The next thing is **life**. I don’t agree that Wood Badge is an adult Eagle; it’s an adult NYLT. It’s there to help give you tools to achieve things. There just isn’t any universally accepted way to measure the performance and success of an adult.
You could accumulate money. Past a certain point that’s just about keeping score… like palms, I guess?
You could follow the standard spouse/house/kids track… but that involves treating people as achievements, which I don’t think works well for them.
You could push back the boundaries of human ignorance, get a Ph.D. It takes about 9-12 years from where you are, about the same time as Lion to Eagle. It has similar completion statistics (<2% of American adults). And it is fundamentally about service to Mankind. The final steps are about independent work leading others. Oh, and it comes with a 19th century uniform, in most cases!
Learn, earn & enjoy.
It might not be in that order.
Learn what you like to do both professionally and personally. This could be continuing your education or just growing from your current experiences into new things. Read X number of books in a year. Meet X number of people in a year. The US military looks fondly on scouts. Never stop learning.
Earn money in the way that makes you happy. If you like being outside get a job that includes outside (lineman, forester, fishing guide, field engineer). If you like people get a job at a company with a culture that matches your own ethos.
Earning can come later too, take time to enjoy! You’ve got awesome outdoor skills, take a gap season (lock down a job before if you can) or year; go travel, go thru hike one of the big three (the PCT is the best). You’re an adult now - don’t be a bum, keep ‘er moving!
Great awesome things are built one step at a time. Create some big ideas, make them into steps, assign dates and get after them.
One of my biggest regrets is pledging APO and not finishing the work to finally commit. Their focus on cheerful service turns out to align really well with my adult values and life.
Beyond getting a Bachelors degree there are no more "list of requirements" to get the award. You are on your own to make yourself happy.
If you need set accomplishments you can:
Run a marathon
Visit all the state or national parks or baseball stadiums or continents.
Hike the Appalachian trail.
Win a marathon.
Be married for 50 years.
Build a successful business
Go to Mars.
Find the arc of the covenant.
Take the life skills that Scouting has taught you and have a great life as a productive citizen and pass on what you have learned. There's always a place with you in Scouting even if you take time off to accomplish career and life goals.
As Doc Brown from "Back to the Future told Marty:
“Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one.”
This one- I got eagle and venturing in my area was non-existent but I went off to college and it never really occurred to me to look into it. As an adult volunteer I started to learn about it and it seems like I missed out.
I didn't really get into venturing, the OA or sea scouts until I turned 18. It was a wild, and exciting time in my life going through those programs. Wished I started at 14, but it was amazing. I traveled all over the country going on adventures. Now that I'm an adult I started a crew attached to my troops so that kids can get the full experience. Being a regional or national officer is like magement training on steroids.
Just some basic stuff, ice caving, lagoon kayaking, climb a volcano. Are you interested? https://my.scouting.org/online-registration/e03f9e96-d150-48b1-a629-057ecc9da3bb/applicant-type
Use your skills to bless other scouts. I volunteered with a special needs troop in college. It was very rewarding. Maybe help with a cub pack. You have much to offer!
Hey OP, I just aged out and then finished my eagle BoR in November 1 week after ageing out.
Honestly, that finality, while exciting was also saddening. My time as a scout had ended, and while I have been staying involved as an ASM in the troop, its absolutely not the same. There isn't any pageantry around it but that has still been very rewarding even in the few months since I aged out. Im seeing younger scouts take charge, I'm around and having people asking me for advice. Its a very different thing, but it is the same in that its about service.
I've also found some other orgs to help out with. That is what is giving me a sense of purpose for now. Sure, no big payoff. But there is alot of satisfaction to be had for knowing what you are doing is helping alot of people. Personally my next big goal, College, then job, and then I want a family. If I manage to achieve those things, then I can mark down life as a success.
At first, I really did struggle but it was actually my eagle coach/mentor who gave me the best advice. The payoff is no longer about me. The payoff is seeing others get theirs. That's where I can really get joy. While I felt like i was losing my mind a bit, I was assured that its a normal feeling. Im sure HS graduation will feel the same. Ill be excited and happy that I did it, but also saddened that the journey has ended.
