Thinking about joing the Reserve or National Guard

Whether Reserve or National Guard, it comes down to what goals you want to achieve and ultimately what works best for you. You have to look at future education prospects, stability in or unit, stability with your employer, is the unit going to deploy?

I will echo the comments already made here, it's what you make it, you're in charge of your career.

Are there AGR opportunities, yes, you have the same shot as anyone to apply, get qualified, interviewed, selected and hired for a position. Reserve AGR opportunities, HRC handles those.
ARNG AGR positions, each state runs their own AGR process.


Reserve pay table:
http://www.dfas.mil/dfas/militarymembers.html

Your best bet is to speak with your Career Counselor about your options

I have been in the reserves since 2005 and would recommend it if you want to stay in the military but want to also pursue a civilian career. The reserves, as has been previously mentioned, do not have any "combat" units and are primary units that have been considered "support" in the past. This does not mean that deployments are rare and that you will do nothing but your weekend each month and 2 week training in the summer, however. I've found that if you work hard you will still have the opportunity to do schools and training events, even overseas.

Another large part of the reserves is that there is a really good camaraderie that seems more relaxed and friendly than I've seen with active duty groups that I've worked with. This tends to drive individuals crazy that come straight from active duty as they are not used to having lower enlisted, NCOs, and sometimes officers hanging out together.

Promotions in the reserves depend very heavily on the unit and type of unit. I've seen a cycle where lots of people get promoted and then a few years where nobody gets promoted. You should be able to keep your rank moving from active to reserve, but I have friends who were taken down one rank when they moved back to the active side, so beware if that is something you are planning.

The benefits from the reserves are a big draw since you can go to school full time and still make a living from the GI Bill. You an also go to school and work and have a good amount of money available to yourself, which is what I'm doing. In addition to the GI Bill there are also reserve-specific benefits such as Tuition Assistance (TA) that gives you a set amount of money each year to put toward tuition. If you use all the benefits you have available you should be able to be a full-time student and live more comfortably than most students with jobs on campus.