Good plan?

JoeySwink

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Jan 14, 2016
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Ive been doing a bunch of thinking, reading, and other things and I think I have came up with a plan. I would like to know hat you guys think so I can get a better perspective.

Major in Criminal Justice and double major in Psychology with a minor in military science/AROTC.

Hopefully branch infantry (backup careers pending)

Hopefully attend Ranger school

Hopefully get into special forces

Come out of the military and join the FBI

( this obviously isn't my entire plan but it is a brief overview) let me know what you guys think

Backup plans include: Aviation, MP and others
Other backup plans consist of becoming a police officer
 
A double major and a minor? Thats already hard enough at a civilian school, let alone West Point. I feel like it is unfeasible or you're going to get zero sleep.
 
A double major and a minor? Thats already hard enough at a civilian school, let alone West Point. I feel like it is unfeasible or you're going to get zero sleep.
Actually at UNCC they in courage this bc psy and criminal justice classes are so close togather only adding a few credits the the work load plus it does not even equal a full 120 credits
 
Ive been doing a bunch of thinking, reading, and other things and I think I have came up with a plan. I would like to know hat you guys think so I can get a better perspective.

Major in Criminal Justice and double major in Psychology with a minor in military science/AROTC.

Hopefully branch infantry (backup careers pending)

Hopefully attend Ranger school

Hopefully get into special forces

Come out of the military and join the FBI

( this obviously isn't my entire plan but it is a brief overview) let me know what you guys think

Backup plans include: Aviation, MP and others
Other backup plans consist of becoming a police officer
Good to have a plan...good to be flexible too. At first glance this is quite ambitious for someone who hasn't taken a college class yet. Good luck!
 
Your plan is similar to that of my DS. The Criminal Justice department encourages a minor or double major at his school as well.

My DS is following essentially the same track, but with a CJ/Sociology double major plus MS minor. He just finished his MS-I year with a a 3.2 after taking 20 semester units in the Fall and 19 units in the Spring. Yes, it was a challenge but he was learning time management. He volunteered for as many AROTC activities that he could along with scoring a 288 APFT. I asked him looking back, did he bite off more than he could chew? He thought not. He just felt that he could have been more efficient at his study management and will continue to work at the same pace. He is fortunate that he does not have to work a part time job thanks to his AROTC scholarship and that is a key advantage.

I was not all that keen on CJ as a major as many folks in law enforcement feel that the CS major is not robust enough to warrant the money spent at a University. However, DS really enjoys the major subject, and his intention was to go Active duty anyways. Of course, my concern was that if he were to not get active duty Army, that he would have an uphill battle for a job in LE. Apparently his college gets different police agencies including the local city recruiting from their department on a regular basis, so the major is not as bleak as I once thought. In fact some agencies from out of state are actively recruiting there as well plus several internships are offered.

I would say if you can keep the grades up, go for it.
 
+1 to nofodad

As a parent, whether it is your military career, sports, possible grad school, whatever, it is always better to have a plan than not have one. You will do more and go farther shooting for something than just showing up. Just remember that your future is not a straight line, there might be some detours along that path, even options you cannot see until you get closer, and that is all part of getting you in the right place, so embrace them.

As far as, is your plan a good one? I have no comment, because it is about you not anyone else. I will tell you what I tell my kids.,,,
"You cannot fit a big life into a little dream, dream BIG and then go for it"!
 
You are probably going to hear this one from a crusty NCO soon..."Hope is not a method".

You are also going to learn about something called "SMART" goals (google it) soon. I think it's still part of the MS 1 curriculum.

And finally I should post the remarks my PMS gave at our last commissioning ceremony, where he talked about how over his 20+ year career he never got what he asked for, and that he has no regrets.

Not trying to throw cold water on your dreams, but remember you are not even out of high school. It's going to be a long road to wherever you end up. Start with some short term goals and keep an open mind and you'll do fine.
 
