Anyone know if it is really worth it to join the Navy,Air force, Etc. for paying college costs?

Question

I just need some clarification and to find out if it would be better to get student loans. I plan on going into personnel management, or human resources. Also if you can find any schools that are well known for these fields would be great! :>

Answer 1

I can't speak for others, but I joined the AF after high school (just wanted to join...it wasn't to get college money).

Now I'm out of the AF and back in school using the GI Bill which goes up every year and is $39,000 right now.

This translates to about $1100 in my pocket every month. I currently go to a community college, so I pay for my classes/books at the beginning of the semester and pocket the rest, which rules, but when I transfer next year to UC Berkeley or UCLA, I'll break even. In the end, I will have zero student debt.

Good luck in whatever you decide!

Answer 2

It can be worth it, but go in with your eyes open. You'll be serving in the military, with all that means, good and bad, so do your research first and make sure that's a decent fit for you. If it is, then great. A friend of mine funded her schooling this way, and it's worked for her. The issue she has is that now that she's not active duty, she's in the reserves, and she's been sent overseas twice. That has interfered with her degree progress. In addition, when you enlist, you may not end up serving in a HR, personnel mgmt or business-related field. You might, but you might not, so there's that as well.

A better option for you may be to combine these two approaches, in a way. Don't join the military right now. Go to university directly, but go ROTC, and apply for a ROTC scholarship. They do offer ROTC scholarships for business majors (see link, below). They'd pay for your schooling, including books. You'd do ROTC, graduate as an officer, and serve after you graduate, usually actually serving in a role related to your major field - thus gaining work experience. It's worth looking into.

No matter how you fund your schooling: your best bet in terms of good schools in your particular field is to actually broaden the search a bit, and look for good business schools that offer your area of focus, rather than just good HR/personnel programs. Make sure you do a co-op or internship in your field, while you study, and keep your GPA above a 3.0 if you can, to make yourself marketable to employers. Make sure your university is regionally accredited, and has a decent rep with employers.

And know that a lot of employers like it if their HR people have a good head for numbers, and it may help you get jobs if you at least major in, say, accounting or finance.