No service option?

M

Myopiczeal

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The marketing materials for many ROTC programs state that it is possible to complete the program (w/o a scholarship) but choose not to enlist in the Military after completing your degree. While technically possible, is this really done or put another way, is it a good idea to enter a ROTC program with the intention of not pursuing Military service? Isn’t this acting in bad faith? Program commanders and your peers will certainly know which cadets are pursuing this option and I can’t imagine it’s looked on favorably.
 
Given your last 2 posts, why are you considering ROTC? ROTC was designed to prepare you to become a military officer. If you don’t feel you have that Honor, Commitment and Courage, it’s not for you.
 
If one completes the program then they become "contracted" by the start of their junior year. At that point they are obligated to serve 3 or 4 years (can't remember which and might vary by service). It IS possible to do the full academic program for college credit and not commission. That is to say you can do all the class work bt would not be physically training or attending lab days... or even wear the uniform.

Some Senior military colleges do have citizen-leader programs where the participants participate in ROTC without commissioning. I believe the ROTC participation may stop after two years but not sure how that works. Virginia Tech has such a program. Participants at a Senior Military College do not necessarily commission, but I've never seen that at any other college (which doesn't mean it doesn't exist).
 
The Marine Corps does have a "non obligation" program called the Platoon Leader's Class (PLC) in which you can decide to not commission. Having said that, however, I echo the general sentiment of concern about uncertainty. Not to sound too "moto", but our country and those serving in the enlisted ranks really does deserve officers that are fully committed to serving.
 
Given the passing of Senator McCain yesterday, I’d suggest you read his book “Worth the Fighting For: The Education of an American Maverick, and the Heroes Who Inspired Him”
 
Sirs, thank you for helpful replies. I’m trying to get my head around some information I’ve picked up in my research:

1) I’ve read that a majority of the graduates of HS Military Academies do not pursue Military service. That seems counterintuitive. There’s certainly a great benefit to having Military training. Why doesn’t it translate into pursuing Military service? Does anyone know what the similar stats are on ROTC or Service Academy graduates? What percentage stay on to pursue Military careers vs. go 4 and door, 8 and door, etc?

2). I’ve heard that given the pace of technological change right now, you could pursue a 4-year degree in Computer Science and the skills you learned will be outdated by the time you graduate. Ceteris Paribus, you might be better off dropping out of college in your junior year to pursue a job at a top technology company. That is definitely counterintuitive.

That’s the reason I’m asking about the no service option. It’s hard to say what the environment will be several years from now, but there’s no doubt you’ll be better off after having ROTC training. Maybe the best approach is to pass on ROTC, wait and see what the environment is like after graduation and then enroll in OCS if that’s the best choice at that time. But that’s again, counterintuitive.
 
@Myopiczeal

Given your focus on serving in the field of cyber security, have you considered serving the country as part of the Federal civil service?

The “ABC” agencies and departments have robust HS and college programs, designed to identify and attract students to careers as part of the Federal workforce. Careers in cyber, logistics, operations management, strategic analysis, tactical planning - as I said in a recent post on the same topic, if you can’t be/don’t want to be a door-kicker, then serve where you have the door-kicker’s back.

Try a good search string, such as FBI + college student programs. Then you can refine with cyber.

See, for example:
https://www.cia.gov/careers/student-opportunities/undergrad-info-assurance.html

https://www.intelligencecareers.gov/nsa/nsastudents.html

https://www.fbijobs.gov/students/undergrad

A career in the Federal service brings the opportunity to work and grow in your desired field, where moving around is much more under your control, with good benefits, including graduate degree assistance.

You can certainly learn a lot from the discipline and habits learned in an ROTC program, or as part of the Corps of Cadets at a Senior Military College.

If your heart and mind aren’t fully set on serving in uniform, likely in areas not involving cyber right away, then consider a Fed career, where you can go from your college major into your desired field.
 
@Myopiczeal First I want to endorse Capt MJ's advice and add the following...

A high school military academy is not a ROTC program. They may have JROTC I suppose but that's no different than any other high school. Many kids attending a high school military academy are troubled kids whose parents send them there to learn some discipline, although I certainly don't intend to paint with a broad brush. Certainly the kids I knew who attended were in that category.

I majored in Computer Science in college way back in the early '70s. A computer Science degree is never outdated because what you learn there are the fundamentals. I will say that, similar to doctors, the education never ends and you have to transform yourself regularly to keep up with the technology.

I taught myself all I could learn about programming personal computers in the mid '80s because it was clear to me it was the future. Unfortunately it wasn't clear to the IBM executive team. In any case, I managed to change from a leader in a big mainframe programming group to a personal computer programming group. I went through similar transitions, primarily by self-education, in switching from PC programming styles to client/server programming styles, and again when moving to Internet Programming in the early '90s, and again when the programming style became more browser focused.

The degree is never outdated as the fundamentals always remain the same. However, like a medical degree, you need to spend a lot of time keeping your skills up to date with new technologies and theories.

I don't see what skipping on ROTC and enrolling in OCS buys you as you still have the 4 years of service to get through and the need to keep your skills up to date never changes. Also, after your service, you will most likely be "selling" your leadership skills with a technical base in computer science... or more aptly some form of engineering. I consider myself a software engineer, but I would have to say I think like an engineer. Again, the fundamentals don't change and you use them to guide you no matter the technology or even the field of engineering as far as I'm concerned.
 
Totally agree. I spent many years at Microsoft doing Network Infrastructure and Security. Learning never stops !
 
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