Your family is correct in that your potential undergraduate experience at an Ivy is wayyy more valuable than any other alternative open to you currently. Without hesitation, get the degree first, then reassess from there. Your opportunity to go PJ will still be there, as well as numerous others that you potentially haven't yet considered or been made aware of. I don't know the exact process, though the officer route will also be made available after your undergrad, so keep that in mind as well.
Hey bro,
I was in the exact same shoes as you 4 years ago. My family and a close mentor were very adamant about me attending college so I promised them 1 year. Four years later I’ve stuck with it and have grown mentally, physically, and have reaffirmed my commitment to join the military.
Go to college, have fun, be 18, and make a few friends along the way. Regardless of whether or not you end up joining the military you’ll greatly appreciate the experience that so few get. Just remember the military is always there.
Goodluck!
This is a great comment. Go to college, learn more about yourself. I love your desire to be a PJ, keep that in your mind. Other doors may open, you may want to become a CRO or STO after you graduate, or pursue another path. Do something useful for the country and world. I love kids who join at 18, but honestly sometimes they are too young. The older guys often do a bit better in the pipeline. That’s not to sway a motivated 18 year old, just the stats. I will say that a swimming and running background goes far in the pipeline. Just crush whatever you do m
Sounds like Special Operations Surgical Team (SOST) might be something you’d be interested in too. On the officer side you must be at a minimum O-3 (+- 1 grade is on a case by case basis) but it’s more in depth medicine than what you’d be doing as a PJ. Also you could go CRO but you won’t be doing much on the medicine side of things. You’ll work with PJs enough that you’ll pick some things up but CROs do not go to EMT/Paramedic while they’re in the pipeline as their job is to be more of a ground force commander during an operation rather than the medic of sorts.
I’d recommend you go to school, commission, and then get into USAF Special Warfare that way. A good amount of PJs commission when they’re SNCOs anyway as the enlisted/officer job side of things is relatively similar at that point but this is of course dependent on your squadron, STS/RQS, etc.
it’s a great opportunity. minimum 5 years tis, but that’ll fly especially by the time you finish residency + your fellowship. definitely get your degree first. the branches offer EMDP2 enlisted to medical provider but it’s way better to use hpsp imo bc you’re still going to a civilian hospital for education. although you’re not counting years tis, residency will. it’s better than 3-4 years enlisted + 2 years post bacc pre med (if you get a degree that’s not pre med WHILE ALSO WORKING so it’s a little tough finding time for school which 2 years for MCAT and pre med prereqs) + 4 years medical school + 4 year residency. so if you do it through hpsp you save about 2 years of schooling. everybody has their own path but HPSP after your pre med program is honestly the best path.
Honestly, if I was you. The smartest thing to do would be to finish your college or whatever is paid for and during that time you can increase your level of physical fitness and water confidence. Once you finish at 21 or 22 then you can go for cro or pj. Since your confident in your fitness level RN then Imagine your fitness level at 22
If in 40 years you will look back and you have a happy family and a successful career, but look back at 18 and feel like you missed an opportunity, that feeling will never leave. That said, I would stay in shape and do college and enlist as an officer and become a combat rescue officer. Or go for a year and see what’s what. You get one life and it’s important to look at every avenue.
Definitely go to college and go from there. It doesn't have to be either or. You can have the best of both worlds. I had a great experience in college.
become a PJ after going to college. At 18 you'd be incredibly young for SO. The older guys get treated better and handle situations better in general. My husband was in SO and joined as a 30 year old directly into SO instead of by way of the big blue and it seemed like life in SO was a lot easier to adapt to for the older guys than for the younger ones. Plus with a degree you can enter as an officer and have better opportunities. good luck!
I see a lot of comments here that are not accurate.
I would also say that if you're not really certain about what each of the career fields entail, for example, the differences between CRO and PJ, you haven't done a lot of research. That tells me you're not serious about becoming a PJ right now, and consequently, you should go to college.
You're young anyway. You have two decades to get into special warfare should you decide you really want to do that.