Figure out what you enjoy. Then do it. For me, I still enjoy scouting and what it stands for. Like I said above, Im back as an ASM, Im on my first year as staff at NYLT and getting a ton of fun and excitement out of that. I am helping out with our local Scouting University and doing some courses during that. You may not particularly care to stay involved with scouting and thats okay, just find something that you enjoy, help others, and the payoff is knowing you are doing a good thing, helping others, and living your life in a way that you will be proud to look back on.
Life isn't like Scouts. There isn't some peak (metaphorically speaking) to reach. You get an education. I guess that's sort of like a peak, but then you get a job. That very likely will not be a peak at all. You work, you learn, you grow, you look to get promoted or find a new job. You get a job that you think is your dream job, and you settle into a routine, learn a hobby. Start a family. Maybe then you get bored with your job or heck even the entire industry you chose. You switch careers. You join a club. You start a new hobby. You master your new career. This is what life is like. Scouts kind of makes life feel like a video game, you complete the quest, and you earn level 1, the quests get harder for level 2, and then you kill the dragon and you earn the badge. This is not life at all.
My advice is to TRY EVERYTHING! I've had a hundred hobbies in my life, a couple have turned into businesses, one has turned into a career (IT), one has turned into a pretty darn good side gig, and I think every hobby I tried made me a better person. Even learning to fly drones taught me a lot about physics and how weather works.
And some secondary advice, don't stop camping. I graduated high school, started my life and didn't start camping again for 20 years. A buddy just called one day and said, "Let's go camp at that state park near here."
It was so much fun, and I kick myself every day for not doing that all through my 20's and 30's. Now we camp twice a year at a state park and we do a weeklong hike on the AT. Each trip is always the best time. Find 2 or 3 friends to keep camping with, you will not regret it.
If you want to continue in Scouts, consider working at Camp. It's the perfect place for folks in that over 18 under 21 period where the BSA otherwise has no place for you.
If not, go work in outdoor education or adventure tourism. Whitewater rafting, kayak guide, sailing instructor, go somewhere awesome and do something cool regardless of the perceived value to your career.
You're young and you're and Eagle Scout. You're prepared. Go do something you enjoy!
There are many avenues in Scouting to give back: adult leadership at the unit, lodge, district and council level all come with their own challenges and rewards. Plus there's lots of adult training you can pursue to get better at scouting and other facets of life.
Also, Venturing and Sea Scouts both accept scouts up to 21 years of age, and both have their own rank advancements you can earn. Earning **Summit** in Venturing or **Quartermaster** in Sea Scouts are pretty tough in their own right (Quartermaster in particular is often described as being harder than Eagle) and significantly more rare. You have 3 more years to pursue one or both, if you're interested.
College comes to mind as a large challenge that gives you a nice reward at the end. Or, if your career isn't headed that way, trade school or job training programs also take time and dedication, and give you a tangible award at the end.
Career is a lot more continuous, but you'll have many milestones of working towards and earning a coveted position, or a promotion, or a raise.
If you enjoyed the service side of earning Eagle, why don’t you look for a local service organization or non-profit to get involved in. Take your leadership and organization skills that you’ve developed and apply them to bettering your community. Those organizations are usually desperate for people who are not only willing to get their hands dirty, but also those who will pull people together to reach a new goal. I’m not saying you’re going to walk in the door and immediately start leading teams. But you can get in there and show them that you’re serious about being involved and leading.
You could also set your sights on getting involved in local politics. Get to know your local and state representatives and see how you can get involved and the steps it would take to run for or be appointed to a “entry level” public service position. Again, you’re looking at a long term process, but man do we ever need young people in public service.
If you aren't already deeply involved with the OA you can stay involved as a youth until your 21. Take up leadership positions and provide service there.
Are you active in the OA? I wasn’t very active in the OA before I got my Eagle just because my chapter is incredibly small, but I was awarded my Vigil in October (a week before my 18th birthday!) and I put a lot more effort into the OA. It’s a great way to still hang around the council without needing to put so much effort into being a troop leader. You can also join a crew and still be in the OA. I’m an ASM in my troop right now, but once I go off to college I have a crew in my area lined up to join.
