Grasping tomorrow

[metinkgb]

Hey guys. I'm a first time poster here. I've been checking this place out for a while and would like to get a little bit of insight, advice and some ideas. I also wouldn't mind hearing some stories about your personal experiences. The more information, the better, I'd say.

Comments

[tisiphone]

If you want to join the Air Force anyway, you can transfer to a school with an AFROTC program and get benefits while you're in school. It's a pretty reasonable deal if it's something you're going to do anyway, and reduce any worries about tuition in the meantime. Something you might find though is that upper level undergraduate work is very different from what you're probably doing right now. It tends to be deeper, but at the same time you'll have less wiggle room. Right now you've got a little bit of freedom to do what you want in terms of classes, but that gets stricter over time. So, now is maybe not the time to be planning past your transfer to a four-year school.

Even if you decide to do something now, that could change in the next couple years. You could decide that you're not spending one more minute in higher ed than you have to - in contrast, you could find that you absolutely love it. Something you should do is check out the job prospects for whatever you're thinking of - the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook

[metinkgb]

Oho! Thanks for the information! And I'll definitely check out the handbook.

[lotuslion]

In addition to ladykathryn's excellent advice, do as much research as you can about jobs that you might think you'd like to have, then see if you can work your networks (friends, friends' parents, family, alumni, career services, whatever) and try to talk to people who are in those jobs. It will help you get a better sense of what your day-to-day life would be like - similarly, try to do as many internships as you can. The experience will help you get a job, and will help expose you to different careers.

In general, I would only encourage you to apply to grad school if a) your field requires an advanced degree or b) you're so absolutely in love with your subject you can't imagine dealing with anything else for the rest of your life. Grad school is very different from undergrad, and can be a huge expense in both time and money - not to mention a giant PITA. ;) There's no harm in going out and working for a while then deciding to go to grad school either - a large number of us did just that.

[metinkgb]

Alright, thank you! That's what my dad mentioned to me. Internships will help me out a lot in the long run for job hunting.

I see! At first, I thought that you had to go to Grad school in order to get a Masters degree. But it looks like that I have more of a choice in the matter. I appreciate your help!

[lotuslion]

You're welcome!

I mean, you DO have to go to grad school to get a Masters, but you may not necessarily need a Masters. I'm in a professional Masters program right now, so it's definitely for career advancement (although I do love my field), but I wouldn't have gone if I could have found a career that made me happy without it. My husband is an engineer, and he toys with the idea of getting a MS, but in general he's doing what he wants to do and gaining career advancement through professional experience and licensure, so it's only really necessary for him if he wants to go more toward research and development. Out of all my friends who graduated college with me, only a handful of us have gone on to grad school, and not always immediately after undergrad. What's important is that you try to find a career that you can live with, and if that means grad school, then so be it, but if not, that's fine too! ;)

[metinkgb]

By the way, what do you for your career?

[quietmusing]

I second the ROTC program. You would join as an officer the pay is double enlisted pay and the benefits are better/same depending on the area. I am currently in Misawa with some enlisted friends and am probably going to do ROTC as a Masters student.

[metinkgb]

Thank you! Everyone's been so helpful here! I live in the United States, so I wouldn't mind doing some traveling while I'm at it!

[anonymous]

I did Air Force ROTC for my four years at undergrad; I just finished three years active duty as an officer. I went to school part-time in the evenings to pursue my master's and I'll be done with that in May. I'm currently working on PhD applications to start in fall 2010. A lot of my friends in the AF were getting their master's; I was lucky and was stationed near a big city so I had traditional part-time options at pretty good schools, while some of my other friends had to do online, etc.
Sorry for the anonymous tag, I need to get around to registering for this site. But if you like, I can give you my email, if you have questions about ROTC, active duty AF, officer life, going to grad school after the military, etc.

[metinkgb]

No problem! I do have some more questions, so I would like your e-mail.

[anonymous]

Cool, I got your email from your profile, so I just sent you one :)