Spoke with some FBI personnel last summer - they look very favorably on STEM majors. Finance/accounting degrees too. They said not to feel locked in to Criminal Justice or related degree plans. Of course if you love it then do it. Obviously Army service is your top priority here.
 
Thank you for all of the replys. I can understand everyone's perspective, I have some transferring classes from where I took college courses at the local college and I have a perfect GPA so far. I did research on the FBI website and it says for criminal justice majors that they prefer a skill with like military experience or a foreign language. I assume that doing something like Infantry (even though I know things can change) will help me get there. I also heard as an officer and being in infantry I'll be able to go ranger school and be eligible for special forces. Is this true?
 
Joey,

A wise man once said "Life is what happens while you're busy making plans" (Extra credit if you can name who).

Like others have said, a plan is always good. Just remember to keep an open mind when you start school and ROTC. Soak everything in and explore all the options, plans have a way of changing as you have more experiences. Aim for the 25 meter target to start out, take each task as it comes and do your best. This is the best way to achieve any goal down the road.

You might want to check out a major in History and possibly a double major in International Relations or Affairs. While some may look down on History, it is a great major regarding research, it is also a good major if you ever look at Law school down the road. The International Affairs would give you the opportunity to study abroad and get language experience. My older son majored in History and he has found it to be very beneficial as an officer, there is a lot of writing you'll be doing and research depending on what you branch.

As far as a goal of the FBI, you might consider looking at Civil Affairs after you have been active for a few years and become eligible to apply. A friend, our local FBI Director, said CA is looked at very favorably by the FBI due to their language skills, clearance, and work with foreign countries/governments. Again this is way down the road for you.

So the best advice is to keep your goals but don't get tunnel vision, keep looking over the entire horizon. Oh and one more quote I love:

"You don't always get what you want, but if you try sometime you just might find, you get what you need."

I think I'm dating myself.
 
I also heard as an officer and being in infantry I'll be able to go ranger school and be eligible for special forces. Is this true?

You're actually eligible to apply to Special Forces no matter what branch you select, as long as you apply when your year group is eligible.
 
Seems like a nice plan. Very ambitious but it's rather amazing what some people can pull off. Things are always changing but if you finish in the top 10% of your class (Nationwide ROTC), you should get to branch whatever you like. I can tell you that my son's branch choices changed 3-4 times over his first (3) years in ROTC.

As far as the FBI future, as someone who worked in the law enforcement field for 31 years, I can tell you that it's a realistic goal. I had several co-workers leave our department for the FBI, a few for the US Marshals and two that I know of for the Secret Service. All but one of the guys that went to the Marshal's service seemed happy with their choices and ended up serving all over the country. There is nothing wrong with a CJ major per se and your military service will help but they love accounting majors, computer/cyber folks and linguists. Obviously, the guys that left my department had experience working the streets and years of investigative skills which quite frankly, I believe will help keep you alive in the field.

As far as getting a job in law enforcement in general (my son's end plan as well), having a four year degree with military experience is almost as good as it gets. Learn to speak Spanish (in most states) and you are the most coveted applicant there is. I can only speak for SoCal but law enforcement jobs will be plentiful for years to come as departments can't find enough qualified applicants to fill all their openings due to so many older officers retiring at a quickened pace.
 
A wise man once said "Life is what happens while you're busy making plans" (Extra credit if you can name who).
The lyrics of "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" contain the famous Lennon quote "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
Stolen from Wikipedia
 
CJ and "most" Psych classes don't mix. However Sociology and Psychology courses do intertwine. Your first goal is to graduate in four years. I admire the ambition, but if you're a quality officer, you'll have the opportunity to earn a funded education at the graduate level later in your career.

I applied to the FBI and was interviewed/tested at their Memphis field office with just a Sociology undergrad at the time. I was a 1LT(P) trying to decide my next move. The FBI don't make enough for me. I'm greedy :p. Don't worry about your "second" career before you begin your first.

I suggest excelling in one major and one minor; or you can be the double major and a minor with a 2.7 GPA.
 