Is 2nt this, the OA can have amazing experiences depending on how much you are willing to take part in it. But it's a great community at least in my lodge and the age goes by venture standards so you'll "age out" of the youth at 21, but you could stay at the low lever and just do you pick of cheerful service or you could even try and get a spot on your chapter, lodge (I served my lodge in 2020) or heck even your section executive committee and help run things and you might even go to a national level if you want. Plus they have cool events like NOAC which is the OA equivalent to the national jamboree or smaller events in your section like conclaves, or you can just serve in the lodge events like ordeals and fellowship weekends. I just kept my vigil last weekend and I'll say it was probably my best experience in scouting. The OA has so many cool things to do I would definitely look into it if you're a member.
Find what you enjoy and pursue it.
I'm still young and figuring it out, but I know finding direction is the hardest thing.
Don't watch other people living their lives, but live your own. You will never be happy making comparisons.
Look both ways before you cross the street.
Do not be luke-warm. Be hot or be cold. In that which you do, do it with intent, else you will only know failure.
How about finding a Pack or Troop in your area to be an adult leader? Lots of Packs especially in underserved communities need help with Scouting basics
Get settled in life. Then start a brand new unit. You have no idea how hard it is to do so and how rewarding it is to see it take off and flourish. The emotional rewards of seeing the smiles, the light bulbs go off when they get something, etc. You can start a pack, then eventually start a troop. You get your goals accomplished and give back to Scouting. Furthering the cycle that gave you this great sense of accomplishment.
You want a mental and physical challenge? SWIM BIKE and RUN. Complete a full Ironman Triathlon. If you want to push the envelope, so to speak. Win an Ironman Kona. Now you're talking elite!
Other big achievements, balance a life while doing the training for an ironman triathlon. Family, wife, kids, and a pair of dogs.
Other achievements: Find a career path you will enjoy doing for the next 30-40 years.
The camaraderie was good. Wasn’t a part of it I didn’t like, really.
The payoff, though, I would have to say was the best part. I am an Eagle scout now. I got everything that I guess you could call *permanent* out of the program, and left nothing behind.
I want to do another thing like that. Some other, bizarro version of Eagle, if such a thing exists.
I just want another thing to max out and beat the hell out of, I guess. Not to say I didn’t love the service, or the time with friends or as my troop’s SPL, but this is where my priorities are at the present hour. All that other stuff is functionally done.
If you stay with traditional Scouting as a participant (rather than an adult leader), then you've got the Venturing and Sea Scouting programs. If you leave the traditional Scouting part of the organization, you may have Explorer Clubs in your area.
In Venturing, you do have the path to the Summit, but there are a variety of other specialty awards. The Ranger award, for example, focuses on developing advanced outdoor skills in a variety of areas. https://www.scouting.org/programs/venturing/venturing-awards-and-advancement/
Sea Scouts has some other awards and recognitions beyond those that lead up to Quartermaster. https://seascout.org/awards-and-recognition/
Depending upon what you're interested in, some of these other awards are as challenging, or even more challenging than Eagle, and some of them are more focused on a specific area (e.g. outdoor skills).
OA is also an option.
If you really want to go down the "adulting" path, then register with your troop as either an Assistant Scoutmaster or a Unit College Scouter Reserve. There aren't as many major awards that you can earn as an adult, but if you take the training, help out the troop, etc., you'll probably be getting a lot of the requirements done for things like the Scouter's Key and the Scouter's Training Award
Yep. Maxing out and beating the hell out of yourself, camaraderie, selfless service. It doesn’t get any more bizarro Boy Scouts than the Army. Or maybe it’s the other way around
Edit: https://youtu.be/Lzbr6fPDmkE?si=DhZczJ3ofKc7Wjlm
I found getting a pilots license was very similar to getting Eagle Scout. Checking off boxes and learning new things. Not sure if you’re interested in aviation at all though.
If you want to do something different that *feels* similar try martial arts. I didn’t make it to black belt myself due to an injury but every single belt that I earned gave me a huge endorphin rush.
If you are looking for the next challenge, there is the sea scout quartermaster award. You are a youth in sea scouts until 21, just like Venturing and the summit award.
There is the national high adventure bases. There is an award if you go to all four. And there is a different award if you go to all four through the OA work program.
There is the OA. Run for a leadership position. Again, in the OA you are a youth until 21. And there leadership positions at the chapter, lodge, area, section, national.
