Should You Join the Military or Go to College First?

Whether you’re in your last year of high school or you’ve just graduated, you will come across the big decision of what you want to do next. Since you’re here, I know you’re considering either the military or college. From my personal experience, I’ll tell you I’ve done both so, your in the right place to get some tips. The military is a great option if you’re looking to gain independence as an adult quickly. On the other hand, college is a good option if you know without a doubt that you want to reach a very particular career path and your success depends on it. However, if you had to pick one right now, I’d pick the military because you MAY only get a good job once you graduate college but you CAN get a good job as soon as you join the military.

When the Military First is Good

Since I believe joining the military would be the best option overall, we will cover the military first. As previously stated, if becoming an independent adult quickly sounds exciting to you then, joining the military would be a fast and simple way to do that. This is because you essentially get a good job right away and you will be able to survive on your own income as soon as you start working. We call this financial independence which is described in more detail here.  The immediate financial independence only works assuming you have no major debt that would cause your monthly income to be reduced to nothing i.e. child support or debt service to pay. Here are a few more reasons to consider the military.

Your Environment is Financially Poor

If you’re surrounded by people who live paycheck to paycheck and it seems like your household is always struggling, this joining the military is a fast way to get out of that environment. Moreover, when you’re around a poor environment, you may tend to pick up on those habits and mindsets. So, joining the military is better because you won’t need much financial support starting out, unlike college and you will be put on a path that can lead to a great sustainable career.

My Situation that Led to the Military

Before I joined the military, my environment was somewhat that of a paycheck to paycheck household. There was no extra money available to fund college but I went anyway since that’s what everyone learns to do right out of high school. With that being said, I had to take out a loan or several loans for that matter. Long story short, I was not able to get approved for enough student loans to complete college after taking some classes. This was even with a co-signer so, my last resort joined the military. Looking back on my experience, joining the military first would have been a better option because I would have still been able to go to college while in the military and avoid thousands of dollars in student loan debt.

You’re Fine with an Unknown Career Path

One thing to be aware of when you plan on joining the military is you do not know your career path until you are evaluated. You must first take a placement test called the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery is commonly known as the ASVAB. Once you take the ASVAB, your highest score in any given category will determine what field you work in. If you’re not sure which branch to consider, as a quick tip, the quality of life for the military is commonly ranked as such: Air Force, Navy, Army, and Marines.

You Look Forward to Military Benefits

Before going into military benefits I must first say, these are not all the benefits but they are the ones I’ve either used or the ones that have come in handy the most for me. Everyone has their favorite benefits so I will cover the ones that have helped me the most while Active duty and separated from the military.

You Look Forward to Educational Perks

One of my favorite initial benefits of joining the military was the educational benefits. While I was in the military, I earned my Associates’s degree, a Bachelors degree and started my Master’s degree. Moreover, the military paid for most of it. Even now that I’ve gotten out of the military, I still have education benefits or funds to use from the G.I. Bill. With that being said, if you’re looking for financial support for your education, the military can be a good option for that. However, be sure you check out my post on the disadvantages of going to college.

You Like Military Discounts

Although this may seem like a small benefit, it’s pretty gratifying once you start taking advantage of it. When you become a military veteran, you have the ability to claim military discounts from several businesses to include food chains, malls, and cellphone companies. Just imagine going into different fast food places or malls and being able to get discounts on things that you would have never gotten before. Based on my experience, most military discounts range anywhere from  5% to 25% off the retail price of goods.

You Can Use a VA Home Loan

Last but not least, you can qualify for the VA Home Loan after you’ve served enough time in the military. Although this may not seem like a big deal at a young age, eventually everyone wants to own their own place. When it’s time to purchase your own home, the VA Home Loan makes it very affordable since you can get a loan on a house by putting 0% down. Just to put this into perspective, the first time homebuyer would typically need around 5% of the purchase price to consider buying a home. So, if your house is 400,000.00, you would need 20K to even consider buying the house without a VA Home Loan.

When College First is Good

As previously stated, unless you are very passionate about working in a particular field, the military would probably be a better off option for you. On the other hand, college can be a great option if you know what you’re doing. More specifically, if you have a plan on where you want to be in life, college could be a better option for you. This is because, in the military, an Active Duty enlistment is only as short as three to four years. As a result, you will have to stay in for at least that contract length before you can freely work in a new place.

Your Environment is Not Poor

This should go without saying, if you have a non-poor environment, college can likely work out for you because college can be expensive. If you’re not sure if you have a poor environment or not, here’s a few clues. If you’re parents bought you a car as a gift at any point in your life, you are not in a poor environment. If your parents offered to pay for your college tuition, you are not in a poor environment. However, if you’re parents have to borrow money from you, you are in a poor environment.

You have a Specific Career Path

If you know that you will truly by happy by pursing and working in a particular profession then college will be a good option for you. Unlike the military, as long as you have the money and passing grades, you can pretty much be anything you want to be by earning your degree. As a side note, if you are not sure how long you should be in college check out my recommendations here.

You Feel Successful with Just Good Job

Lastly, college is a great option for you if you’d feel successful by having a good job. Although you are not guaranteed a good job after college, you can align your career path with a high likelihood that you will work in the field you are aiming for. However, if you’d feel successful by making a lot of money, then you must know that college will only help you get a job and not make you wealthy. If you’re interested in learning why a job doesn’t make you rich, read our post on why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. On the other hand, a good job is a great starting point for preparing any goal.

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