Should I stay or should I go?

2025Cadet

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Oct 6, 2020
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I'm currently a Doolie at USAFA. So far, I've really enjoyed my time here. I met some amazing people that I know will be my friends for the rest of my life, I've learned a lot about myself, and I've had experiences that I will never forget. Despite how much Doolie year is supposed to suck, I've actually enjoyed myself. However, I am considering leaving for two fundamental reasons. One of the main reasons is that USAFA does not have a major that I am passionate about. When I applied here, I thought that it would be a lot more military focused and a lot less academic focused, so I thought it wouldn't matter that USAFA doesn't offer a major that I am interested in, however, that has not been the case. I'm not sure how I ended up with that impression, but I was wrong. 80% of what I do here is academics. It's not so much the issue that academics are hard, even though they are, I just know that I will never get to take classes that I am passionate about, which makes it really hard to be able to look forward to the future, especially when I know that no matter what my major is, I will need to take a great deal of engineering core classes that I am not remotely interested in. I've been told to just get through academics, and that it will be all worth it when I finally graduate. I have an issue with that. I will be spending 3 and 1/2 more years here, and since so much of my time is spent on academics, the thought of struggling through with a major that I don't care about is absolutely miserable. I don't want to "waste" that much of my life. My other reason for wanting to leave arose because I decided that I no longer want to be a pilot. All my life I have worked to avoid any kind of desk or management job, but I'm afraid that that's what I'll end up with upon graduating from here if I'm not a pilot. Growing up, I wanted to be an EMT or something where it was me actually physically doing stuff. I know that the role of officers is very important, but I just don't think that it is for me. I feel like somewhere along the lines I traded all the things that I am passionate about and that excite me for future job security and health care benefits. If I do decide that I don't want to stay at the Academy, I have no intentions of sticking it our for the next year and a half in order to "get more free credits" as I have been advised by my friends. I would leave after this semester. However, I am terrified that I would regret leaving. This is an amazing opportunity, that I worked very hard for. I also know that graduating from the academy will give me lots of connections, and that even if I decide to leave the military after 5 years, those connections will help me to get jobs in the civilian sector. If anyone could weigh it, that would be fantastic.
 
These thoughts are all very normal, and exactly why “the system” is designed to allow for attrition for various reasons along the way. No amount of USAFA videos, website reading and visits is equivalent to the reality of being a cadet.

Even if you were a pilot, there is ALWAYS staff/desk duty/management/administration stuff involved, some jobs more than others.

Be sure you are running TOWARD something, with a vision, goal and action plan, instead of running AWAY from something with no thought given to the steps ahead.

The minute you start applying elsewhere, researching majors, looking into financial aid, you are taking the steps to run toward something. Do talk this through with family, as an adult, and assure them you will be working hard to minimize any financial strain or impact on them, should you make this decision.
 
I'll take the bait. Stay. I suspect there are a lot of USAFA cadets who begin to see that the Academy and academics are not quite what they anticipated. That is not a reason to quit. If you have identified something that seems worlds better and can go to it immediately upon out-processing, then by all means, go for it. But, your post is filled with a bunch of generalities and does not explain why the thing you are moving onto will be better. Stop. Reassess. Don't rush out the door. Figure out if there is a major that will help you realize your goals, compare that to something very specific. If the other thing truly looks better to you, then go for it. As long as you are worried about having regrets, I'd suggest you haven't arrived at a sufficient reason to leave. By the way, the "free credits" thing is just nonsense. You earned the right to continue at USAFA right up until you leave. Having doubts about a SA is pretty normal. Having doubts about finding the perfect major is pretty normal. Having had some misconceptions about SAs is also pretty normal. My kids have mentioned a number of friends who considered leaving and even went all the way to preparing alternate plans that sounded pretty fantastic, but even then they have decided to stay. So, make sure you are really analyzing your options with full information.
 
I'm probably bias, but I think the opportunities you have at USAFA vs any traditional school significantly favor USAFA. At Thanksgiving, I would encourage you to speak with high school classmates to learn what they do in a given day. Your USAFA schedule is way way more intense and the personal growth that comes from that experience could not be found anywhere else.

I believe your comment of "I don't want to "waste" that much of my life." is short sighted. The 4 years at USAFA is truly a blip on your life trajectory radar. You will spend an equal amount of time anywhere else achieving an undergraduate degree.

The major not being what you want... Understand that you will almost NEVER use the specific undergrad major in your professional career. For the vast majority, it is an obligatory check box to a bigger goal or job opportunity.

Have you considered the Combat Rescue officer career field?
 
I'd want to get a BA in Criminal Justice.
With what end goal in mind? What are the other paths to your end goal and is a criminal justice degree from the program you have in mind really going to open more doors towards that end goal? What have you done to research and understand that criminal justice program - you don't want to get there and find out you had a bunch of misconceptions in much the way you did about USAFA.
 
Only you can ultimately answer your own question.

One thing I would highly recommend, however, is finishing out the year. That will help with the “regret” question. Finishing the year, is finishing the year. And will give you at least SOMETHING from all your time, energy, and efforts to get in, and your time there. Perhaps some credits will even transfer. But, imo, leaving after a semester? That’s the waste. Bc you come out with nothing.

If you can, gruel through another semester. You may ultimately gain additional clarity that will also help with the “regrets” concern. Plus…if ultimately you leave, a year at a SA may be something that helps. Maybe not. Idk. But a semester won’t.
 
CJ is a social science degree. Psych and sociology with a little case law thrown in.

As @dddad asked, what would you do with that degree?

I think you, OP, just want out of the AFA and also don't want to be an Air Force officer. You said as much.