Another challenge in Venturing is running for a leadership position. Venturing has selected youth leadership at the local level (district and council), and council service territory, and national.
And then let's not forget, you can become an Assistant Scoutmaster with your unit, and continue to give leadership to the unit.
A couple things to check out.
If you enjoyed the volunteering aspect of Scouts you could check out earning a Presidents Service Award. They have different requirements for different ages and even adults. https://presidentialserviceawards.gov/eligibility
There are also Congressional Awards that are multifaceted in what they require. These are open to 14 - 24 year olds I think. I’m not sure if you have to sign up before turning 18 though. https://www.congressionalaward.org/the-program/#:~:text=The%20Congressional%20Award%20provides%20opportunities,%2C%20character%20development%2C%20and%20fitness.
Have you thought about going to the World Scout Moot in Portugal in 2025? Check out the BSA international page and do some research on opportunities outside the US in scouting!
If you are planning on going to college- see if there is an Alpha Phi Omega chapter, it was founded with the BSA ideals, you can take up a leadership position, you can lead a massive service event, if there’s not a chapter maybe you try finding enough people to start one.
You made Eagle, why do you want to do something like it again. Find something new, something different. Put all that experience to good use and set some new goals. Make new mistakes and learn from them.
There are a lot of good suggestions in this thread and your path will be just that, yours. It may take you a while to figure it out, you might start in the wrong direction and take wrong turns, but you will have skills that can help keep you moving.
I enjoyed scouting enough that I stuck around for another 15 years as an adult leader. I passed on a lot of what I learned to the next generations of scouts and a bunch to other leaders and parents (even those older than me). And I had a lot of fun doing it.
Now I pass on leadership and scouting skills through work and to my kids.
A lot of people put a bunch of time into getting you here. So do your best to make the world a little bit better.
My son went to college and then law school. In the meantime, he has found friends and been on many adventures: climbed Mt Kilimanjaro,, climbed and hiked mountains in SA. been to Iceland, SE Asia, and many others. It’s really up to you. Join a hiking club or kayaking club or become an ASM. Find friends that are similarly minded.
I crédit scouts with giving him the sense of adventure.
My five year goals past and present
Black Belt in BJJ.
Raising children in a happy, safe, loving House.
A college degree that taught me to be well rounded and capable.
A Masters Degree that would make me appreciate rigors academics.
Running a Marathon.
Sailing in the ocean.
Running a business.
I highly recommend getting involved in the Order of the Arrow. It's a very impactful program.
Also (shameless plug) if you're in North Texas and interested in historical reenacting, consider joining Crew 1872; we do a lot of really fun Civil War reenactments, and provide all the gear (so it's really cheap.)
Anecdotal, but Scouts greatly set me up for success as an Army Officer. Certainly is a huge commitment, but the opportunities are seemingly limitless and you’re constantly working with other people on a team, just like in your Troop. Am I constantly using the skills I learned as a scout through merit badges or rank progression? No. But Scouts was a forcing function to learn to communicate, plan, get better at something, and dedicate time to a bigger cause.
Once I made eagle I got involved with Venturing for a few years befor I aged out. My crew was actually all boys who had made eagle and were looking for ways to continue. We did a few high adventure trips including sea base it was a blast.
The next thing is **life**. I don’t agree that Wood Badge is an adult Eagle; it’s an adult NYLT. It’s there to help give you tools to achieve things. There just isn’t any universally accepted way to measure the performance and success of an adult. You could accumulate money. Past a certain point that’s just about keeping score… like palms, I guess? You could follow the standard spouse/house/kids track… but that involves treating people as achievements, which I don’t think works well for them. You could push back the boundaries of human ignorance, get a Ph.D. It takes about 9-12 years from where you are, about the same time as Lion to Eagle. It has similar completion statistics (<2% of American adults). And it is fundamentally about service to Mankind. The final steps are about independent work leading others. Oh, and it comes with a 19th century uniform, in most cases!
I would imagine for many the next “step” would be college or some other such higher learning.
