Career in the military

[Bcutberth]

I'm 17 years old and I am graduating high school next summer. I am planning on going to college, but not really sure what for. I've been thinking about making a career out of the military but I wanted to know why I would do if I had a career in the military. Or if I did go to college could I take classes to help my career in the military? Does a career in the military actually pay a good salary?

[matthew.ritchie]

First, this is a forum for the National Guard, which is largely a part-time force. You could have a military career and a civilian career at the same time.

Second, if you don't have a good reason to go to college, then perhaps you shouldn't go right now. We have plenty of people with useless degrees and a mountain of debt, you don't want to be one of them.

[Polo08816]

First, this is a forum for the National Guard, which is largely a part-time force. You could have a military career and a civilian career at the same time.

Second, if you don't have a good reason to go to college, then perhaps you shouldn't go right now. We have plenty of people with useless degrees and a mountain of debt, you don't want to be one of them.

Amen.

Bcutberth, if you hang around long enough on these forums, there are quite a few examples of these people.

[HR NCO]

Amen.

Bcutberth, if you hang around long enough on these forums, there are quite a few examples of these people.

and most of them have shiny bars as their avatars! ....ZING

Ok...just a little joke, no one get upset

[Polo08816]

and most of them have shiny bars as their avatars! ....ZING

Ok...just a little joke, no one get upset

Fact.

5char.

[SGT Juggernaut]

For your situation this is what I recommend, enlist active duty with a 4 year contract. After 4 years then get out and use the GI Bill and other benefits that you earned to get a college degree. If after the first 4 years you end up loving the military and want to make a 20+ year career out of it then stay in and use your benefits to get a degree while on active duty. In either case I highly stress getting a college degree. LTC Richie is correct in what he said, but after that first 4 years maybe you will have better clarity and direction in what you want to do with your career and life.

College credits in general are a huge benefit on the enlisted side when it comes to promotion points. The actual classes themselves have no effect on the amount of points awarded, so an associates in arts is worth the same as an associates in science. In the civilian world an associates is worthless and so are many 4 year degrees. Now obviously to be an officer you have to have at a minimum 4 year degree to commision. As far as degree type on the officer side I have zero experience in that arena but I imagine that it could play a part at some point and dependent on branch assignment.

What ever you do best of luck. Word of caution, don't go into the national guard with the intention of getting your toes wet and maybe going active later on. Go active first, right out of high school because it is not easy to go active while in the national guard and with the troop level reductions it will become harder and harder. In my experience at any given time in a NG unit at least 10% of the company wants to go active duty but can't because the state will not release them and the Active Army will not take them.

[CSM]

Second, if you don't have a good reason to go to college, then perhaps you shouldn't go right now. We have plenty of people with useless degrees and a mountain of debt, you don't want to be one of them.

What degrees would you consider useFUL? I'm seeing more and more people with Bachelors and Masters unemployed or underemployed. I'm not sure that any degree is worth going into debt other than nursing.

[Polo08816]

What degrees would you consider useFUL? I'm seeing more and more people with Bachelors and Masters unemployed or underemployed. I'm not sure that any degree is worth going into debt other than nursing.

Paralegal and jwarren will eventually chime in, but the general consensus is that the following degrees are worth pursuing because of the ability to be quickly employed after graduation (in no particular order):

-Electrical engineering
-Mechanical engineering
-Chemical engineering
-Computer science

This is not an exclusive list by any means, but it is based on my experience that people who major in these fields tend to have very little difficulty finding employment.

I am a Computer Science major from Rutgers University. Even those who were considered sub-par CS majors have found CS-related employment 2 months after graduation. They should not have because they sucked, but it goes to show you the demand for particular fields.

There's definitely some correlation between the difficulty of the major and the low unemployment of the graduates of that field. Computer science at Rutgers University was and still is no easy walk in the park. Of the people who attempt the Intro 101 class, 45% will walk out of the class with an F on their transcript. Of the people who get through the 101 class and proceed onto the 102, 40% will walk out of the class with an F on their transcript, and so on. The last required class (Operating Systems) would have a fail rate of 35%.

[CSM]

Thanks for replying. I'm sure the math and science requirements eliminate a lot of people from pursuing engineering degrees. My ds got AS degrees in IT Security and Networking. Almost half the students didn't finish the Cisco related courses. Many of those who did finish barely passed. By the time he went through two years, he was burnt out and no longer interested in a computer related field. I guess even though the degree may end up be "useless" hopefully the education behind it may be beneficial--in some form or another. I'm speaking as the parent of a kid who probably has four useless degrees. :P

[matthew.ritchie]

I guess even though the degree may end up be "useless" hopefully the education behind it may be beneficial--in some form or another. I'm speaking as the parent of a kid who probably has four useless degrees. :P

The education itself isn't a bad thing, although he may have dramatically overpaid for it.