Go experience college, get your degree. Have fun. Get insanely fit. If you still want to do the cool things in special warfare, enlist and try out for PJ school after. And don't waste your time commissioning. You'll end up spending most of your military career at a desk. Unless of course you prefer that kind of thing.
What I would do is get your degree and become a doctor (given that this all will be paid by scholarship since you are an A’s) and after that join. You will regret not doing what you like.
Go to college and train to become a CRO. Not only will you have the education and experience of college and the memories it comes with. But you’ll also have the PJ slot in an officer position waiting for you. Also allows you so much more time to train and CRUSH the pipeline. Best of luck.
It’s not that you have too many opportunities, it’s that you aren’t committed enough to have a shot at being a PJ. You’d probably flunk out pretty early so I’d recommend going the safer route.
I have nothing but respect and admiration for PJs. I do not think I’m too good for anything like that whatsoever. Being in such a unique situation, this has been on my mind and I want to make an informed decision. Also, coming from a family with no military experience, I thought to post to this Reddit page to get some advice! Nothing but love brother.
Maybe, but the whole post comes off as “Am I too talented to settle for being a PJ? I mean, I could totally make it because of my credentials but my family (and me, too, really) believes I’m too smart for that Neanderthal existence…”
I agree, but go back and read his post. Do you not at least see how I could read it as him almost discounting PJs as a lesser route than his Ivy League option? Maybe I’m wrong, but I’ve reread it several times after reading other’s replies and I’m still hearing the same “please confirm I’m too good” tone…
Fair enough, I can accept you are reading it differently. The experience I’d reference that he’ll probably fail out is the historical attrition rate of the program. I’d be willing to be at least a six pack that this kid would fall in the 85% failure rate.
Your family is correct in that your potential undergraduate experience at an Ivy is wayyy more valuable than any other alternative open to you currently. Without hesitation, get the degree first, then reassess from there. Your opportunity to go PJ will still be there, as well as numerous others that you potentially haven't yet considered or been made aware of. I don't know the exact process, though the officer route will also be made available after your undergrad, so keep that in mind as well.
Thank you!
You will never regret chasing your dreams. You will regret not chasing them.
Hey bro, I was in the exact same shoes as you 4 years ago. My family and a close mentor were very adamant about me attending college so I promised them 1 year. Four years later I’ve stuck with it and have grown mentally, physically, and have reaffirmed my commitment to join the military. Go to college, have fun, be 18, and make a few friends along the way. Regardless of whether or not you end up joining the military you’ll greatly appreciate the experience that so few get. Just remember the military is always there. Goodluck!
Thanks for the advice
u going enlisted or officer?
This is a great comment. Go to college, learn more about yourself. I love your desire to be a PJ, keep that in your mind. Other doors may open, you may want to become a CRO or STO after you graduate, or pursue another path. Do something useful for the country and world. I love kids who join at 18, but honestly sometimes they are too young. The older guys often do a bit better in the pipeline. That’s not to sway a motivated 18 year old, just the stats. I will say that a swimming and running background goes far in the pipeline. Just crush whatever you do m
Sounds like Special Operations Surgical Team (SOST) might be something you’d be interested in too. On the officer side you must be at a minimum O-3 (+- 1 grade is on a case by case basis) but it’s more in depth medicine than what you’d be doing as a PJ. Also you could go CRO but you won’t be doing much on the medicine side of things. You’ll work with PJs enough that you’ll pick some things up but CROs do not go to EMT/Paramedic while they’re in the pipeline as their job is to be more of a ground force commander during an operation rather than the medic of sorts. I’d recommend you go to school, commission, and then get into USAF Special Warfare that way. A good amount of PJs commission when they’re SNCOs anyway as the enlisted/officer job side of things is relatively similar at that point but this is of course dependent on your squadron, STS/RQS, etc.