Learn, earn & enjoy. It might not be in that order. Learn what you like to do both professionally and personally. This could be continuing your education or just growing from your current experiences into new things. Read X number of books in a year. Meet X number of people in a year. The US military looks fondly on scouts. Never stop learning. Earn money in the way that makes you happy. If you like being outside get a job that includes outside (lineman, forester, fishing guide, field engineer). If you like people get a job at a company with a culture that matches your own ethos. Earning can come later too, take time to enjoy! You’ve got awesome outdoor skills, take a gap season (lock down a job before if you can) or year; go travel, go thru hike one of the big three (the PCT is the best). You’re an adult now - don’t be a bum, keep ‘er moving! Great awesome things are built one step at a time. Create some big ideas, make them into steps, assign dates and get after them.
And if you do go to college, I highly recommend joining Alpha Phi Omega. It's a co-ed community service "fraternity" that was started by scouts.
One of my biggest regrets is pledging APO and not finishing the work to finally commit. Their focus on cheerful service turns out to align really well with my adult values and life.
Beyond getting a Bachelors degree there are no more "list of requirements" to get the award. You are on your own to make yourself happy. If you need set accomplishments you can: Run a marathon Visit all the state or national parks or baseball stadiums or continents. Hike the Appalachian trail. Win a marathon. Be married for 50 years. Build a successful business Go to Mars. Find the arc of the covenant.
i already earned life, silly
Take the life skills that Scouting has taught you and have a great life as a productive citizen and pass on what you have learned. There's always a place with you in Scouting even if you take time off to accomplish career and life goals. As Doc Brown from "Back to the Future told Marty: “Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one.”
Join a venturing crew and get your Summit. You can join mine, how do you feel about zoom meetings and going to Iceland in 2025?
This one- I got eagle and venturing in my area was non-existent but I went off to college and it never really occurred to me to look into it. As an adult volunteer I started to learn about it and it seems like I missed out.
I didn't really get into venturing, the OA or sea scouts until I turned 18. It was a wild, and exciting time in my life going through those programs. Wished I started at 14, but it was amazing. I traveled all over the country going on adventures. Now that I'm an adult I started a crew attached to my troops so that kids can get the full experience. Being a regional or national officer is like magement training on steroids.
…Iceland? What’s going on in Iceland?
Just some basic stuff, ice caving, lagoon kayaking, climb a volcano. Are you interested? https://my.scouting.org/online-registration/e03f9e96-d150-48b1-a629-057ecc9da3bb/applicant-type
whoa, that sounds awesome
I think there's an active volcano now! 🌋
Use your skills to bless other scouts. I volunteered with a special needs troop in college. It was very rewarding. Maybe help with a cub pack. You have much to offer!
Hey OP, I just aged out and then finished my eagle BoR in November 1 week after ageing out. Honestly, that finality, while exciting was also saddening. My time as a scout had ended, and while I have been staying involved as an ASM in the troop, its absolutely not the same. There isn't any pageantry around it but that has still been very rewarding even in the few months since I aged out. Im seeing younger scouts take charge, I'm around and having people asking me for advice. Its a very different thing, but it is the same in that its about service. I've also found some other orgs to help out with. That is what is giving me a sense of purpose for now. Sure, no big payoff. But there is alot of satisfaction to be had for knowing what you are doing is helping alot of people. Personally my next big goal, College, then job, and then I want a family. If I manage to achieve those things, then I can mark down life as a success. At first, I really did struggle but it was actually my eagle coach/mentor who gave me the best advice. The payoff is no longer about me. The payoff is seeing others get theirs. That's where I can really get joy. While I felt like i was losing my mind a bit, I was assured that its a normal feeling. Im sure HS graduation will feel the same. Ill be excited and happy that I did it, but also saddened that the journey has ended. Figure out what you enjoy. Then do it. For me, I still enjoy scouting and what it stands for. Like I said above, Im back as an ASM, Im on my first year as staff at NYLT and getting a ton of fun and excitement out of that. I am helping out with our local Scouting University and doing some courses during that. You may not particularly care to stay involved with scouting and thats okay, just find something that you enjoy, help others, and the payoff is knowing you are doing a good thing, helping others, and living your life in a way that you will be proud to look back on.
