Please guide me

[Neutropix]

Hello everyone.

I am a 24 y/o male who is a junior in college with a 3.9 GPA having just completed O chem 2. All I have left is physics, biochem, and upper div classes. I am currently Chief Scribe of our local team, and I have about 300 volunteer hours w/ some shadowing as well..

After high school I gave service serious consideration but was ultimately dissuaded by my parents who were fearful for my life. It has been a huge regret of mine. At the rate I am headed I will not graduate until early 2020. By then I will be just shy of 26.

Lately I have been disillusioned with college life. I have been in school for four years already due to financial issues, and I've felt an itch to serve for about two of those years. I often listen to a podcast by a Navy Seal called Jocko Wilink, which has gotten me fired up even more about the idea of serving.

I just want to leave everything behind at this point and give something back to my country. I feel like a total p**** for not having served. I've been told that I should obtain my bachelors first and then apply because I'd make more, but I'd be seriously willing to walk away from everything before this fall or shortly afterwards without officer status.

I am so lost right now guys. I am very well educated on the civilian path to medical school, but I honestly know nothing about my options here. I don't really know where to start. This post certainly sounds naive, but any advice on where to start and/or resources would be appreciated. This is something I want.

Best regards,

Ahab

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DrMetal]

First, if you're a junior in college and have a 3.9 GPA, then you're clearly a good student. Finish your degree. You'd be a fool to leave school, only to have to return to it in say 3-5 years, when you might not be a good student. Finish school, get your degree.

Second, stop listening to the Navy SEAL podcast. It's very unlikely that you'll have an experience like his, if you go that route. Some SEALS love to boast about things that they did. Here's a hint: the most badass special forces guys in our military are actually very quiet people, who rarely boast about the things they've done. It's like pulling teeth getting them to talk. In any case, you should not be making any life decisions based off of one guy's podcasts.

Third: after you finish your degree (or when you are near completion), if you really want to join the military (as either a warfighter or a future physician)....do some good honest research, so you know what you're getting yourself into. Talk to people who've done it, get a variety of opinions. Be weary of people on either end of the spectrum (those who praise everything about mil life, those who trash it completely....the truth is somewhere in between).

Fourth: change your avitar. The Vegas nights a fleeting fluke....The L.A. Kings, now that's a hockey club.

 

[HighPriest]

If you're maintaining a 3.9 in your junior year, you'll be a better service to your country if you finish your degree first. That will, in theory, put you closer to a position where you can make some change for the better.

 

[HomeSkool]

My mom was fearful for my life when I told her I was joining the Army during med school. I told her to man up and be proud that I'd decided to serve my country. She took the lesson and was 100% supportive and enthusiastic after that.

The point: you're going to die someday. Hopefully that day's a long way off, but you don't know and you'll have nothing but regrets if you go through life hiding from risks. In the military, you may get hurt and you may die (although chances are you'll be just fine). In healthcare, you may get stuck with a needle containing hep C (which happened to me two years ago) (but I didn't get infected). Certain occupations will expose you to certain risks, and you can't avoid them by wrapping yourself in bubble wrap.

As others have said, finish your degree first -- you'll be more valuable to your country with it. While you're in school, talk to recruiters as well as current and former servicemembers. If the military has options that sound right for you, take them.

 

[DeadCactus]

While I know some people who wonder if they should have deferred medical school to take a break from school and do something like the military, I don't think I've ever met anyone who wishes they had enlisted instead of commissioning.

You mention being in school for a long time due to financial issues. If you have family obligations that obligate you to earn an income, carry on. If you're just trying to avoid student loans, I would argue you're making a poor decision. Intelligently acquired debt that gets you out of school faster and into a higher paying career is worth taking on.

I don't know what Jocko's podcast is like, but I thought his book was worth reading or audiobooking and assume the podcast is more of the same and more of a podcast on leadership than war stories.

I was going to enlist out of high school but bailed. I strongly considered commissioning as a line officer after undergraduate and deferring medical school. I ended up going straight through to medical school and then joining one of the reserve components. I'm eager to finish my medical training and start being more active on the military side of my career, I'm still waiting for the chance to feel like I'm actually serving and it is definitely frustrating some days. (Granted, some days I can't imagine having to deal with the ridiculous bureaucracy and games on an everyday basis.) At the end of the day, I decided being a physician was most important to me, being in a leadership role was second most, and being the guy doing cool-guy stuff was least important so delaying military service until after medical school made the most sense and enlisting would have made the least sense. You have to decide what you want most because whatever you defer runs the risk of never happening.

 

[Sunna12]

Hello everyone.

I am a 24 y/o male who is a junior in college with a 3.9 GPA having just completed O chem 2. All I have left is physics, biochem, and upper div classes. I am currently Chief Scribe of our local team, and I have about 300 volunteer hours w/ some shadowing as well..

After high school I gave service serious consideration but was ultimately dissuaded by my parents who were fearful for my life. It has been a huge regret of mine. At the rate I am headed I will not graduate until early 2020. By then I will be just shy of 26.

Lately I have been disillusioned with college life. I have been in school for four years already due to financial issues, and I've felt an itch to serve for about two of those years. I often listen to a podcast by a Navy Seal called Jocko Wilink, which has gotten me fired up even more about the idea of serving.

I just want to leave everything behind at this point and give something back to my country. I feel like a total p**** for not having served. I've been told that I should obtain my bachelors first and then apply because I'd make more, but I'd be seriously willing to walk away from everything before this fall or shortly afterwards without officer status.

I am so lost right now guys. I am very well educated on the civilian path to medical school, but I honestly know nothing about my options here. I don't really know where to start. This post certainly sounds naive, but any advice on where to start and/or resources would be appreciated. This is something I want.

Best regards,

Ahab

I enlisted after high school, separated with a bachelors degree, and entered medical school. If you feel you need a break from school before medical school, military service will only help your future application and not harm it. But definitely wait until you have your degree finished- and you can qualify for loan forgiveness potentially when you enlist. Be sure to save your GI Bill though- you could go to medical school for free when you're ready. Good luck!