You've answered your own question. You should leave.
 
I'll take the bait. Stay. I suspect there are a lot of USAFA cadets who begin to see that the Academy and academics are not quite what they anticipated. That is not a reason to quit. If you have identified something that seems worlds better and can go to it immediately upon out-processing, then by all means, go for it. But, your post is filled with a bunch of generalities and does not explain why the thing you are moving onto will be better. Stop. Reassess. Don't rush out the door. Figure out if there is a major that will help you realize your goals, compare that to something very specific. If the other thing truly looks better to you, then go for it. As long as you are worried about having regrets, I'd suggest you haven't arrived at a sufficient reason to leave. By the way, the "free credits" thing is just nonsense. You earned the right to continue at USAFA right up until you leave. Having doubts about a SA is pretty normal. Having doubts about finding the perfect major is pretty normal. Having had some misconceptions about SAs is also pretty normal. My kids have mentioned a number of friends who considered leaving and even went all the way to preparing alternate plans that sounded pretty fantastic, but even then they have decided to stay. So, make sure you are really analyzing your options with full information.
Thank you for the feedback. I have a plan for if I leave. I am not interested in STEM, and I knew that I would have to take STEM classes if I was here, but I didn't realize how much of my time here would be school. If I was at a civilian college, I would not have to take those classes. I know that doesn't seem like a big deal, and that's what a lot of my friends have been telling me. However, I am very high strung and I do not have the ability to just slack off in classes, even if I don't like them, which I know is a personal problem. I know that I am working hard in these classes and that I would, in the future, work very hard to do well in classes like Aero, even though it would make me miserable. I'm not sure if, to me, it is worth it to stay here if I need to take these classes.
 
I have a good friend who quit a SA after two years while in good standing.. Decades ago he quit.

decades later he is still defending why he left and still making excuses even though no one but him cares. And decades from now he will still be making excuses.

His excuse

The SA did not have his major. The fact is he just did not want to serve and stay another two years. He wanted easier and no service commitment.

criminal justice? Seriously?

No one quits a SA they are allegedly happy with just to major in criminal justice.

that becomes not the reason but the excuse.
 
Thank you for the feedback. I have a plan for if I leave. I am not interested in STEM, and I knew that I would have to take STEM classes if I was here, but I didn't realize how much of my time here would be school. If I was at a civilian college, I would not have to take those classes. I know that doesn't seem like a big deal, and that's what a lot of my friends have been telling me. However, I am very high strung and I do not have the ability to just slack off in classes, even if I don't like them, which I know is a personal problem. I know that I am working hard in these classes and that I would, in the future, work very hard to do well in classes like Aero, even though it would make me miserable. I'm not sure if, to me, it is worth it to stay here if I need to take these classes.
If you are thinking about AFROTC at a civilian university, I would keep in mind the fact that if you are not a tech major that you are required take a certain number of math, science, and language credits.
 
Thank you for the feedback. I have a plan for if I leave. I am not interested in STEM, and I knew that I would have to take STEM classes if I was here, but I didn't realize how much of my time here would be school. If I was at a civilian college, I would not have to take those classes. I know that doesn't seem like a big deal, and that's what a lot of my friends have been telling me. However, I am very high strung and I do not have the ability to just slack off in classes, even if I don't like them, which I know is a personal problem. I know that I am working hard in these classes and that I would, in the future, work very hard to do well in classes like Aero, even though it would make me miserable. I'm not sure if, to me, it is worth it to stay here if I need to take these classes.
It sounds like you have made up your mind. Once you get to the point of justifying, either outwardly, or to yourself, you have crossed over the line.

Good luck you to!! It’s your decision and your choice! On another note, have you informed your COC? Bc there is a process to leaving, that takes a while.
 
@2025Candidate have you looked into the specifics of the Legal Studies major? One has to think there are some very similar parallels to that degree and your desired Criminal Justice major. I was a Legal Studies major and 100% did not enjoy the engineering courses. I took two over the summer to simplify my academic load during the year. Ultimately, I am so thankful that I graduated with a BS degree because the career opportunities in the civilian sector are far greater for technical degree holders than arts degree holders.

It ultimately comes down to what you want. If plan B is not nailed down yet, my suggestion would be to stay until you have been fully accepted into the new program you want to pivot into.
 
There are jobs you can try for that would lend to criminal justice-security forces. Not sure what you want to do with that, but I think graduating from an academy would lend to the field with the FBI, CIA. Think about it, find a major you can push yourself towards, something military. You can always do to grad school for criminal justice and use your GI Bill
 
Building on a previous poster’s comments, if you have dreams of “ABC agency” careers, SA grads (and junior officers from all sources) are actively recruited, regardless of major. These agencies like the servant leadership, maturity, operational mindset, ability to perform in high-pressure situations, decision-making and analytical ability, and many other traits found in junior officers, especially if it comes with some STEM background.

Some anecdotal examples from our USNA sponsor family:
- USNA oceanography major, Surface Warfare (ship) officer, FBI anti-terrorism specialty with a new language learned to boot, plus specialized EOD training - their BS helped them grasp the technology involved.
- USNA physics major, Marine ground (communications), clandestine operations
- USNA language major, Marine helo pilot, now doing Interesting Stuff
 
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Dear OP,
Consider all facts ( not opinions ) for your decision. As others have suggested, speak with your peers at USAFA, Civilian College and people who you consider them as guides and mentors. Once you have spoken to them and evaluated all the facts, make a decision. But once you have taken that decision, NEVER EVER regret it and stand by it. You would get all sort of guidance from this forum ( all well intentioned and from folks who have accomplished so much), but understand that a person convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.

Good luck !
 
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