job that will allow me to support my wife and daughter and if accepted, I would be 100% COMMITTED to completing the VR&E program. So,...there it is. NOW...,What I'm wondering now is: How long should I expect to wait before hearing anything from the V.A. about VR&E. What have other folks experienced after they filed as for waiting times for an initial response. Thanks again for any advice or words of wisdom!

Oh, and I already have a school picked out, but once again, have to get the math skills up to take the SAT's over again(at age 29, almost 30). That's what the school I want to go to requires. Getting accepted is a completely different thing being that it is one of the top 25 engineering schools in the world, but it would be in-state tuition rates for me, therefore costing the V.A. a lot less, plus I think I'd qualify for some academic scholarships after a few semesters of study. This is something that I'm 100% committed to(besides, my wife wouldn't let me be any less than 100% committed). Got myself a good woman that won't let me quit which is just a total blessing. She sees the pain and suffering I'm going through with my current work situation and totally supports me going back to school. As long as I can physically and mentally work, I am going to! I want the best for my wife and even more importantly, that 6 month old baby that I watch sleeping every night before I go to bed!! Thanks again folks.

Only about 10 credit hours from my Bachelors in MUSIC will carry over to a BACHELORS OF SCIENCE. It's not crazy, the programs are just THAT DIFFERENT. I genuinely DO want to work, but I don't have ANY job skills that would get me a job that could pay enough to support my family. That's why I need a totally different career path. The math stuff is intense for engineering, you're right. I'm studying math by myself right now. I bought Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, and lots of calculus self teaching books. If I take an aptitude test with a VocReh. Counselor, I want to show them that I'm not only serious about being committed to doing the program that I want to do, but have already been trying to improve myself to get ready for the aptitude test so I can score high enough in math that i CAN study engineering. And besides, my current short term jobs are making my condition worse, and I've researched it enough to know that electrical/electronic engineering will fit me well and won't make my conditions worse(no standing, not dealing with large groups of people, etc) Anyway, thanks for everyone that's posted. Please keep the posts and ideas coming. Thanks a million.

Hello everyone. I'm new to hadit.com and by luck stumbled upon this forum, but haven't been able to find the answers here on hadit.com to the questions about VR&E that I've been trying to get answered by reps from my local VRO. The V.A. reps just keep telling me that the answers to my questions are "above their pay grade." :D Let me explain my situation and if anyone has good advice, I'm very open to anything that will help me at this point. I was discharged from the Army several years back and given a combined 70% rating from the V.A. 70% mental and 10% knee problems. It just so happens that V.A. math makes 70+10=70. Anyway...that's not what I have questions about. I'm 30 years old, married with a beautiful 6 month old girl. My family is the most important thing to me in my life(as they should be) and I'm trying to figure out the best route to take with the V.A. concerning improving my living and working situations. I have a bachelors degree in music(which is absolutely useless for getting a job in the U.S.), and was in the Army band, but I am now unable to play music anymore due to a NON SC wrist problem. I've been working 1 year contracted English teaching jobs overseas just to support my family for several years, and I think(and I think the V.A. would agree) that this is not "gainful employment." Teaching is making my knee condition worse from standing all day, and dealing with the responsibilities involved with dealing with students, teaching, and standing in front of large classes of students every day is making my mental condition worse. Teaching is stressful and teaching in a foreign country is EXTREMELY STRESSFUL. I can't find a job back home that I would be able to support my family doing(I've been looking and looking, and looking, and NADA). What I'm wondering is: If I apply for VR&E, being rated at 70%, and with the working situation I'm in making my SC conditions worse, would a counselor approve me for VR&E. I know what I would LIKE to do(electrical engineering) and what my strengths and weaknesses are. I would like to try to go back to school to get another bachelors degree in a field that is not only interesting to me, but will allow me to get gainful employment and stay off of Total disability due to unemployability(TDUI?). I'm not going to be able to continue doing what I'm doing for much longer(months, maybe weeks) before either my knee gives out on me or my mind snaps from stress related to my job. I want to work and support my family, but that's not going to be able to happen unless 1)I get approved for VR&E and 2)the V.A. works with me to find a field of work that I can mentally handle. I think that I would be able to do electrical engineering(I'm really interested in it, it's a lot lower stress than teaching), but I would need to start another 4 year degree just to break into this field and can't afford to pay for it myself(and maxed out most of my undergrad loan amounts already and still paying for them). Any ideas from folks experienced in dealing with the V.A., especially VR&E??? Any ideas on what they MIGHT do with my case or what I should be doing? Thanks in advance to anyone who can steer me in the right direction.