Re:Don't try to dodge the recession with grad school
by josefresco on Tuesday February 03, 2009 @10:50AM
(#464106)
My good friend from high school who was not rich nor poor enlisted in the military because college simply wasn't the right place (he was not 'an academic'). Our military is not only for the poor and maybe grad school isn't just for rich kids putting off adulthood.
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Re:Don't try to dodge the recession with grad school
by RobGR on Tuesday February 03, 2009 @11:42AM
(#464179)
That's definitely true, but going to grad school or the military as a "backup" is probably a bad idea. There are worse holding patterns, but there are also a lot better ones.
In general, if you don't know what you want to do, making a multi-year commitment is a bad idea.
Re:Don't try to dodge the recession with grad school
by Retric on Tuesday February 03, 2009 @12:27PM
(#464270)
Follow through is what makes it a good or bad choice. A 20 year military stint can be extremely profitable. Join at 18, get a free collage, and Masters degree (or two), then leave and become a consultant at 200+k/year. Add in all those sweet long term benefits such as a pension and it's not a stupid choice if you know how to network and try and get promoted. Then again you can also be a grunt get shot and die but the military is not as risky as most people assume.
Anyway, I don't think the problem is the multi-year commitment it's people that fail to maximize the value of that choice. I think the people who don't really know what they want are going and get a Masters / PHD in history because it's more fun than working a real job are the type of people who will fail at most things.