Military or College?

So I've been thinking about this for awhile now… If I went to college I would have to cover all the costs and probably buy a car. Which means I would have to work my butt off getting a night job during college. But my other option is the military. For the longest time I was firmly against the idea of me ever going to the military even though my parents suggested it and my brother is currently in the Air Force. I'm a girl too. Would it be possible for me to only go to the military for four years and get a (paid) online degree at the same time? I would like to get a bachelors in Criminal Justice and work in law enforcement after the four years is up. Has anyone here been in service? I could really use some help right now. And if I did go into the military what branch/job would best help me pursue my law enforcement career? Thanks guys!

I don't have advice, but I can really relate to your struggle of deciding what to do.. I can't decide, either so I wish you good luck in your choice

Thank you I hope you find the choice you're looking for too.

You may want to check with a recruiter, but I don't think they take people with mental illness diagnoses.

I joined the AF a very long time ago. I enjoyed the work, though my personal life was a wreck. Security forces get deployed quite a bit so it may put a crimp in your college plans.

I posted on your other post about joining the military, so I'm not going to repeat my quite long response here. I was in the Air Force (a long time ago). All of the services have their security forces. If law enforcement is your goal, and you do decide to join, try to join as Military Police or Law Enforcement. The training your receive will count towards your degree. Just keep in mind, MP's and LE's will be subject to deployment and that could interfere with college plans while you are in. When you get out though, you can finish your degree with VA Benefits.

Do your research and don't count on recruiters to give you the information you are looking for. Don't believe anything unless you see it in writing, read the fine print.

Good luck with your decision.

I enjoyed my time in the military (active duty for six plus years in the Air Force). I despise debt so if I were young and did not have funding for college, I would enlist. When I was in the Air Force (the 80s and 90s), some specialties could easily pick up some college credit (at that time they paid 75 percent of our tuition) while others could not. For example, when I was a personnel officer all the people working for me could easily attend school part time. That is because our office was open from 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM and we rarely deployed. In other specialities, that would be impossible. For example, people who maintained the airplanes worked all sorts of long hours (including more overtime than us and sometimes nights, mids) and also deployed frequently. They had no time at all to earn credits. So if you enlist, you might want to decide what your priority is -- college credit or experience in a particular career field. As others have said--MPs deploy fairly frequently and can have odd hours. Back when I was in, specialities like personnel and finance had more traditional hours and the sort of regular schedules that allowed everyone to earn college credit. I easily completed a master's degree in less than two years while I was on active duty.....

Thank you guys so much!

When I made this decision, I saw it as whether I wanted to be owned by someone else, or my own person. I went the autonomous route, and I have done well in college. I have scholarships that pay for my expenses. If you get good grades, and do all the paperwork when you need to, you can get help with the money part.

Firstly, in my own experience the individual plays little part in the choosing of a trade. This, in Canada at least, is determined by quota. Where is the need? What trades most require numbers to fill? And of course the final offer of a trade is directed by the aptitude test results. I joined the Navy. I was given either Diesel Mechanic or electrician to choose from.

My own treatment as a woman was terrible. No I did not see any combat but I have PTSD from the very negative environment I faced daily solely because I was a woman in what was then (80s and 90s) a man's world. While I imagine things have improved in that regard, I would be surprised to hear that harassment and bigotry no longer exists.

What I believe it really comes down to the strength of character.

Yes, it all depends on what type of person you are. Many mature a lot with some time in the military, though it's not for everyone. One way to 'split the baby' is to look into a National Guard or 'Reserve' unit near you, check online.

With a Reserve slot you would go to 4-6 months of training, then 'drill' at various times with the unit, two weeks near the Summer. Commitments are usually 6 years but it's part time.

If you like the job and lifestyle you can usually transfer to active duty. It's not wise to consider the military JUST for college $$$, but they usually programs that pay for at least a portion of higher education.

I would suggest avoiding the military, especially with a MI.

