Military question?
DEA and CIA tend to hire alot of ex-Army Special Forces -- 11-series MOS to SF school and 18-series CMF. You can go to the FBI straight with your CJ degree, no need for military. If you want Homeland Security go Coast Guard, they are under DHS and you might find some advantages -- it is a young department, too young to tell perhaps. Any service will get you a Veterans Preference in hiring, but it isn't all that and a bag of chips -- the 4 years of seniority you would have if you went straight to the civil service job would probably serve you better. But thanks for being willing to serve.
Military vs College?
From what you're telling us, I'm inclined to say join then do college. If you want to serve but not for a career, I'm not sure doing college then being an officer is the best way. Officers are really the career soldiers in the military, even though many of the juniors also stay in only for one or two terms. The DoD invests a lot into their training and pay and you have to be very committed and passionate about becoming an officer to get through OCS or the Academy (ROTC can be difficult from what I've heard too). Do your 4 years, go ahead and start working on college through distance learning, and if at the end of that term, you want to move on, don't re-enlist, and resume college on your GI Bill. You might graduate a little later than if you were to go straight to college, but you will have benefited from some AF training and discipline, gotten an education on the govt's dime and potentially seen the world too. On the other hand, if you find you like the AF, you can either re-enlist, keep up your college and eventually go to OCS to become an officer, get out and fast-track college and then go to OCS, or just stay enlisted. Either way, you'll probably have better job security than in the civilian world.
Military then college or College then Military?
So I need some guidance. I was an alright student in high school and I made honor role quite a few times. I'm 20 years old now and I've decided I now want to go to college for like the experience part of it and hopefully find a degree that I want to go for. But at the same time I don't want to abandon the idea of joining the military. I also don't have a lot of money so that's one of my situations with college. So I didn't know if I should join the reserves and have the military pay for it or would I have a better experience just trying to pay it off over time and join something like ROTC while in college then go to the military after Maybe 4 years.
Should I go to military or college first?
The recommendation then and now was to get your education first. Check with schools and recruiters to find out what you want and get the best deal. You may want to get your college and some pay up front and have an obligation to serve a number of years later, but plan on staying in for retirement. Go active duty because reserve or guard don't have as good a deal with retirement at age 60 and you can only earn 50 points(days) per year except for active duty. It would take 7.3 years to earn a year for retirement. Also, the world situation may be better in four years or so. I highly recommend going into the Army first, and pursuing your degree while you're in. It won't be quick or simple, but it will be free, and you'll have ample opportunity to be exposed to a long list of career fields that will help you find something you enjoy doing. I can't begin to list the opportunities the Army has provided me. If you want to be an officer there will be plenty of time for that, and you'll be a much better officer with some enlisted experience than you will with 4 years of college and no military experience. Seriously... jump right in. And if you have any questions, need help negotiating with the recruiters, or want to know more about educational or career opportunities, drop me a line and I'll hook you up. SSG Schramm US Army 15 years OIF 2003
How does the military pay for your college?
Well, not a really easy question to answer because of the variables and the fact that the G.I. Bill I had isn't what the G.I. Bill is today! Anyway, you would have to enlist for at least 4 years if you wanted to use the G.I. Bill (an excellent way of paying for college btw). Also, while in the military they will pay for your college expenses. The downside of this is often you end up in a situation where you can't take classes from time to time. But no matter what happens while you are in the service, after you get out as long as you participated in the G.I. Bill and you got out with an honorable discharge you will have access to a fairly hefty sum of money for college and at least 10 years in which to use it. Check this link for further information.
Should you join the military before or after college?
