For many you will never use your major in the military and even if you only stay for the obligated 4 yrs. you may find yourself needing that grad degree since you will be a little rusty in your career field.
For ex: most engineering majors even in the AF will not work as engineers regarding their career field. Bullet was an engineer major and never once worked on anything that was engineering related.
Did it help him? Yes, because as a flyer it is good to have that physics/science background, but it had no impact on what he did in his military career. Additionally, as stated many do not know what they want to do at 27 when they are 18. For AF if you want to be a Test Pilot you are required to have an engineering degree. This is why many opt that path.
When I stated watch out about foreign languages, I was speaking for AFROTC. The stipend is great to have, but if that language is heavily sought after and they are giving you a stipend, they also have the right to say TAG YOUR IT YOU WILL BE A LINGUIST. Doesn't matter what you want to be the old adage is true...you serve at the needs of the military.
There was a friend of mine who's DS decided to major in Arabic. His ultimate goal was to fly. They were thrilled that he got the additional stipend and believed as a flier this would be an asset to them. The AF decided it was indeed an asset, one they wanted on the ground and not in the air. He was forced to go non-rated.
Do the major you love, not because it will be easy, not because it looks better, but because it is what you desire.
Remember that eventually you will have a 2nd career, be it in 4 yrs or 24 yrs. The people who are the happiest are the ones that enjoy their job. The people who burn out, burn out because they hate it!
educateme said:
my son's major (as of now: he just started his freshman year) is international relations with Arabic as a minor.
Is this something that will work against him (meaning, the international relations major part)?
Flip the question around...what would hurt him more majoring in engineering with a 2.8 gpa or in International Relations with a 3.4 gpa? That's not even talking about the emotional toll of majoring in an area for 4 yrs that you totally despise! I am not endorsing the "easier" route thought that people perceive. I am saying that if he has entered international relations and will only enter engineering due out of fear and OML, it can backfire.
However, as aglahad has stated what nobody knows due to budget cuts is if they will change the OML process regarding points given for certain career fields. You can't 2nd guess your decision for the next 4 yrs because all you will do is make yourself go insane at best.
Remember if you are a scholarship recipient you made a deal with them to graduate by 2016 for non-engineering so if you change majors too late in the game, you are also risking your scholarship. Yes, they have been known to allow cadets to extend the scholarship, but that is not something I would take for granted with this current budget outlook.
The one beauty of the AROTC system compared to AFROTC is that it is easier to change majors. Since AFROTC gives @85% of their scholarships to tech majors, they usually have a hard and fast line that they will not allow you to go from tech to non-tech and keep the scholarship. They look at that as the cadet tried to game the system for the scholarship.