If you stay in until you retire should you have a degree?

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:45:12 -0400

I had this discussion with a then SSG and a CPT. With all the tuitition assitance, GI Bill, credits for military schools, and certain schools that are accredited already do you think that career Soldiers (well any service) should have at least some level of degree when they retire? If so what level?

Response by MSG Wade Huffman made Apr 9 at 2014 4:52 PM

MSG Wade Huffman — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 16:52:40 -0400

That's very much an individual decision... is it possible? Absolutely! Is it practical? In most cases, yes... but SHOULD you? That's a definite maybe. That may or may not be a goal of the individual. I'm not in any way against a college degree and I feel that higher education is very important but I also believe that this is much too broad of a generalization. You could make a similar point in many other areas such as if you stay until retirement should you have at least 100K in savings and / or investments. Should be an interesting conversation though!

Response by SGM Matthew Quick made Apr 9 at 2014 5:07 PM

SGM Matthew Quick — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 17:07:37 -0400

Yes...a Master's degree. It's what the Army will pay up to.

A Soldier who spends 20 years in the military could have used $90,000 towards college (it's slightly changed now).

If you don't use it...you lose it!

Response by MSG Tim Waychoff made Apr 10 at 2014 9:10 PM

MSG Tim Waychoff — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 21:10:07 -0400

I generally do agree with the sentiments expressed so far.

If you look at what MSG(P) Quick points out - roughly $90k available throughout a career - and what is mentioned by MSG(R) Huffman I find that my thoughts are pretty much there as well.

There is no reason that you cannot have one. Should you have one? Probably, but it does depend upon the individual's goals. Sometimes those goals change through the course of one's career.

Personally, I used to be the NCO that would work the extra shift to allow my Soldiers to go to school. I felt that with the credit that would be awarded to me as a 15Q, I could always "just do it later."

Fast forward, and all of a sudden, it IS later. I sat on 90+ hours for years, and I had to get BACK INTO going to school in order to get a degree completed. Last year, I did just that. I completed a degree after 22 (and a little bit) years in the Army, I was awarded my Associate's Degree.

Fact of the matter is that it was not that much work to get it. I just had to decide that I wanted to do it, and prioritize it. At this point in time, I'm only a few more classes away from my Bachelor's Degree, and I'm going to finish that as well.

Truth be told, I do wish I had simply gone ahead and gotten it finished earlier but at that time in my life, I simply wasn't prepared to commit the required energy to it.

I encourage every young Soldier that I have the chance to talk to, to not be exactly like me. Use a degree plan. Don't just take stuff that is "fun" to take. I did that, and it worked out alright, but it would have been much simpler to do (based on available time in my life) when I was younger. :D

Response by CPO Ed Ball made Apr 11 at 2014 8:46 AM

CPO Ed Ball — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 08:46:19 -0400

Depends on the individual's goals they have established in life. Some are just as happy being a Walmart greeter, while others have visions of being an Executive or VP in their life time. Then the rest of us fall in between. Bottom line, society in the workforce is shifting to higher education particularly at the Supervisor/Foreman positions. My wife has a Chemical Engineer degree but works as an Autocad draftsperson and has for almost 20 years. The company that hired her took into consideration her experience with Autocad and positions held over the years, and rated her benefits related to her experience. Based on her current salary I'm certain her Engineering degree made all the difference. As a DISA Communications Engineer Technician working with networks on active duty, I couldn't get a job in computer repair simply because I did not have the coveted MS Certified certificate, brace yourselves, the majority of civilians in Cornfield, Ohio do not have a clue when it comes to military and our work ethic.