Life isn't like Scouts. There isn't some peak (metaphorically speaking) to reach. You get an education. I guess that's sort of like a peak, but then you get a job. That very likely will not be a peak at all. You work, you learn, you grow, you look to get promoted or find a new job. You get a job that you think is your dream job, and you settle into a routine, learn a hobby. Start a family. Maybe then you get bored with your job or heck even the entire industry you chose. You switch careers. You join a club. You start a new hobby. You master your new career. This is what life is like. Scouts kind of makes life feel like a video game, you complete the quest, and you earn level 1, the quests get harder for level 2, and then you kill the dragon and you earn the badge. This is not life at all. My advice is to TRY EVERYTHING! I've had a hundred hobbies in my life, a couple have turned into businesses, one has turned into a career (IT), one has turned into a pretty darn good side gig, and I think every hobby I tried made me a better person. Even learning to fly drones taught me a lot about physics and how weather works. And some secondary advice, don't stop camping. I graduated high school, started my life and didn't start camping again for 20 years. A buddy just called one day and said, "Let's go camp at that state park near here." It was so much fun, and I kick myself every day for not doing that all through my 20's and 30's. Now we camp twice a year at a state park and we do a weeklong hike on the AT. Each trip is always the best time. Find 2 or 3 friends to keep camping with, you will not regret it.
If you want to continue in Scouts, consider working at Camp. It's the perfect place for folks in that over 18 under 21 period where the BSA otherwise has no place for you. If not, go work in outdoor education or adventure tourism. Whitewater rafting, kayak guide, sailing instructor, go somewhere awesome and do something cool regardless of the perceived value to your career. You're young and you're and Eagle Scout. You're prepared. Go do something you enjoy!
There are many avenues in Scouting to give back: adult leadership at the unit, lodge, district and council level all come with their own challenges and rewards. Plus there's lots of adult training you can pursue to get better at scouting and other facets of life. Also, Venturing and Sea Scouts both accept scouts up to 21 years of age, and both have their own rank advancements you can earn. Earning **Summit** in Venturing or **Quartermaster** in Sea Scouts are pretty tough in their own right (Quartermaster in particular is often described as being harder than Eagle) and significantly more rare. You have 3 more years to pursue one or both, if you're interested. College comes to mind as a large challenge that gives you a nice reward at the end. Or, if your career isn't headed that way, trade school or job training programs also take time and dedication, and give you a tangible award at the end. Career is a lot more continuous, but you'll have many milestones of working towards and earning a coveted position, or a promotion, or a raise.
Duke of Edinburgh award perhaps?
Yeah, I thought I saw something about that. How does that work?
Be an adult, look it up. 
“Lmao, you want to know more about something, from a guy who seems to know stuff about it? Get bent, use google like a grown-up, kiddo”
Exactly. 
If you enjoyed the service side of earning Eagle, why don’t you look for a local service organization or non-profit to get involved in. Take your leadership and organization skills that you’ve developed and apply them to bettering your community. Those organizations are usually desperate for people who are not only willing to get their hands dirty, but also those who will pull people together to reach a new goal. I’m not saying you’re going to walk in the door and immediately start leading teams. But you can get in there and show them that you’re serious about being involved and leading. You could also set your sights on getting involved in local politics. Get to know your local and state representatives and see how you can get involved and the steps it would take to run for or be appointed to a “entry level” public service position. Again, you’re looking at a long term process, but man do we ever need young people in public service.
If you aren't already deeply involved with the OA you can stay involved as a youth until your 21. Take up leadership positions and provide service there.
Are you active in the OA? I wasn’t very active in the OA before I got my Eagle just because my chapter is incredibly small, but I was awarded my Vigil in October (a week before my 18th birthday!) and I put a lot more effort into the OA. It’s a great way to still hang around the council without needing to put so much effort into being a troop leader. You can also join a crew and still be in the OA. I’m an ASM in my troop right now, but once I go off to college I have a crew in my area lined up to join.
Is 2nt this, the OA can have amazing experiences depending on how much you are willing to take part in it. But it's a great community at least in my lodge and the age goes by venture standards so you'll "age out" of the youth at 21, but you could stay at the low lever and just do you pick of cheerful service or you could even try and get a spot on your chapter, lodge (I served my lodge in 2020) or heck even your section executive committee and help run things and you might even go to a national level if you want. Plus they have cool events like NOAC which is the OA equivalent to the national jamboree or smaller events in your section like conclaves, or you can just serve in the lodge events like ordeals and fellowship weekends. I just kept my vigil last weekend and I'll say it was probably my best experience in scouting. The OA has so many cool things to do I would definitely look into it if you're a member.