Oh boy… Someone with more time will probably write a beautiful answer to this question, but I’ll give you the short version.Going after: You have the opportunity to pursue a commission as an officer, which is a ton of work and responsibility but basically makes the whole experience better in almost every way, including pay and career prospects for after the military. If you don’t choose that path you still get automatic promotion to E-4 with a college degree, which means more pay and opportunity. You can also have the military pay off your college loans in some cases and still be eligible for the post 9/11 GI bill if you serve more than 3 years (These programs change and your mileage may very).Going before: You get the “full experience” and the camaraderie of being a Joe. If you don’t choose to go career, you basically get it out of the way. After you’ve been through military training and an enlistment, college will seem crazy easy. You won’t have to worry about loans at any point (assuming the post 9/11 stays around). You will also most likely have a better pick of schools, since most colleges are pretty good about letting veterans in. You would also have the option to go to college and do ROTC knowing a lot more about the military if you did want to commission. It would be an informed choice.For the record, I went in after and commissioned. The level of responsibility that you have thrust on you in that situation is unlike anything you will get in the private sector or anywhere else. If that’s what you’re looking for, I highly recommend it. Good luck.
Military V.S Community College?
1. Maybe you might be able to make E-3 if you try hard and show that you are a valuable asset to the company or platoon. But no you will probably not make E-4 in two years, I've only heard of a couple people ever making it to E-4 that quickly but it took them three years which is still hard. You have to show that you a team player and a leader and have the desire to take the initiative to succeed. So by the time you would graduate from community college someone who join when you started community college would be a E-2 making it to a E-3. 2.as far as college classes in the military, the military pays for all expenses to college so if you are really committed an you take night classes; while just completing what you need and no extra classes, you could probably get a B.A. in maybe 2 1/2 to 3 yrs. Instead of the usual 4 years. But remember it is also hard to do this because for every class you need, they are only available at certain times due to professors, and take a certain amount of time while not being set on your own pace due to their class schedules. But if you take the right ones at night so you can save room for the rest during the day it is possible. Once finished you'll be able to enter OCS or Officer Candidate School. 3. The sign up bonuses vary depending on MOS or job. I can't be sure exactly what Army Intel would be but its pretty high up on the priority list and I've had friends who have gotten nuclear specialist which is at the top with Army Intel and they received a $85,000 signing bonus so it probably won't be that high but it might be around $50-65,000. Butjust to remind you, to even be considered for Army Intelligence you have to have a high score on the ASVAB test.
What are the best online colleges for military personnel?
Attending college online rather than on-campus has numerous perks for active duty military members. Separate financial aids like Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits, Yellow Ribbon programs and many more are provided by the colleges.Additionally, a joint program known as Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC) eases the credit transferral and degree completion processes for active-duty and military reservist students.Liberty UniversityColumbia Southern UniversityArizona State UniversityAcademy of Art UniversityKaplan UniversityAshford UniversityAmerican Public University SystemColorado State UniversityGrantham UniversitySaint Xavier UniversityUniversity of Nebraska at OmahaUniversity of Oklahoma-Norman CampusMississippi State UniversitySouthern New Hampshire UniversityPurdue UniversityThese are some of the good military-friendly universities without any prior ranking order. But on a personal basis, I would suggest you check out Norwich University at Vermont. It is the oldest private military college in the USA. Also, it is the first institute to start ROTC for the military personnel.You can check out this for more information regarding scholarships for Military personnel and the best online colleges in the US.Scholarships for Military
Is Georgia Military College an Army college?
Kinda. The main campus located in Milledgeville, Georgia has an Army ROTC program and the Corps of Cadets program. Georgia Military College (GMC) has 8 different campuses located throughout the state of Georgia. Every campus is a 2-year junior college. I attend GMC-Valdosta where I can finish my general studies a lot faster because we are on quarter schedule instead of semesters. A lot of people I know start at GMC and then transfer to Valdosta State University, where they are on regular semesters. The campus I attend also offers night classes. It has nothing to do with the military other then the main campus in Milledgeville, which I have never been to. Just a normal community/junior college! I love it though, small classes and like I said the quarters go by faster then semesters (8 weeks) Depending on how much college you have accomplished, you could do the Army ROTC program at GMC for 2 years.. graduate, and then where ever you go to finish you bachelor degree (4yr university) they will probably offer Air Force ROTC at that school. Because I think you don't make any commitments to military branch until after your second year in ROTC.. not sure though. Hope this helps!