Anyone here balance active duty and college courses??

Question

I am giving serious thought to joining the army. My goal is within 5 years to have a college degree and a successful military career. I am however curious to know if I would be able to balance active duty and a decent amount of college credit hours. Is this unrealistic? Would siging up for the reserves be more plausible? I'd defintely rather go active, but only if a decent amount of coursework could be taken. If it makes any difference, I'm leaning towards working in intelligence. Anyone with input on this question, your opinions or expereinces would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

You guys are giving me gold here. Thanks a million for all of your advice, especially those of you out in Iraq. Thanks for taking the time out to give me advice. It is greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

I did when I was in the Air Force, but it was during peace time. Many bases have satellite campuses where you can take courses.

Answer 2

well, most bases (or posts) have classes that you can take. And a lot of schools are military friendly. But your job comes first and that's the bottom line. There are always online classes which are good if you get deployed then you can continue your classes. But, more than likely you are not going to be able to be a full time student and active duty. I know in the Air Force there is actually a limit of how many classes you can take a semester, not sure how the army is. I would talk to someone who is already active duty (not a recruiter).

Answer 3

It is quite possible, but it will depend on how much time you have, and that depends on a lot of things. I was able to get my Master's degree, however I was stationed stateside conus at the time. Currently, I am in Iraq, it is next to impossible to get anything accomplished over here, and for school... forget it. Your scheduled (when deployed) isn't your own, so you could never plan to be "online" at any given time. It is as you put it "unrealistic" due to the Army's current operations tempo. As an intelligence technition, you would very likely be deployed.

The Reserves will be just as taxing... the reason is that you will likely get activated and deployed, and from that perspective, you may as well have been active duty.

The best move - go to a Service Academy. I was enlisted (AF) then got accepted to the Air Force Academy. I then comissioned into the Army. It is one way to be active and get school in at the same time, but it is also quite challenging, and getting accepted literally takes an act (or more accurately - a nomination) from congress.

Best of luck to you... my recommendation.. get your education first.

Answer 4

OK, Lets say you joing the Army. You will never know where you are going to get stationed at. So its hard to tell. But lets say that you are not deployed. First of all, get a job that will relate to your college major. That is the first step and one of the most important. Once you have been trained on you job, you will get your military training and translate it into college credits. You will have at least all of your electives done, and some more, depending on your degree and your job. They have an excellent program called EarmyU. It is excellent, they pay for everything from books to even a laptop. Now thats once you join and you have no college at all. But what I would do, is inquire about the ROTC program on the college or universities around you. You get your degree and then join the military, you end up owing 4 years thats it, and you come in as an officer. Both sides have its pros and cons, do you research, and choose depending on your current situation. Also dont forget the reserves, they also have various tuitions programs.

Answer 5

Can be done -- I finished a Graduate Degree this way -- and the best part -- the Military does have partnerships with colleges and Universities that DO Deploy also. The instructors all know we are Military -- so they go out of their way to work around the deployments, TDYs, Training, etc -- will tape lectures, mail them to the servicemember, await their return to take exams, ship books to the servicemember, etc etc etc. This was a GREAT way to get an Excellent Education and STILL be able to serve Successfully on Active Duty.

Answer 6

If you are in the active duty Army you will not get a degree 5 years. Its just impossible. If having your degree within the next 5 years is important to you the reserves would be a better option.

Answer 7

Right now my husband is active duty - but he's only taking one course a semester (we also have 4 kids - so a lot time involved there as he coaches 2 teams a sport usually)

I don't know how many he'd get done if deployed.....

That is also something you have to take into consideration. Some deployed are too busy for 1 - others may have time for a full course load if they can get the computer time.

Answer 8

It all depends on your platoon sergeant/platoon leader. Sometimes it depends on the company, as well. Some units do field training exercises more than any other units. When I was stationed in Korea, I would take two courses at a time. Although our unit did FTX'x quite a bit, the instructors were flexible with your situation. Also, online courses could be an alternative.

Answer 9

It is very possible; it just depends on how bad you want it and how hard you're willing to press for it. I've been in Iraq for 11 1/2 months. There is alot of down time here, and most places are pretty good about providing internet. In the time that I've been here, I've completed 45 semester hours of college. It's not hard and there are alot of college options on the internet as far as online courses and assignments. You can do it if you want to. Good luck!