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Sep 6 at 2014 4:07 PM

SFC Mark Merino — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 16:07:05 -0400

I say the military is just like a civilian business. When it comes time to downsize, you want to have one up on your peers if you want job security. If you can use their money to do it, why wouldn't you? Yes, some jobs are harder than others and have much more field time. Yes, if you are married and have a house full of kids your time is spoken for. But we need to provide for the family post career as well. 20 years is more than enough time for a bachelors degree. I say shoot for the masters. Good question BTW LTC Private RallyPoint Member

Response by TSgt Joshua Copeland made Sep 6 at 2014 6:12 PM

TSgt Joshua Copeland — Sat, 06 Sep 2014 18:12:47 -0400

On the AF side, leaving even after only 4 years without an Associates is just plain stupid. Big Blue practically hands you one on a silver platter. Just a few Gen Ed classes and it is yours.

For a career service member, anything less then a BA/BS and your just not trying. There are too many options in schools, programs, options, CLEPs, DSSTs, ACE credits, etc.

Response by CPT Jacob Swartout made Sep 7 at 2014 9:11 PM

CPT Jacob Swartout — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 21:11:51 -0400

At a minimum, an Associates Degree although with time and effort, a Bachelors Degree is still attainable. Even if it is just one class at a time it is still a reachable goal. That is how I first started my college. It also just depends on if the person is willing to take time out of the year to knock classes out too. Some jobs are busier than others but service members have done it already and graduated. For a Masters Degree, I will argue that it is best to have a position that gives you more time off to accomplish your civilian education.

Response by SGT(P) Jason D. Wendel made Oct 1 at 2014 2:38 PM

SGT(P) Jason D. Wendel — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 14:38:12 -0400

Clearly easier to earn a degree in the National Guard or Reserves. Within the Active duty component it is reasonably difficult to have the EXTRA time IOT complete college degrees. This is dependent upon what your MOS specialty is, and whether or not you are an officer or NCO.

In the 7 years I was in I was deployed for about half of that. Having been a 11 series combat arms soldier there was no 9 to 5, no 1 weekend a month, 2 weeks a year structure. Officers have the ability while they are serving staff jobs, to allow for the time to pursue higher education, and of course they already have a degree before being commissioned. The further up they go, They have the likes of the Army's War College, which allows for them to receive a Master's degree in Military Strategic Studies. My father knocked out an additional Master's around that schedule. So in all, he came in with an Associates and Bachelors degree, thereafter having attained 2x Masters.

Out of the 3 different Infantry Battalions I served in during my time..... I only knew of a handful of guys who tried to make the extra time to complete some higher education, however, that always ended up in receiving orders to deploy, JRTC rotations, Field Training exercises, etc. About the only time available to have considered working on a degree for us while in was after a 14-15 hour day that started at 0450 every morning and ended after dinner hours. Take into consideration what some guys are doing versus what other guys have an easier time with.

I will say that it is NOT impossible to complete while in. Just harder for some. Now, once you are out of service there is no excuse not to pursue finishing degrees.

Response by CW4 Robert Goldsmith made Oct 8 at 2014 6:14 PM

CW4 Robert Goldsmith — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 18:14:56 -0400

I earned my associate's, bachelor's and master's degrees while on active duty (nearly 22 years), to include five deployments. I earned about 30 credits for undergraduate electives from Marine Corps basic training and highly technical Marine Corps and Army MOS'. I started college classes as a junior enlisted soldier during my off-duty hours in the 90's. It took what seemed like forever to get an associate's degree in General Education because of deployments and service schools. It was not until I was a CW2 eight years later that I got serious and stayed actively enrolled in school as a part-time student for six years to complete my bachelor's and master's degrees nearly two years before I retired. When in garrison, I took classes at night and on weekends in the classroom if available and online. When deployed I took classes online. I also had several classmates from Combat Arms MOS' at every level, so your MOS is not an excuse not to get your degree. Your levels of self-discipline and time management are the two greatest factors. Most importantly, I had SOCAD agreements from regionally accredited schools. If you are stationed in CONUS, I highly recommend that you enroll in public, state funded schools. They are legit, accredited and the cost usually will not be higher than the TA limit, saving you the benefits of your GI Bill for personal use or transfer to your dependents, if eligible. Now retired, I am not chasing a degree to make me competitive in the private sector. Do your homework about career goals, education requirements and certifications.