College Degree— seeking adult guidance (AROTC)

MohawkArmyROTC said:
Yes, GPA for last year and this year have been reduced significantly, with leadership outcomes being the biggest factor. You can now get AD with a sub 3.0 GPA, if you excel in leadership.
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Will it most likely remain that way for the next few years if you had to take an educated guess?
 
MohawkArmyROTC said:
You may be a candidate for changing your major. If you don't like engineering as a student, what makes you think you will like it or be successful at it as a career?

I started as Aeronautical Engineering myself, then downgraded to MechE, then said "F" it, and changed my major to Psychology. In retrospect I should have did what @cb7893 mentioned and switch to Math or Comp Sci. I hated the engineering classes, so it was hard to motivate myself to study adequately. I did well in math and science, just found Psychology to be more interesting, so went that route.

Former prior service as an Army Officer can make you more employable, however when it comes to serve on Active Duty you are better off with a more technical branch that has a direct equivalent in the civilian world. Combat Arms can be fun at the company level and give you great leadership experience, but in the long run you will develop more opportunities in the civilian world from other branches.
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My DS, Army O-3 filled his freed up schedule with Comp Sci and Foreign language, both of which were a major part of his Branch and first duty station. He branched Signal as a civilian fallback if the Army became "no fun anymore". It has remained fun. Signal is no longer Semaphore and Morse code. It's light years ahead of showing the BC how to set up his voice mail. Remember the raid on Bin Laden's home? All live fed to the White House Situation Room? It involved radios, fiber and satellite transmission which all had to interface seamlessly and securely across multiple computer platforms. If you're good and under a good command your opportunities in the Army can expand well beyond Signal. If things don't work out as planned, opportunities will abound.
 
banjoppd said:
My son advised that many of his Rook brothers studying engineering are having a hard time because many are from states that have not had in person classes in almost 1 to 1.5 years. He stated that construction management might as well be "junior civil engineering". Whatever you decide do not go criminal justice.
Good Luck seek more counsel with a trusted adviser to make a good choice.
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Rook? Is your son at Norwich?
 
Cadet35 said:
Will it most likely remain that way for the next few years if you had to take an educated guess?
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I don't know. We have a new CG, depends on what he likes. Historically, it has always been GPA weighted, but that changed with COVID as many schools were online. I suspect it will remain weighted towards leadership for the next few years.
 
banjoppd said:
My son advised that many of his Rook brothers studying engineering are having a hard time because many are from states that have not had in person classes in almost 1 to 1.5 years. He stated that construction management might as well be "junior civil engineering". Whatever you decide do not go criminal justice.
Good Luck seek more counsel with a trusted adviser to make a good choice.
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Would you mind explaining why not criminal justice or criminology?
 
oaksandmaples said:
Would you mind explaining why not criminal justice or criminology?
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You don't need a CJ degree to get into LE. Many state or local agencies do not even require any college and if they do 30-60 hours. The "G" agencies just wants a 4 year degree except FBI (STEM, accounting, or computer science). Customs inspectors and BP agents do not require a degree. Seems every FBI agent I worked with was a former Army/MC captain or 10 year ex-cop with a law degree/accountant. A CJ degree in state/local LE agencies really doesn't get you hired or promoted faster, it's just a degree. A CJ degree doesn't make you a better cop or agent either. Find a major that interest you but will open the job market for you post AD.
 
Cadet35 said:
About to wrap up my fall semester as a second year student and I very much enjoy Army ROTC. I’m very passionate about it and I really look forward to my future career. Anyways— I am seeking to get more involved in my program and take it to the next level & be a great leader and role model amongst my peers. The only thing holding me back I feel is my engineering degree that I’m pursuing. Had a pretty rigorous semester and am likely going to have to withdrawal from a course and take it at a local CC over the summer & pay out of my own pocket. Sets me back schedule wise a bit and is unfortunate. Like I’ve mentioned on this forum before— I’m considering switching out in order to put more focus on a future Army career and my endeavors with ROTC. In all honesty I simply picked engineering because it’s a valuable and high paying degree. My passion and interests are within the army— not in any major offered at my college.

Something that makes me hesitant about making this decision is in the instance I have a drastic change of feelings down the road and need a solid degree to fall back on to support a family. Just slightly torn here and I want to make the right decision. I also hate quitting on things and I have a few buddies who are fellow engineering students as well and I would feel like I’m quitting on them too.
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As a former Army officer that commissioned through ROTC, I experienced this, as well. I started off as an accounting major, and then switched to English. At the advice of one of my former high school athletic coaches, I added a teaching credential to my degree in order to have a degree that would more easily transition to the civilian world once I left active duty.

Ultimately, the only an ROTC cadet commissions is by earning a degree, and if you are struggling in classes, it doesn't make any sense to continue with a college major in which you aren't successful.

I commissioned many moons ago, so I can only speak for my experience. We were told that having a high GPA, extra-curriculars, and leadership in ROTC was what helped a cadet move up the OML.
 
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