amyelizabeth

Hi there, Wyatt. I've no experience with being in the military, myself, but I can tell you about my father's experience....

He joined the Army after his sophomore year in college. He did, in fact, finish up his BA on the military's dime, and also got his MBA that way (got his Master's at UT Austin, even). He spent 25 years in the military, I believe, and was over in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm while I was just a wee beast. I know he has never regretted the decision. The skills he learned in the military have been put to good use in his civilian life. After retiring as a major in 2000, he's continued to work with government contracting. The last place we were while he was still in the Army was Picatinny Arsenal, and he worked on managing different weapons systems projects there. (I don't know if you know much about weapons, but the Picatinny rails you hear about on guns were developed there during the time we lived there.) After getting out, he continued to work in the private sector with the government on the exact same projects. He worked at General Dynamics for eight years-- with both GD-ATP and then GD-OTS. Now he works for DRS Technologies here in FL, working on radar systems instead of weapons systems, but his military background certainly helps here still.

On the other hand, my uncle Rich got out of the military a few years ago and couldn't find any work that related to what he'd done while in the Army. I suppose whether you eventually apply the same job skills in your civilian life will really depend upon what you do while you're in the military. In any case, I wish you the best of luck in making your decision!

P.S. Do you have any idea what it is that you'd like to do while in the military, if you decide to join?