Joeyswink:

Major in Criminal Justice with a minor in military science/AROTC.

Hopefully branch infantry

Hopefully attend Ranger school

Hopefully get into special forces

Come out of the military and join the FBI

This is my son's plan exactly, except he is thinking GRF, which I believe is Global Reaction Force, like the American Heroes that lost their lives in Bhengazi. Anyway, The University of North Georgia, one of six senior military colleges in the U.S. has a fantastic opportunity for Criminal Justice majors. My son will graduate with a B.A. in Criminal Justice, a Leadership Minor AND be a Certified Peace Officer (provided everything goes as planned.) UNG is one of just a couple schools in the country to offer this opportunity. He doesn't want to be a police office or an MP, but already having Peace Officer Certification will save time and money, and hopefully give him a jump start on his career after military service.
 
Would it be worth it to replace psychology with a foreign language minor such as Chinese? Take advantage of CLIP and earn more money and also do project GO or CULP? The only thing is that I don't have an interest in being a translator primarily bc as I said I'd like infantry but I would like the advantage of knowing what is going on. Would this be better
 
Would it be worth it to replace psychology with a foreign language minor such as Chinese? Take advantage of CLIP and earn more money and also do project GO or CULP? The only thing is that I don't have an interest in being a translator primarily bc as I said I'd like infantry but I would like the advantage of knowing what is going on. Would this be better
I think you should major in what excites you and what you enjoy. You'll have a better chance of success if you do that. Does Chinese excite you? Then study it, don't do it for CLIP$ ( I've seen some posts that state it no longer exists, could be wrong about that). Also project GO is not necessarily language dependent I don't think you have to be a language major to do GO. As far as CULP goes, there is no rhyme or reason to some of the assignments, DS' roommate had two years of Chinese and went to....Uruguay. Just because you study a language does not mean the Army is going to make you a translator. You've got a lot of time and your mind may change about a lot of this, maybe even your current choice of branch. Get good grades, score well on the PT tests, participate in the battalion, do stuff in college that you enjoy, try to score high on the OML and let the chips fall where they may. Great to have a plan, but don't overthink it.
 
I feel like a nofodad geoupie, but agree 100% once again.

JoeySwink, remember what you study does not mean that will determine your job once you commission, that depends on so many factors. As said before, the way to have more choice of where you end up is earn yourself to the top 10 percent of the OML list in the country, and you will have the best chance possible of ending up where you want regardless of your major.

As far as what to study, I echo nofodad. My DD'S ROTC scholarship is for nursing so a little different for her as the Army will expect her to be a nurse at the end of this. But as far as a minor, she is minoring in German. Why? Because she loves it! She speaks fluently, has lived in Germany and wants to improve her technical language skills in German.

Study what you love, better chance of getting a high GPA which will help your OML ranking and help you be able to have a bigger say in where you go.
 
Joeyswink:

Major in Criminal Justice with a minor in military science/AROTC.

Hopefully branch infantry

Hopefully attend Ranger school

Hopefully get into special forces

Come out of the military and join the FBI

This is my son's plan exactly, except he is thinking GRF, which I believe is Global Reaction Force, like the American Heroes that lost their lives in Bhengazi. Anyway, The University of North Georgia, one of six senior military colleges in the U.S. has a fantastic opportunity for Criminal Justice majors. My son will graduate with a B.A. in Criminal Justice, a Leadership Minor AND be a Certified Peace Officer (provided everything goes as planned.) UNG is one of just a couple schools in the country to offer this opportunity. He doesn't want to be a police office or an MP, but already having Peace Officer Certification will save time and money, and hopefully give him a jump start on his career after military service.

Unless he's talking about some unit within the Dept of State, GRF is not a standalone thing within the Army. Units rotate on and off GRF regularly. Usually a BDE within the 82nd is on GRF, the airborne BDE in Alaska is on a similar status for the Pacific, and other brigades rotate on and off.
 
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