For one, they typically don't allow people with MI to join and even if you do get in; perhaps by lying about your MI; I hear it is hell with all of the rules and training and what not that they make you do not to mention I personally don't trust the government right now and I wouldn't put my life on the line to protect them, nor would I recommend anybody else to; life is too precious to put it at risk for people who couldn't care less.

Want my suggestion? Start with Community College. If you choose your field wisely, an Associate's Degree should be enough to get you in the door of a decent paying job then you could either continue your education or do something else with your life. Not to mention, Community College is extremely cheap.

I'm about to go the Community College route myself and major as a web developer and let me put it to you like this: it is so cheap that with the total amount that I would be able to receive from a FAFSA I would have enough money to purchase all of my college credits for an Associate's, books, and easily have close to 8 grand or more left over to cover for housing or buy a nice laptop or whatever so if you were to only pay for your tuition and books, it should only cost 2-3 grand which can easily be covered with the grant portion of the FAFSA without needing a loan.

Community College might be your best bet.

how brave you are!!! also anyone else in the military-my brother was in the army and my other brother was in the coast guard. i am so proud of them. I know myself i wouldn't want to join because i'd rather go to school. which i am trying to do when august comes around and in the meantime i'm getting all the paperwork done. I became disabled in my early 20s from a car accident and before that I was in a different accident. Then i was in an accident in 1986. i guess I'm carwrecked!! Oh wel people have been good to me even though i was giving everyone a hard time as i did not want to believe it but came to see the meds worked, which i wish more people could accept,even like i thought i didn''t want meds in my blood but it was the only way forward for me. good luck everyonee!!

Wait whats an MI?

I think MI is mental illness.

The Air Force was great, I loved it.

It depends on what incentives they offer. The Air Force is the best branch imo, but the Navy and Army have more locations and jobs. The Navy is near the beach, consider that. Air Force has good locations, too. If you go with the Army, you could get stuck in areas you might want to live, though I realize every one is different.

The Army deploys more. The Air Force treats people better.

1. You could do a private or state college or university program where you work part time for the military while getting your degree, then commit to a certain number of years. I think it's called ROTC. You should check with a univirsity on this first-not the military.

2. You could do active duty military and do their school (which are excellent in my experience) but you'd want to check and make sure the education is transferrable.

3. You could join the reserves and do the military part time while you go to private school full time. you'd still have to go through formal training in your field which would be active duty for training. Again, these schools are excellent. This would give you money for college. You would commit to a number of years.

The Army probably has more opportunities for criminal justice, but they all have them.

It's been a number of years since I was in, so there may be different options now. It was a positive experience for me. The people are diverse, smart, fun, interesting, and like family. It can be exciting and you can get to see the world.

Just be careful when you go to recruiters because they are like sales people. Do your research first, before making a decision.

Thank you so much!!

(also I don't have a mental illness so I wouldn't be lying about anything Darkness…)

Mental Illness.

Hopefully you consider my Community College advice at least.

I've been beginning to feel like nobody values my advice lately.

Not that it matters though; I'll be gaming tonight and then going on my college tour tomorrow so I'm getting off this seemingly pointless forum.

Best of wishes!

Don't rush into either. If you decide to go to college, make sure you know what you want to do when you come out the other side. I made the mistake of spending many years and a lot of money studying at university, and I had no idea what to do when I came out. I should have joined the Army and not bothered, but that's what I know now, for you it may be different. There may be branches of the Military where you can gain qualifications and skills that are transferable to civilian life, and if you do join up I'd aim for one of them. Communications, medical even legal branches of the military exist and their training is viewed highly in the civilian world (well, here in the UK anyway, but I'd imagine Stateside too). As you've mentioned Law enforcement it may be worth reading the MP part of the Army website Army Military Police Jobs (31B) | goarmy.com
But, as I said earlier, don't rush into anything, it's the rest of your life so choose wisely.