Options and Opportunities
Options and Opportunities
Transcript
Many transitioning service members decide to pursue higher education after their military service not because they necessarily feel strongly that college will help them achieve their personal and professional goals, but rather, because they're unsure of what else to do.
College gets a lot of airtime as a viable post-military option. And it often comes with financial incentives to boot. And so for many, it seems like the right choice because, in some ways, it's the most obvious and well advertised choice.
But it's important to keep in mind that there are many other ways for service members to transition out of the military. And it is equally important to know that the option to go to college doesn't magically disappear or time out if you don't do it right away.
I've worked with many students who ultimately came to college, but only after doing something meaningful in between exiting service and coming to school. For some of my students, that something meaningful was attending their local community college to acclimate or reacclimate themselves to an academic environment, and critically, to build crucial study skills that they would eventually need to succeed at a four-year school.
For others, that something meaningful was working as an intelligence analyst, or as a management consultant, or as a commercial pilot, or as a security professional, or as an FBI agent in Washington. For still others, that something meaningful was using the skills they had learned in the military to engage in entrepreneurial pursuits, becoming plumbers, carpenters, electricians, automotive mechanics, and computer technicians, and ultimately starting businesses of their own. And I've had students whose exit from the military meant becoming stay-at-home parents, full-time elder care providers, and home health aides.
The point is simply this. Going to college immediately after exiting service is an awesome option for many veterans. But it is only one option. And so before you choose to pursue higher education, make sure it's an option that makes sense for you at this moment in your life and at this stage of your professional and personal development. You should choose to go to college because you feel it's a good option for you right now, not because you're convinced it's the only option.
College gets a lot of airtime as a viable post-military option. And it often comes with financial incentives to boot. And so for many, it seems like the right choice because, in some ways, it's the most obvious and well advertised choice.
But it's important to keep in mind that there are many other ways for service members to transition out of the military. And it is equally important to know that the option to go to college doesn't magically disappear or time out if you don't do it right away.
I've worked with many students who ultimately came to college, but only after doing something meaningful in between exiting service and coming to school. For some of my students, that something meaningful was attending their local community college to acclimate or reacclimate themselves to an academic environment, and critically, to build crucial study skills that they would eventually need to succeed at a four-year school.
For others, that something meaningful was working as an intelligence analyst, or as a management consultant, or as a commercial pilot, or as a security professional, or as an FBI agent in Washington. For still others, that something meaningful was using the skills they had learned in the military to engage in entrepreneurial pursuits, becoming plumbers, carpenters, electricians, automotive mechanics, and computer technicians, and ultimately starting businesses of their own. And I've had students whose exit from the military meant becoming stay-at-home parents, full-time elder care providers, and home health aides.
The point is simply this. Going to college immediately after exiting service is an awesome option for many veterans. But it is only one option. And so before you choose to pursue higher education, make sure it's an option that makes sense for you at this moment in your life and at this stage of your professional and personal development. You should choose to go to college because you feel it's a good option for you right now, not because you're convinced it's the only option.