Why do so many people in the military have useless degrees?

I don't think any degree is useless. It shows commitment. I know some folks got theirs to get promoted. In the Air Force, it wasn't and still isn't about being a great Airman. It is about getting that degree and being well rounded, even if you couldn't do your job.

I don't have much use for a online degrees and my own college education was in the classroom where I feel You get a lot more out of the actual course of study. There are however quite a variety of courses that are very useful including English, History both of which I found not only a need for but use. My major was in Criminal Justice and I spent over 50 years in Law Enforcement and Law Enforcement relates occupations. Having said that however I have taken some courses online and did get basic information but I think You can gain a lot more within an actual classroom.

This was a shock to me as a naval enlisted person but it help me understand why so many OCS'ers were as bad as they were.

I took a break from teaching English to do 4 years as a soldier. I can't say my degree made me a less capable soldier. A lot of people (especially enlisted) join the military to figure out what to do, and the military offers all kinds of educational benefits, and pays off student loans. If my parents hadn't run into serious health difficulties, I might have stayed in and gone up the ranks, but I just took my honorable and went home. Does that answer your question some?

So in MI we had counter terrorism specialists, entire groups tracking WMD’s and PsyOps. We also had interrogators who wrote reports in English that were read in English by analysts who used information from multiple collection disciplines. Those analysts used the information they had obtained to produce reports in English which MaCom commanders used to make decisions and draw plans. Please note that all of your examples of useless degrees would have been/were necessary for thi MI mission. You know during WWII the army even used troops with art degrees to recover looted treasures.

Those "Useless" Degrees could enable a person to join the FBI, become a Game Warden. If the person holding the degree is enlisted, that will help that person advance IN THE RANKS A LOT FASTER THAN YOU WILL. Or better yet, the person with the degree can become an officer.

All certified degrees are considered useful in the Army. I worked for a combat arms LTC who had a degree in music. Don't know about other services. What degrees are useful in the military are totally worthless in the civilian world. I know some folks who went the easy route and received worthless degrees and can't find a decent job in the civilian sector. I am Army retired., enlisted. I achieved my degrees (BS-Business, MA-Human Resources) late in my Army career so I was too old for the officer route; however upon retirement these degrees helped me achieve salary and second retirement goals. I taught adult education at a credited university that went to online courses. I took a few online courses but as a whole not in favor of it. The interaction between students and professors is just not the same. I later declined to teach online. Are online degrees just as good as in-house degrees: Well I don't know.

People in the early 2000s flocked to Middle Eastern studies in response to 9/11. People who wanted to go into Soviet studies were ridiculed because Russia was at the time thought to be an inconsequential country due to its economic troubles and thus their degree choices being the equivalent of going into basket weaving.

The people who got degrees in Soviet studies are laughing all the way to the bank.

Although many degrees may not seem as functionally relevant as others, no degree is useless. If nothing else, one of the most critical parts of attaining a college education is to show the desire, willingness and capacity to complete it.

EXCELLENT Question...I'm An 8th GRADE DROP OUT ~ Self Educated ~ Retired At 56...
GET THIS:
"
Only 27 percent of college grads have a job related to their field...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/05/20/...
There are two different things going on in this chart. First, a significant number of college grads appear to be underemployed: In 2010, only 62 percent of U.S. college graduates had a job...

I Have 2 Friends, Both MSU Graduates, Married To Each Other,
Whom NEVER Had Jobs In Their Fields Of Degrees ...
HE Retired As A Head Custodian From MSU.
And SHE Retired From A WAL-MART Store ~ Never Even Made Dept Manager,
2 Degrees NOT Worth Having, And 1,000's Of Dollars Pizzed Away ~
And It Took 4 + Years Of Studying, For Employment Which ANYONE Could Have Done...
~NO Thanks, I'll Pass On These. ~