Starting a Life After the Coast Guard

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dpweldo

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Oct 23, 2017
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I am very excited to receive an appointment to the USCGA, but it is becoming a difficult decision for me to make. I wanted to serve in the Coast Guard since I was young, and will do so wholeheartedly. But another passion of mine is Space Exploration. I am the top of my class at high school, and extremely passionate about Space Exploration, especially now, when breakthroughs are becoming daily, and I was accepted to some of the top aerospace and astrophysics schools in the country. I feel like I would be giving all that up to join the USCG, and vice versa. So really I have three questions.

Is it difficult to start a new education and career, and lead in the field of Aerospace and astrophysics and get a Masters or PhD, and to become a major contributor after 10-11 years in the Coast Guard?
Examples people you know would be appreciated.

Also, are the courses and opportunities I will be taking at USCGA mechanical engineering be comparable in terms of insight and enrichment to those of schools like Purdue, Stanford, or Notre Dame?

Are there opportunities to learn space exploration at USCGA, and will the Coast Guard let me pursue a post graduate after the academy, that is focused on Astronautical or Astrophysics topic, even if I pay for it?
 
I studied Aerospace at a top engineering school before coming here, and am currently Naval Architecture (which you may find is more similar to Aero than mechanical is).

1) Don't know any examples personally, but a degree in engineering at an undergrad level is in problem-solving. It can be broadly applied. Additionally, many workers in the aero field are mechanical engineers, even at the masters/doctorate level. I would also mention the two Coast Guard Astronauts to have gone to space.

2) Any service academy engineering program is bound to be top in the country so you will get a great and enriching education. I attended Rensselaer Polytechnic and feel that I am getting just as good of an education here, and certainly more personal attention from teachers.

3) As far as I know, what you do with your own money and time is really not the concern of the Coast Guard as long as you aren't breaking any rules - and furthering your education should not be. There are opportunities for Master's paid for by the CG, but they focus more on Aeronautical than Astronautical.

Any questions, let me know.
 
1. Let's break this down into a simpler question, can someone who has served in the Coast Guard (or military in general) start and be successful in their second career? The answer to this is absolutely! Ten years may seem like a long time but, when you break it down, most officers who get out around the ten year mark are only 32, that's young! It's important to mention that your experiences in the Coast Guard, including job responsibilities and leadership opportunities, are extremely marketable to the outside world. Those who have left military service have gone on to be successful in the private and public sector. One of my mentors is in a VP position with a powerful Fortune 500 company, a job he was offered right as he left the Coast Guard. I don't have an example specific to the criteria you have given but, the point is, it's all about what the individual can do to try and get to where they want to be.

2. I would argue that an SA education is on par with the schools you have listed, regardless of the major. USCGA focuses on STEM and, as a result, engineers are give the opportunity to explore a vast range of projects. The senior year capstone project often had cadets working on projects specifically designed and sometimes implemented for use by the active duty fleet. Not being an engineer myself, I'll hope someone chimes in to give their full cadet and AD experience in that field.

3. Joining the Aviation Club could help you there. When I was a cadet, the club hosted a video conference with Captain Burbank, one of two CG astronauts, while he was up in the International Space Station. It was amazing to be able to hear his perspective, ask questions, and see what it was like to be up there in space. That being said, I don't believe there are specific courses for space exploration as the CG is often more concerned with exploring the seas. ;) EKB is correct in that the CG doesn't care what you study on your own time and with your own dime as long as it doesn't affect your ability to do the job they're paying for. The CG does offer Tuition Assistance for Graduate Schools, right now they pay for 75% of a course up to $350 per credit hour. There are three aeronautical programs paid for by the CG: Aeronautical Engineering - Avionics/Project Management, Aeronautical Engineering - Structures, and Aeronautical Engineering - Master of Science in Industrial Administration. One of these seems to have helped Captain Burbank: https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/daniel-c-burbank/biography

The other CG astronaut was Bruce Melnick, who spent 20 years in the CG, became an astronaut, and then finished out his working life as a VP for Boeing Florida Operations at the JFK Space Center.

The point is, you need to decide what is best for you. I personally believe you could do both, but if your desire to delve into space outweighs your desire to serve in the CG to the point where you would prefer to enter the field right out of college, then attending USCGA is not for you. That being said, you have time. Your life is really just beginning and you don't have to have a 20 year plan right now. Choose what feels right to you.
 
Wow these are excellent advices. Dpweldo. In addition to you can’t go wrong either way advice here and the promise of excellent education you can receive at USCGA is to consider both the culture and life style. And focus!

Each colleges and USCGA will offer you different experience. If you choose USCGA you should get a military experience in college with a world class education. If you choose Stanford (just guessing this is one of your choice) you will get Stanford and a liberal campus experience and you being a Stanford student first before living a life as a Cadet. So the two are very different even though you will get first rate education either way.

And lastly, this is important to you and to your parents, the cost. No matter how you’re funded, you will pay something at Stanford and nothing at USCGA. If you are funded by ROTC, you still pay room and board. So cost is another dimension to think about.

Also distraction vs more attraction. At USCGA you will not be distracted away from you Core Studies and focus in becoming a USCG Officer and exploration in it’s career. At Stanford, you can be offered more things to consider even not to pursue CG as a career and try many other career options even away from Aerospace. So that’s another thing to consider. Focus!

My son has an Appointment to USCGA. He’s considering 3 things. He loves what the CG offers in education and career. But he’s thinking if he wants to do missions that are focused around life saving and law enforcement or national defense and Cyber Intelligence. He also has Appointment to USNA. It’s a very tough choice. It is likely he wants to commission into ships first so he will get that experience at either service and get to command faster in the CG.

Another dimension he’s considering is the culture and the military experience and that’s college vs Academy. So far he wants the military experience and does not like the liberal college culture. But likes more opportunities given to him academically and during summer breaks to intern in the private and government sectors.

Don’t forget you always have grad schools and career schools and can pursue Masters and PhD. College is only half your education.

So to summarize there are goodies in both bags but you can’t take them all and have to choose in 30 days.

So follow your best educated instincts. They usually don’t fail you. You have many great choices and that makes it harder!
 
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