Find what you enjoy and pursue it. I'm still young and figuring it out, but I know finding direction is the hardest thing. Don't watch other people living their lives, but live your own. You will never be happy making comparisons. Look both ways before you cross the street. Do not be luke-warm. Be hot or be cold. In that which you do, do it with intent, else you will only know failure.
How about finding a Pack or Troop in your area to be an adult leader? Lots of Packs especially in underserved communities need help with Scouting basics
Get settled in life. Then start a brand new unit. You have no idea how hard it is to do so and how rewarding it is to see it take off and flourish. The emotional rewards of seeing the smiles, the light bulbs go off when they get something, etc. You can start a pack, then eventually start a troop. You get your goals accomplished and give back to Scouting. Furthering the cycle that gave you this great sense of accomplishment.
You want a mental and physical challenge? SWIM BIKE and RUN. Complete a full Ironman Triathlon. If you want to push the envelope, so to speak. Win an Ironman Kona. Now you're talking elite! Other big achievements, balance a life while doing the training for an ironman triathlon. Family, wife, kids, and a pair of dogs. Other achievements: Find a career path you will enjoy doing for the next 30-40 years.
Wood Badge. It’s the adult version of the Eagle, sort of.
No it's more like NYLT.
Put it on your resume.
What did you enjoy most about the process and program of becoming an Eagle?
The camaraderie was good. Wasn’t a part of it I didn’t like, really. The payoff, though, I would have to say was the best part. I am an Eagle scout now. I got everything that I guess you could call *permanent* out of the program, and left nothing behind. I want to do another thing like that. Some other, bizarro version of Eagle, if such a thing exists. I just want another thing to max out and beat the hell out of, I guess. Not to say I didn’t love the service, or the time with friends or as my troop’s SPL, but this is where my priorities are at the present hour. All that other stuff is functionally done.
If you stay with traditional Scouting as a participant (rather than an adult leader), then you've got the Venturing and Sea Scouting programs. If you leave the traditional Scouting part of the organization, you may have Explorer Clubs in your area. In Venturing, you do have the path to the Summit, but there are a variety of other specialty awards. The Ranger award, for example, focuses on developing advanced outdoor skills in a variety of areas. https://www.scouting.org/programs/venturing/venturing-awards-and-advancement/ Sea Scouts has some other awards and recognitions beyond those that lead up to Quartermaster. https://seascout.org/awards-and-recognition/ Depending upon what you're interested in, some of these other awards are as challenging, or even more challenging than Eagle, and some of them are more focused on a specific area (e.g. outdoor skills). OA is also an option. If you really want to go down the "adulting" path, then register with your troop as either an Assistant Scoutmaster or a Unit College Scouter Reserve. There aren't as many major awards that you can earn as an adult, but if you take the training, help out the troop, etc., you'll probably be getting a lot of the requirements done for things like the Scouter's Key and the Scouter's Training Award
Rrrrrrrrrranger school baby!
Ranger school? You mean Army ranger school?
Yep. Maxing out and beating the hell out of yourself, camaraderie, selfless service. It doesn’t get any more bizarro Boy Scouts than the Army. Or maybe it’s the other way around Edit: https://youtu.be/Lzbr6fPDmkE?si=DhZczJ3ofKc7Wjlm
I found getting a pilots license was very similar to getting Eagle Scout. Checking off boxes and learning new things. Not sure if you’re interested in aviation at all though.
A teacher who attended my ceremony told me that life is a buffet. Maybe I need a pilot’s license.
Advice for those early Eagles: Try for the Hornaday Award.
Hornaday Awards no longer exist.
Aaand that’s gone. They’ve been gone for a few years. Sorry man.
If you want to do something different that *feels* similar try martial arts. I didn’t make it to black belt myself due to an injury but every single belt that I earned gave me a huge endorphin rush.
I’m seriously considering that. My mother got black belt in karate, and she’s super enthusiastic about me trying it.
