What advice do you have for someone considering transitioning from E-4 to an Officer?

I was faced with the same decision when I enlisted, after six years enlisted I applied for Medical Service Officer, the Army had a critical need for Infantry Officers which was my second choice. I was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. Infantry Grade 01E. Go for you commission now.

If you need a paycheck now, go enlisted and then get with an AMEDD Recruiter while applying to dental schools. AMEDD recruiter will start working on a packet for you to be a Medical Service Corps officer or whatever your degree qualifies you for. Apply to Dental schools and if you get in, you can apply for the Health Professions Scholarship Program. Free school and you get paid a salary for attending so you don't have to worry about money. You will owe the Army time back for the free education, but its free and you have a guaranteed decent job after you get out. Since you've already decided being in the Army is something you can put up with, you're halfway there.

While recruiters can be helpful and knowledgeable about joining and incentives, most people in the military don't know much outside of their own personal experiences and job, just like the rest of us.

PVT (Join to see),
There is no single answer for your question, and to be honest your situation has too many variables with even more possible solutions. Nevertheless, SFC (Join to see) has presented a framework that seems very doable so long you put some planning and discipline. As a backup, if HPSP doesn’t work. Always good to have a fallback position.

This is a tough year but don't put the cart before the horse. No matter what you do you still have to do basic training which is tough but absolutely dooable

Your recruiter is right and you can switch later. I honestly think about 75% of Officers I know could have benefitted from a couple of years on the Enlisted side. I was a SNCO when I made the switch and people didn't look at me and see a prior SNCO. They still just treated me like an O-1 and assumed I had nothing to offer. Long story short, if you want to be an officer do it sooner than later. If you like money you should wait until you've been in for 4 years so you can be an O-1E (O-2E, O-3E

Go for it but remeber where you came from as you move onto the "Dark Side"
This is coming from a prior enelisted and then spending the next 16 vyears as as on officer.

Go talk to an AMEDD recruiter.

Do NOT ship. Get out of your contract. The recruiter will tell you anything to deter you from getting out of your contract, but it's possible. I was in the same situation where my recruiter pushed me to go enlisted rather than commissioning. I shipped because of the timeline and I regret not asking more questions and not going with what I wanted. People say it's better to come in enlisted, but it really doesn't matter and most will question why you came in enlisted when you have a degree. The most infamous question for me thus far.

Honestly do your time as an enlisted man get a feel for what you would be asking others to do. Being a prior enlisted can provide you a unique experience that most officer don’t get to. Being a “Mustang” (what they call an officer who was once enlisted) can also help you out a little bit in dealing with the enlisted, instead of being this fancy pants “Sir” you will be one of them, someone who has walked a mile in their shoes because you know what it’s like to be them and you will better understand what information or equipment they need in order to get the job done right the first time.

That’s just my perspective all I can say from here on out is come up with a solid plan then execute it, nothing will way more heavily on you then unfulfilled ambitions because you did a wait and see approach.

Do not enlist immediately if you can avoid it. Apply for OCS.

Do talk to recruiters from all 6 Armed Services about being an Officer. You have a science degree so you should be an attractive applicant. All of the Services list the requirements to be an officer on their web page. In general, you must be a US Citizen, pass a physical, and pass a test with a high enough score. Take the time to do the research. If you believe you are qualified to apply, then decide which service can offer the best deal according to your personal goals. When you settle on a Service, don't be put off by the volume of paperwork or the time required to complete the application and get an OCS slot. Even if it takes over a year, it's a lot shorter than a 4-year enlistment.

Sometimes the Services offer opportunities for Service-paid medical school. Talk to a Service Medical Recruiter. You might find that a Service is happy to pay for Dental School in exchange for several years of Service. This normally means you will complete Dental School with no student debt and having been paid as an officer the whole time you were in school.

Your recruiter is correct that you can apply for OCS after you are on active duty. This application process passes through your chain of command in the Army (and probably other Services). Unfortunately, that means there's lots of opportunities for somebody to say "no" and kill your application until you've completed your enlistment.