I personally have a useless degree, although I knew at the time that I was getting that degree for myself and not to get a job. I incurred no debt, studied for it while holding a job, and kept reality in focus.

[jwarren]

Majoring in math or physics and minoring in finance or economics is also a good route. Although I think if you're going to spend four years studying for something you owe it to yourself to learn some at least some basic computer programming while you're at it. If you're at least somewhat competent in C++ or Java and have familiarity with SQL or Postgres you're in good shape.

With regard to engineering, Polo is mostly correct. However, ChemE tends to be more highly specialized than MechE or EE. If you're not sure that you want to design chemical plants/processes, I'd recommend a different engineering discipline. Electrical is probably the toughest, but it'll provide the most exposure to software development. If you choose electives wisely, you can come out of a EE program knowing almost as much about computer programming and architecture as a CS major but with a lot more mathematics knowledge.

Personally, I studied mechanical engineering, took the hardest electives, and learned programming on my own.

[SteveLord]

Although I think if you're going to spend four years studying for something you owe it to yourself to learn some at least some basic computer programming while you're at it. If you're at least somewhat competent in C++ or Java and have familiarity with SQL or Postgres you're in good shape.

Java and .NET are huge. My state is regularly hiring for application developers. Need 2 right now. Paying $63k and up + some of the best benefits one can get.

[ParalegalNCO1]

Paralegal and jwarren will eventually chime in, but the general consensus is that the following degrees are worth pursuing because of the ability to be quickly employed after graduation (in no particular order):

-Electrical engineering
-Mechanical engineering
-Chemical engineering
-Computer science

This is not an exclusive list by any means, but it is based on my experience that people who major in these fields tend to have very little difficulty finding employment.

I am a Computer Science major from Rutgers University. Even those who were considered sub-par CS majors have found CS-related employment 2 months after graduation. They should not have because they sucked, but it goes to show you the demand for particular fields.

There's definitely some correlation between the difficulty of the major and the low unemployment of the graduates of that field. Computer science at Rutgers University was and still is no easy walk in the park. Of the people who attempt the Intro 101 class, 45% will walk out of the class with an F on their transcript. Of the people who get through the 101 class and proceed onto the 102, 40% will walk out of the class with an F on their transcript, and so on. The last required class (Operating Systems) would have a fail rate of 35%.

Accounting wasn't mentioned, an that is usually guaranteed employment around 40-60K

[matthew.ritchie]

What degrees would you consider useFUL? I'm seeing more and more people with Bachelors and Masters unemployed or underemployed. I'm not sure that any degree is worth going into debt other than nursing.

The acronym that educators use is STEM: science, technology, engineering, and math. Nursing is a good gig, because you can work as much or as little as you want, and you can get a job in New York City or East Overshoe. Avoid any major with the word "studies" in it. Also avoid any degree when job goal for the majority of those students is to become a professor in that subject.

Alternately, go the skilled labor route, and become an electrician, carpenter, auto mechanic, plumber, HVAC technician, etc. These jobs aren't glamorous, but you can train for them cheaply through the local community college, and start working at age 20 with no debt.

[RyCass]

I'm 17 years old and I am graduating high school next summer. I am planning on going to college, but not really sure what for. I've been thinking about making a career out of the military but I wanted to know why I would do if I had a career in the military. Or if I did go to college could I take classes to help my career in the military? Does a career in the military actually pay a good salary?

A more productive way to get the answers your looking for is to let us know what job opportunities you might be interested in! It will be much easier to tell if your college courses will help with your military career.

Also, I would encourage you take a look at the Guard Basics section on the National Guard website. It gives a rundown of how the Guard works and what you can expect when you enlist. Here's a link: Guard Basics. After taking a look at this, let me know if you have any other questions!

[fmcityslicker]

I'm 17 years old and I am graduating high school next summer. I am planning on going to college, but not really sure what for. I've been thinking about making a career out of the military but I wanted to know why I would do if I had a career in the military. Or if I did go to college could I take classes to help my career in the military? Does a career in the military actually pay a good salary?

Talk to your guidance counselor and parents about your future concerns. They should know you the best. Yes, you can make a decent salary in the military if you stick with it. None of us starve and have a place to sleep at night.