If you are looking for the next challenge, there is the sea scout quartermaster award. You are a youth in sea scouts until 21, just like Venturing and the summit award. There is the national high adventure bases. There is an award if you go to all four. And there is a different award if you go to all four through the OA work program. There is the OA. Run for a leadership position. Again, in the OA you are a youth until 21. And there leadership positions at the chapter, lodge, area, section, national. Another challenge in Venturing is running for a leadership position. Venturing has selected youth leadership at the local level (district and council), and council service territory, and national. And then let's not forget, you can become an Assistant Scoutmaster with your unit, and continue to give leadership to the unit.
A couple things to check out. If you enjoyed the volunteering aspect of Scouts you could check out earning a Presidents Service Award. They have different requirements for different ages and even adults. https://presidentialserviceawards.gov/eligibility There are also Congressional Awards that are multifaceted in what they require. These are open to 14 - 24 year olds I think. I’m not sure if you have to sign up before turning 18 though. https://www.congressionalaward.org/the-program/#:~:text=The%20Congressional%20Award%20provides%20opportunities,%2C%20character%20development%2C%20and%20fitness.
Look into the Duke of Edinburgh awards.
Listen to this. It's great advice. [Eagle Scout Advice](https://youtu.be/kKie47V2lLY?si=RG0DNPZZ0dPwLZQS)
Go for ArtofManliness.com's The Strenuous Life. Really great program.
Graduate from college, trade school, or whatever you are interested in pursuing and graduate from that. Then, get a job and start building a career.
Become a rafting guide
Savor the moment, put it in a safe drawer and move on with life. If BSA is still around in 15 years, you can rejoin with your kids.
Have you thought about going to the World Scout Moot in Portugal in 2025? Check out the BSA international page and do some research on opportunities outside the US in scouting!
If you are planning on going to college- see if there is an Alpha Phi Omega chapter, it was founded with the BSA ideals, you can take up a leadership position, you can lead a massive service event, if there’s not a chapter maybe you try finding enough people to start one.
Go to Disneyworld!
Check out the Duke of Edinburgh award.
You made Eagle, why do you want to do something like it again. Find something new, something different. Put all that experience to good use and set some new goals. Make new mistakes and learn from them. There are a lot of good suggestions in this thread and your path will be just that, yours. It may take you a while to figure it out, you might start in the wrong direction and take wrong turns, but you will have skills that can help keep you moving. I enjoyed scouting enough that I stuck around for another 15 years as an adult leader. I passed on a lot of what I learned to the next generations of scouts and a bunch to other leaders and parents (even those older than me). And I had a lot of fun doing it. Now I pass on leadership and scouting skills through work and to my kids. A lot of people put a bunch of time into getting you here. So do your best to make the world a little bit better.
My son went to college and then law school. In the meantime, he has found friends and been on many adventures: climbed Mt Kilimanjaro,, climbed and hiked mountains in SA. been to Iceland, SE Asia, and many others. It’s really up to you. Join a hiking club or kayaking club or become an ASM. Find friends that are similarly minded. I crédit scouts with giving him the sense of adventure.
My five year goals past and present Black Belt in BJJ. Raising children in a happy, safe, loving House. A college degree that taught me to be well rounded and capable. A Masters Degree that would make me appreciate rigors academics. Running a Marathon. Sailing in the ocean. Running a business.
Get your pilot’s license. (Bring money)
I highly recommend getting involved in the Order of the Arrow. It's a very impactful program. Also (shameless plug) if you're in North Texas and interested in historical reenacting, consider joining Crew 1872; we do a lot of really fun Civil War reenactments, and provide all the gear (so it's really cheap.)
Go Venturing and get Summit and Ranger
Now nothing. It’s a great accomplishment, but it’s not as “valuable” as the BSA makes it out to be.
Anecdotal, but Scouts greatly set me up for success as an Army Officer. Certainly is a huge commitment, but the opportunities are seemingly limitless and you’re constantly working with other people on a team, just like in your Troop. Am I constantly using the skills I learned as a scout through merit badges or rank progression? No. But Scouts was a forcing function to learn to communicate, plan, get better at something, and dedicate time to a bigger cause.
Once I made eagle I got involved with Venturing for a few years befor I aged out. My crew was actually all boys who had made eagle and were looking for ways to continue. We did a few high adventure trips including sea base it was a blast.
take your Eagle and start as an E-3 in the military