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Is the Army ROTC right for me?
Golden Leg
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
This question is directed at those who have gone through the Army's Reserve Officers' Training Corps program.
I am a freshmen attending the Colorado School of Mines. I'm a bit young for my grade; I'll be turning 17 in 20 days. I've had a strong desire to join the military for two good years. The overall challenge and growth and experience that seems to come out of an experience is what attracts me.
The fall of my senior year I attempted to apply to the Air Force Academy, but was turned down due to my age. Now I'm going to a college I really like and pursuing a degree in a field that interests me--mechanical engineering.
Three days ago I was running and I ran past Mines' ROTC cadre, and it struck me that ROTC may be the way to go. I can still get my degree in mechanical engineering, and then join the military.
That was a lot of background information. My main question is this:
I graduate with my degree in mechanical engineering. I serve in the Army for four to eight years. What happens to the value of my degree? Will I still be able to land a good job in the mechanical engineering field? I understand that leadership and discipline are wonderful connotations that go along with having "Army" on one's resume, but the most closely related division to mechanical engineering the Army offers is the Corp of Engineers, which focuses on civil engineering problems, a few scales above where I'm studying.
Will my four to five years studying mech. e. be for naught once I go through the military machine?
I am a freshmen attending the Colorado School of Mines. I'm a bit young for my grade; I'll be turning 17 in 20 days. I've had a strong desire to join the military for two good years. The overall challenge and growth and experience that seems to come out of an experience is what attracts me.
The fall of my senior year I attempted to apply to the Air Force Academy, but was turned down due to my age. Now I'm going to a college I really like and pursuing a degree in a field that interests me--mechanical engineering.
Three days ago I was running and I ran past Mines' ROTC cadre, and it struck me that ROTC may be the way to go. I can still get my degree in mechanical engineering, and then join the military.
That was a lot of background information. My main question is this:
I graduate with my degree in mechanical engineering. I serve in the Army for four to eight years. What happens to the value of my degree? Will I still be able to land a good job in the mechanical engineering field? I understand that leadership and discipline are wonderful connotations that go along with having "Army" on one's resume, but the most closely related division to mechanical engineering the Army offers is the Corp of Engineers, which focuses on civil engineering problems, a few scales above where I'm studying.
Will my four to five years studying mech. e. be for naught once I go through the military machine?
Golden Leg on
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<-- Air Force CE guy
Air Force ROTC
Basically you can try it out for a while and see if you like it, get a chance to ask all these questions.
Also, if you join the Army, at this point you should pretty much expect to be deployed. Yes, there is talk of drawing down, which may occur by the time you graduate, but even if we are pulling out, they will still rather deploy a new guy than send someone out for thier 5th tour. I've heard that officers, Army and Marine Corps in particular, usually get very enticing offers from the civilian job market at the end of their first term, and the Army especially is forced to offer big bonuses to try to keep you in.
As far as the branches go, when I was in ROTC, you ranked all branches (16 in total I think). If you graduated in the top 10% of all cadets nationwide, you are guaranteed your first pick. If not, they will go off your ranking and put you where they need you.
I dont know how you feel about boats but the navy loves them some Mech E's They make great Seabees.
I say that jokingly
I like Dr. Pepper, too, but damn. But you do have 38000 as your member ID, so I must concede. I always figured the Seabees to be more of the civil engineering department than mechanical, but still, if you wish to join military service to see the world and gain experience, the Navy is the best way to go IMO.
Edit: Ah, you're stuck in Camp Bucca with me. I understand. I, too, get mad in my search for the nectar of the gods.
Haha... friggin a dude! Yeah im stuck at the "Help Desk" currently... that's crazy dude. Who would have thought that I would have found someone else who is bound to the same fate as I?
look at what the internet does
also, who are all the soldiers voting for?
Well as soldier, we aren't allowed to say who we are voting for. But as I civilian I can tell you. o_O
Oh Jesus that place sucked.
Edit for the OP: Military training is quite excellent if you get into good programs which, as an officer with a valuable degree, you will. Nearly all training is also worth college credit do you may get stuff added on to help you towards your masters.
Part of the reason I want to join an ROTC program is so that I can go off and have experiences and challenges that don't come with the college -> cubicle path.
I have a general idea of what I want to do in the Army or Air Force (sorry, Navy dudes, you're talking to a midwesterner). The Corps of Engineers looks really appealing to me, as do the aviation, chemical, and intelligence branches. I'm willing to accept being deployed.
There are a few other questions I'd like to ask. What is an average day in the Army like? If you're not deployed or not on the front lines, what do your jobs entail? If I joined the Army through the ROTC program, do I only have to commit to eight years of active/inactive duty, or is there a chance they could extend my period of service? And lastly, though this may seem kind of trite, what have you military guys gotten out of your experiences and do you think you made the right choice?
I've asked these questions to quite a few other military guys over past couple of years, but I'd like to know what the crowd on here is like.
Edit: On military life overall: It varies with the services but generally deployments are the harder part. The artillery guys I worked with had some pretty horrific stories. Across most services though you can expect to lose sleep. I don't know many people who get 7-8 hours a day. And the attitudes between commands can vary greatly which can be frustrating when PCSing.
If you go the officer route you technically don't have an end of service date. So while for enlisted the absolute max they could be extended barring WWIII is eight years, I don't know how it would work for you.
Well from the looks of it, it looks like you got a good head on your shoulders. Whatever you do, just make sure its gonna be something that you will enjoy.
Well when we are state side, I am pretty much a desk jockey/pog/go for boy as a chaplains assistant. Im not sure if you will have to do eight years... but that will greatly depend on what service(active, reserve, guard) or branch you join. As an officer, you will always have the option to resign your commission at any time, but i still think there is like a four year commitment? im enlisted, so any officers correct me if I am wrong.
Had I had the option to do it all over again? Yeah, might have joined a different branch of service, but I would have still enlisted. Life time friends, skills, and memories that you would never get doing anything else! Be forewarned, you might get to travel(good thing), it just might be to some shit hole(bad thing), but then that comes with the job.
hey Quid, i will split the 2k with you. sound good? lmao
The military's 2 k per soldier referal program?
And anyone in the Army eventually learns to sign their name without giving much thought at all to what the document says. "What? I never got a Goretex jacket!" "Well, you signed for one. If I don't get one, you're buying it."
AND, sometimes they intrude a bit too much on your personal life, for my preference. Not that I'm bitter, or anything.
I'm going to keep doing a bit of research on the Army and the ROTC program, and try to get an engineering internship this summer. I will be old enough to join my sophomore year, and I probably will should the next few months not weather my case.
Both air force and navy have aviation programs and they both have about the same number of slots. Just about everyone that goes to the air force academy wants those slots and has a pretty good chance of getting them. That leaves less spots for the ROTC guys.
The navy on the other hand commissions a lot of different things out of its academy. Ship drivers, sub drivers, navy seals, Naval flight officers (goose in top gun Not a pilot) Explosive ordnance disposal, and marines. This leaves LOTs of spots for OCS and ROTC pilots. In fact last i heard it was like 40 40 20% as to where the pilots are coming from. Vice the air force which is like 70 30.
And I am from Indiana and love the navy. I have lived on a great beach for the last 3 years, Pensacola, Corpus Christi, Jacksonville, and my next duty station is San Diego (will finally be west coast and can go to pax!)