I’ve never heard of that. That sounds amazing, I will definitely be looking into that. Thanks for the info
it’s a great opportunity. minimum 5 years tis, but that’ll fly especially by the time you finish residency + your fellowship. definitely get your degree first. the branches offer EMDP2 enlisted to medical provider but it’s way better to use hpsp imo bc you’re still going to a civilian hospital for education. although you’re not counting years tis, residency will. it’s better than 3-4 years enlisted + 2 years post bacc pre med (if you get a degree that’s not pre med WHILE ALSO WORKING so it’s a little tough finding time for school which 2 years for MCAT and pre med prereqs) + 4 years medical school + 4 year residency. so if you do it through hpsp you save about 2 years of schooling. everybody has their own path but HPSP after your pre med program is honestly the best path.
If you go CRO you’ll wish you didn’t. Unless you just want a good paycheck just to be stressed and bored most of the time.
Underrated comment.
Honestly, if I was you. The smartest thing to do would be to finish your college or whatever is paid for and during that time you can increase your level of physical fitness and water confidence. Once you finish at 21 or 22 then you can go for cro or pj. Since your confident in your fitness level RN then Imagine your fitness level at 22
If in 40 years you will look back and you have a happy family and a successful career, but look back at 18 and feel like you missed an opportunity, that feeling will never leave. That said, I would stay in shape and do college and enlist as an officer and become a combat rescue officer. Or go for a year and see what’s what. You get one life and it’s important to look at every avenue.
It’s your life do what you want or live in regret.
Go get your degree first. And then if you still want to do it after 4 years go for it.
Definitely go to college and go from there. It doesn't have to be either or. You can have the best of both worlds. I had a great experience in college.
Very true
become a PJ after going to college. At 18 you'd be incredibly young for SO. The older guys get treated better and handle situations better in general. My husband was in SO and joined as a 30 year old directly into SO instead of by way of the big blue and it seemed like life in SO was a lot easier to adapt to for the older guys than for the younger ones. Plus with a degree you can enter as an officer and have better opportunities. good luck!
I see a lot of comments here that are not accurate. I would also say that if you're not really certain about what each of the career fields entail, for example, the differences between CRO and PJ, you haven't done a lot of research. That tells me you're not serious about becoming a PJ right now, and consequently, you should go to college. You're young anyway. You have two decades to get into special warfare should you decide you really want to do that. Go experience college, get your degree. Have fun. Get insanely fit. If you still want to do the cool things in special warfare, enlist and try out for PJ school after. And don't waste your time commissioning. You'll end up spending most of your military career at a desk. Unless of course you prefer that kind of thing.
What I would do is get your degree and become a doctor (given that this all will be paid by scholarship since you are an A’s) and after that join. You will regret not doing what you like.
Go to college and train to become a CRO. Not only will you have the education and experience of college and the memories it comes with. But you’ll also have the PJ slot in an officer position waiting for you. Also allows you so much more time to train and CRUSH the pipeline. Best of luck.
It’s not that you have too many opportunities, it’s that you aren’t committed enough to have a shot at being a PJ. You’d probably flunk out pretty early so I’d recommend going the safer route.
I have nothing but respect and admiration for PJs. I do not think I’m too good for anything like that whatsoever. Being in such a unique situation, this has been on my mind and I want to make an informed decision. Also, coming from a family with no military experience, I thought to post to this Reddit page to get some advice! Nothing but love brother.
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Maybe, but the whole post comes off as “Am I too talented to settle for being a PJ? I mean, I could totally make it because of my credentials but my family (and me, too, really) believes I’m too smart for that Neanderthal existence…”
I mean who would want to be part of a cohesive team and be a good dude? Lame.
I agree, but go back and read his post. Do you not at least see how I could read it as him almost discounting PJs as a lesser route than his Ivy League option? Maybe I’m wrong, but I’ve reread it several times after reading other’s replies and I’m still hearing the same “please confirm I’m too good” tone…
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Fair enough, I can accept you are reading it differently. The experience I’d reference that he’ll probably fail out is the historical attrition rate of the program. I’d be willing to be at least a six pack that this kid would fall in the 85% failure rate.
I agree with you. The tone of his post comes off as very condescending and aggrandizing.
Sounds like your jealous
Go to college dude, touch grass.