Curious on
@Dray5K thoughts about this. I always wondered by most wait until they leave to do college. Is because most can't do time management?
This is what I was actually contemplating when I was deciding on joining either the reserves or go active duty. Getting my degree was my primary goal when I enlisted as well. When it came time to make my decision, I chose active duty because it was simply the best option for me so that I could achieve my other litany of goals.
From a logical standpoint, I'd say that it depends on a person's quality of life, and their current standing scholastically. Most people don't know this, but — at least in the navy — you'll earn college credits with each rank that you ascend to. Because of my rate and rank (Logistics Specialist & E-4) I automatically have 28 college credits to my name after only two years of active duty. It would've taken me a couple years longer to get E-4 if I had gone and joined the navy reserve.
Another point that I'd like to make is that it doesn't take 8-10 years in order to get a degree if you go active duty. You can actually take college classes from home and on-campus/on-base/on deployment. I'm currently enrolled in a university that pays for my books, while offering me online and on-site classes for a total of 8 weeks per course (3 credit hours per course). It's common to see people take 2 classes simultaneously for the entirety of the year, which would mean that they could earn 36 credits during that time. On average, you only need 60 credits to earn an associates, so if you do the math, you'd see that, with the addition of your credits for your pay grade, you'd be able to have a 2-year degree in under two years.
I said all that to put into emphasis how important making rank would be for not only your navy career, but your post-military career as well, and in that regard, the reserves would probably be better for you because (in the navy reserves, at least) you make rank fast (dependent on your rate. My rate is one of the most populous and is sitting at 6% from E-5/E-6

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