https://www.serviceacademyforums.co...sion-no-basic-training-or-ocs-required.65179/
Yes, ARNG or USAR will afford you more flexibility with your civilian career-- at the detriment of your military proficiency.
If the program in the above link does not interest you,
I would recommend you enlist for a minimum of 4 years in Active Duty (you'll go in as an E-4 with your degree, so this gives you time to be considered for E-5) and then later transition to ARNG or USAR. Reasons why:
- Many civilian employers do not value or understand reserve component service as much as they do active component service
- Many will view it as "weekend warrior" status, where you run around in the woods on the weekend. They usually will not view you as a "real" military member (which is garbage)
- You will be on Title 10 (aka active duty) anyway for your first year to 1.5 years for Basic, AIT, and any follow-on training at your gaining USAR/ARNG unit
- Junior enlisted in USAR/ARNG are often not taken seriously.
- Enlisting with a college degree is considered weird-- even more so in the reserve component.
- The suspicion will be that you are just jumping in to hang around for a commissioning opportunity, and therefore will not be around long.
- Hence, no point in your MOS trainers spending much time on your career development.
- Opportunities to train at the junior enlisted level are much more infrequent and rare in the reserve component.
Some of the above is my
subjective opinion, but it is based off of years of both joint and total force (aka working alongside guard/reserve members) operations. The most capable (and happy) reserve component members I have met have nearly always been prior active duty or have spent years as full-timers in the Guard or Reserve.
Military cybersecurity is a different career field than civilian cyber. If you aren't interested in active duty (or, presumably full-time in the reserve or ARNG as a technician or AGR), then, by extension,
you are deciding you aren't interested in being a capable military cybersecurity specialist.
That's completely fine, but understand the implications.