At a bit of a career path crossroads...

[2A-Hoosier23]

Similar to my experience. I had a great time, and it definitely suited me more than any other options I considered at the time. Once you're hooked on it, you're hooked. I also jumped ship from an initial interest in journalism due to the sheer terror of actually looking at how journalism degrees were panning out for people. Career prospects aside, it was far better of an experience for me to succeed at something I liked than fail at something I was forcing myself to choke down.

The commitment required for PhD track is not far short of an initial enlistment term in the military. If that's what you really want to do, you should prioritize that now instead of assuming it will still be on the table after x number of years in the military. Again, I am not qualified to speak on the merits of military service, I just caution against the assumption that service will be a simple, closed-ended phase of your life, after which you will be the exact same person with the exact same capabilities and interests, ready to pick up where you left off. Plans don't survive contact with the enemy.

That said, lord knows the academia of political science could use more people with some military experience. As much as I did like the polisci faculty at IUB, they were dyed in the wool academics with academic opinions, and would benefit from rubbing elbows with people who experienced the ant's eye view of foreign policy in the real world.

I really, really appreciate your advice. I had some possibly dangerous preconceived notions that I need to think about before making this big of a decision. A lot to think about.

Thank you!

You could consider becoming an officer in the National Guard or Reserves now. Money is available for education. This comes with an obligation for a weekend drill each month, a two week training period each year and any additional training required. You receive four days pay for the weekend drill and a days pay for any additional time. There is a possibility of deployment.

Thanks for the suggestion, I will look into it further. I luckily secured some decent scholarships for my next couple of years at IU. More money for education is always nice but not as much of a pressing issue for me as it is for others. But still seems like a good way to get *some* idea and experience of what a military career might look like.
Thanks!

 

[HoughMade]

...But still seems like a good way to get *some* idea and experience of what a military career might look like.
Thanks!

Yeah....I had a great experience in the Michigan National Guard, but that and then the MS3 year of ROTC had me completing my enlistment as Sgt. (E-5) Hough and not being disappointed to never get the butter bars. It's a great path for many, but it just wasn't for me.

 

[drillsgt]

Thank you for the write-up! I have a follow-up question: I have at least 2 years left of undergraduate study at IU. Anything you recommend I should do while I'm completing my studies? Should I join ROTC (or any other organization)? Consider a certain major/minor?

I would definitely try to get an ROTC contract if you can, it'd be a much easier route than trying to go OCS later.