Should I get a degree first or enlist?
I want to get a masters in psychology and also would like an 18x contract for special forces. I cant afford to pay for college and I know that the military would help me pay for it. I want to go to college first then enlist with an 18x contract but I was told to enlist first with an 11b mos and then attend special forces selection and training so that way if I were to wash out with sn 18x I wouldnt get stuck in a mos that I would hate. I would go to college after the military but I plan on having a family of my own so its not realistic to leave my paying job in the military to go back to school. Basically this is what I want to do. - Get a bachelors at 21 - Enlist in the U.S army with 18x or 11b first then get selected for SF. - After the 8-12 years in the military I want to go back and study for two more years and get my masters ( I want a PHD but I Wont have the time). - so around age 35 I would hope to have a high paying job as a psychologist. I really have a passion for SF and Psychology, honestly I want to do both but the only reason im not staying in the military is for the terrible pay. I do not want to be an officer, my mind is set on sf. Please help me, give me some advice so I can reach my goals
Staying enlisted vs. commissioning?
Hey guys. I'm prior service Army, serving in the Reserve currently and doing ROTC at the same time. Although the idea of commissioning seems incredible, I can't help but think that I will regret it later on due to the fact that I'll be missing out on crucial experience as an NCO in the Army. I really get the urge to stay enlisted but I always shoot it down considering the opportunities that the rank and pay of an officer bring. This is a truly opinionated question, and I would like your honest opinionated advice as an answer guys. In your experience, would you recommend re-enlisting, and maybe commissioning later on during my career or would you recommend going ahead and getting a commission as soon as I can, considering that opportunities will be lower when the Army downsizes probably in a few years? Any help would be appreciated, really...I'm pretty much torn over this issue. Just need some honest, valuable two cents.
Enlisting with a college degree, age 20?
I'm 18 currently, finishing my sophomore year as a geography major. Ever since I was about 10, the military have had my interest as a career. Having my dad, brother, his cousin, grandfather, all serve in various branches, I learned about their life and the life of military officers/enlisted. I know for sure I want to finish my degree before committing to anything. I talked to the recruiter/ROTC guys at my university and they said I could still apply for ROTC as a sophomore. But, I don't think I want to lead enlisted without having been one. However, several enlisted people I know told me to do officer, as enlisted get treated like crap (Idk if it was just a bad experience, or mistakes they made, but how true is that?) I'm not a huge fan of sea life, so I focus more on the Army and Air Force. The MOS's I've always had an interest in are military intelligence, possibly military police/security forces,signal intelligence/analyst, or the army's CID. For awhile, my goal was to join the FBI or DIA. The military would help, and having a degree is necessary for those agencies. I've talked to my family many times about this. They support it, and support college. I never got a clear answer on this from anyone, but I would have to give up my dual citizenship correct? I will sound dumb when I say the country, but it's the Russian Federation (born there). I want to hear from others who enlisted with a degree and their experience/tips and advice.
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 join the military after high school or after college?
I joined the Active Army after I graduated college, and I'd recommend that if you plan on joining the military, do it before college. You can take college accredited college classes while you're in the military that can help you once you get in college. Additionally, there's the Montgomery GI Bill, the best way to pay for college, especially during a time when student loans are drying up. Your time in the military will also help you become disciplined enough to not only finish and graduate college, but help you do well in college. Being in the military can also help you in deciding what to major in. EDIT: I would strongly advise you NOT to join the Reserves or National Guard while in college. There is a very good possibility that you will be alerted and/or activated while in school. I was in the National Guard for the majority of my college back in the 90's. We got alerted after a hurricane and I had to graduate a semester late because I missed a key exam that my professor wouldn't let me make up. Nowadays, with enhanced brigades and the NG and Reserves getting sent all over the place, the possibility of you getting disrupted during your college is very high. And your commanders won't care if you're in college either, so don't think they'll give you a wavier. If you go the ROTC route, not only will you have a manditory six years to serve after you finish, there will always be a possibility you'll get called back into duty, even after your six years is up. Nothing's worse than having a civilian career and a family, then being called back into service, especially if it's for something BS like the Iraq war. I finished the ROTC program and was a completion cadet, but I resigned from the program two months before my graduation because I knew I didn't want to get involved with all that crap. Additionally, I also wanted more say in what job I had. I could do that enlisted. Oh, and I'd highly recommend going Air Force instead of Army. Since you're a female, you can't do the cool combat arms stuff the guys can do in the Army. The quality of life is much better and you don't have to deal with a lot of the stupid crap like you do in the Army.
I want to drop out of college and join the Air Force. What should I do?
So this is my first semester as a sophomore in college and so far it's just...I honestly don't know anymore. My original set up in life after I graduated high school in 2012 was to go to the military. But since I was in a nursing program in high school, I thought it better to go to college and get my degree first. Freshmen year of college sucked badly, I wasn't that A+ student anymore, I was put on academic probation and I became unmotivated. But gladly I worked even harder and made it into sophomore year while so many people I became friends with dropped out or couldn't do it anymore. Now I'm sitting here a week away from finals asking myself what I'm doing with my life. I sometimes tell myself that I'm doing this college thing for me, but when I talk to my friends, we can all come to a conclusion that it's because our parents wanted us to go. I just wanted to make them proud and now I'm miserable as hell. I planned on dropping out freshmen year to enlist, but my dad stopped me and told me that I should stay and get my degree because I would enlist as an officer, but seriously guys, there are so many students in nursing right now, I know that with my struggling at the moment I won't make it. I want to continue just a little bit longer, but I seriously feel like I'm wasting so much time and money. I'm trying to figure out what can make me happy and I know right now for a fact that wondering how the hell I'm going to pay off my student loans and etc. is not doing it for me. So please someone tell me what I should do because I really don't know anymore. I'm planning on going to a recruiter in my hometown when I go home; or maybe I should talk to my college counselor first? I'm trying to uphold that stupid "daughter that makes her family proud" but I just want to do my own thing. I feel pathetic. Sorry for the vent. Just really need some help.
15 college credits to join the army?
I'm currently in the process of enlisting for the US Army. I just have to pass the ASVAB and go to MEPs. I'm currently a senior in high school, im older than most kids do to a hold back in grade school because of surgery. Heres the thing, i have 10 college credits from taking some college courses over the summer. I know to enlist you need a diploma or 15 college credits. Im thinking about just going to my community college to finish those credits so i can go off to basic sooner and start my life. I also heard rumors if i did this i would have to wait 6 months? Is that true? Or with the 15 credits am i all set? Im not lazy, ill just do anything i can to start my life sooner and im willing to work as hard as i can for it
If I have 47 credit hours of college can I join the Navy as an E3 instead of an E2?
Some of these answers people give are stupid. I think they are just trying to get points for something. Yes, they will adjust your grade to E3 when you ship. Since you are taking college while in DEP, as soon as you get 48 credits your recruiter will take your transcripts to MEPS to make you an E3. I am a recruiter in Cleveland and Yes they will do that