Looking for Advice

[jpike87]

Hello all,
I was wondering if anyone could provide me with some insight and advice for my situation. I'm currently in my 3rd year of University and planning on joining the military once i graduate, or at least that was the plan. My original plans were to join as an officer upon graduation but now I am thinking about another route. Over the past year I've lost all interest and motivation for school. I'm in commerce and the only thing i've really taken away from my classes is that i don't like commerce. What i've been thinking about doing is taking some time off and enlisting in the fall as a non commissioned member. From the way I look at it is if after a few years I regret my decision I could always come back to school and finish my degree. At least then I will be serious about it and focus on my studies. Has anyone else gone through a similar situation?

Another question I have is about officers. The only real reason I was going to become an officer is because with a degree I could be one. One of my reasons for joining the military is the bonds that are formed with other members. From reading "Fifteen Days" I got the sense that officers aren't in the position to experience as much of that. Not to say that they aren't close with the unit, thats just the feeling I got form some of the interviews in the book. Also, i've never been the "leader" type. Not to say that I'm a follower or a slacker or anything, it's just not my personality. Would I fit in as an officer?

Sorry for the long post, it's just that time of year where I have to register for next years classes so I have some decisions to make first.

Thanks for your time.

 

[geo]

jp
I have my BComm.... not an officer - don't have to be an officer.

From a personal perspective, I gather you are currently completing the 3rd of 4 years of University education.  To me, bailing out at this time does nto make too much sense.  Hanging tough, getting it done & start the recruiting process 1/2 way thru year 4 of your Bachelor's... cause coming back to finish after several years away...... is terribly, terribly hard.

 

[logairoff]

you have one more year left, leaving now is not a good idea imo. I think you should suck it up and complete your degree. Even if you do hate it you've already invested 3 years and 1 more year isn't going to kill you. Even if you do end up enjoying being an NCM it still helps to have that degree in your pocket. Just because you have a University degree doesn't necessarily mean officer is the best route for you. The CF will still be there after you graduate. Now if you want to leave because of a marks/grades issue then thats a completely different story.

Saying that you can always come back and finish your degree is easy to say but so much harder to do. I have a Bcomm and to me it is such a wide area of study. A Bcomm degree includes HR, Marketing, strategy/entrepreneurship, Accounting, Finance, management studies. These are the tools the business/real world uses everyday, no matter what you do...whether you are a mechanic, secretary, doctor, lawyer etc.

Joining the CF with a Bcomm you can be an RMS clerk and having the tools/skills you learn in your Bcomm degree will help you a lot. It will help you excel as NCM. Just because you have a degree doesn't necessarily mean you should go Officer and having a degree is a great thing to have in you pocket in case things don't work out later.

Think of it as you starting all new and getting a 4 year degree in one year. Doesn't that sound like a sweet deal? use that as motivation to get through your final year.

 

[jpike87]

Thanks for the replies.

Grades aren't an issue. I'm no top of the class student but I do well. It's too bad you weren't the recruiter I spoke too 6 months ago. He told me Bcomm was as useful as basket weaving, but that's a whole different story. I've been leaning towards NCM since I got the idea out of my head that since I would have a degree I must be an officer. My train of thought has been that it would be better for me to take time off and decide for sure what I want to do and what path is best for me then spend $4000 dollars a semester needlessly. Another thing is that I don't even want to get into a business related field once I do join. At first I was looking at fields that were related to my degree such as supply or logistics (I'm majoring in marketing logistics) but since doing the research i've taken a strong interest in the infantry and intelligence operator fields.

 

[chris_log]

For goodness sake, finish your degree. I know it may seem pointless at times, especially when you get the itch to 'get out there into the real world'. However, having that piece of paper on your wall will help you down the road. It's another 'tick in the box', and you've invested all the time and money for three years....why waste it all by bailing now?

Also, don't believe everything you read. You will indeed form close bonds with your fellow officers if you choose to go that route, you'll get that feeling of camaraderie, you'll make friends for life etc etc. I know being an NCM seems more fun (and often it is) but there are benefits to being an officer. Also, wrt your comment about not being the leader type, NCM's will find themselves into leadership roles as well.....earlier then you may think. If I were you, I would seek out NCM's and officers in the jobs you are interested in and talk to them.

With a BComm degree, I would look at being a Logistics officer. You would use the skills you've learned at school, and it's a great trade with lots of specialities and chances for interesting deployments/postings. 

 

[geo]

Ummm...
I have a BComm & have served in the Infantry AND... the Engineers.

My BComm is a double major in Business & Accounting.  My HR, financial and IS knowledge has helped me loads throughout my career... Even the Combat Arms has to deal with budgets & expense accounting.

 

[Larkvall]

I would encourage you to finish your degree.

 

[chris_log]

Ummm...
I have a BComm & have served in the Infantry AND... the Engineers.

My BComm is a double major in Business & Accounting.  My HR, financial and IS knowledge has helped me loads throughout my career... Even the Combat Arms has to deal with budgets & expense accounting.

I got what you said before, I was merely suggesting that he look at the log world since that would he would find some interesting work using his degree. It was also a shameless plug for my trade. 

 

[logairoff]

It's not often that someone with a Bcomm degree actually knows where they will end up working in terms of job title and even what industry you will be in. A Bcomm degree will give you the opportunity to work in just about any industry or business you can think of because the skills you pick up in a Bcomm degree are used by every business/organization on the planet. You can work at a hospital, auto shop, think tank, government, CSIS(I think you need a degree) and just about anything you can think of. It will allow you to approach what you enjoy from the business side and give you the opportunity to enter any business/organization you desire assuming you have the other requirements

you know how a lot of jobs have educational requirements? well imagine one day you find that perfect job and you get down to the educational requirements and it says "University degree required". What are you going to do? call them and tell them to wait a year until you complete you University degree? do you really want to miss out on such an opportunity because you couldn't hold on for that 1 more year?

Also, The 4000/8000 you spend in that final year is nothing compared to the money you will lose out on for not having a University degree later as you progress.

Ultimately this decision is yours and I wish you the best of luck in whatever decision you end up making.

 

[benny88]

From reading "Fifteen Days" I got the sense that officers aren't in the position to experience as much of that.

 

  For starters, Fifteen Days doesn't really focus as much on the personal lives and stories of Officers, only where they interact with NCM's. Also, I think you would me amiss to make a career decision based on one book. No one here can make the NCM/Officer choice for you, and there are many other threads on that subject. But I will hop on board with the consensus about schooling: Finish your degree and have the option to do either.

 

[Braver.Stronger.Smarter.]

jpike87,
I'm in much the same position as you. Granted, my program is only two years long, but a quarter of the way through the first year, I began to realize that this was not what I wanted to do with my life. Now, almost at the end of my first year, I've reached the point where I know that I want to join the CF and I no longer have any motivation in regards to my schooling. However, as I thought about it, I realized that because of my medical history and the trade I want to enter into, it will likely take my application some time to be processed. (If you are interested in Intel Op, the same may be true for you.) And I decided that the time that I would spend waiting for my application to be processed would best be spent in school, so that I would have a backup plan if joining the CF doesn't work out for me. I don't know if your school has limitations on how long you can take to finish a degree, but I know that I would kick myself if I had to leave the CF due to an injury or something like that, and I was no longer able to finish my course.
Anyways, that's just my personal story, but I thought it might help to have the perspective of someone who's been there.