SubVetE5
Member
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2020
- Messages
- 11
There are plenty of smart folks lurking here with plenty of sage advice here, but here's my $.02. By the way, Capt MJ is the smartest guy in the room. He has more to offer than I do.
URL is the way to go at your age/station in life. Many lawyers, both in and out of the military do just fine, but for many, it's a grind. Lawyers generally have no more career satisfaction than most others. I very much enjoy my life as a lawyer, but it is much more stressful and demanding than anything else I have done.
The direct and indirect benefits of being a URL are hard to quantify, but it makes for a great start, even if you want to be a lawyer later on. I met with a fellow lawyer (and judge) earlier today. We both are former enlisted guys that went to college and law school after the navy. By generally recognized objective measures, we are both successful in our profession. We both concur that our time in the navy was 100% beneficial and made a great foundation for us. Neither of us would go back and take a different path, except for possibly considering other opportunities that the military had to offer that we didn't realize even existed.
As for costs, even if you have unlimited financial resources, NROTC is efficient. You get help with college and you have a good job waiting for you at the end. It's incredible efficient, whether you intend to be a lifer or move on to law, business, etc.
I'm so sold on military service, I've encouraged both of my boys (ages 17 and 18) to pursue military service, enlisted or officer. Those with the requisite aptitude should pursue URL, and consider law, etc., only after demonstrating success as a URL, or after being a super-savvy enlisted guy.
JAG vs. URL: I had a tangential role as a lawyer/adviser in one very messy navy legal drama that was a big news story 10 years ago. It resulted in several flags getting sacked and several 0-6's joining the sack club. I experienced a real truth: JAGS work for URLs. URLs run the navy, not lawyers.
URL is the way to go at your age/station in life. Many lawyers, both in and out of the military do just fine, but for many, it's a grind. Lawyers generally have no more career satisfaction than most others. I very much enjoy my life as a lawyer, but it is much more stressful and demanding than anything else I have done.
The direct and indirect benefits of being a URL are hard to quantify, but it makes for a great start, even if you want to be a lawyer later on. I met with a fellow lawyer (and judge) earlier today. We both are former enlisted guys that went to college and law school after the navy. By generally recognized objective measures, we are both successful in our profession. We both concur that our time in the navy was 100% beneficial and made a great foundation for us. Neither of us would go back and take a different path, except for possibly considering other opportunities that the military had to offer that we didn't realize even existed.
As for costs, even if you have unlimited financial resources, NROTC is efficient. You get help with college and you have a good job waiting for you at the end. It's incredible efficient, whether you intend to be a lifer or move on to law, business, etc.
I'm so sold on military service, I've encouraged both of my boys (ages 17 and 18) to pursue military service, enlisted or officer. Those with the requisite aptitude should pursue URL, and consider law, etc., only after demonstrating success as a URL, or after being a super-savvy enlisted guy.
JAG vs. URL: I had a tangential role as a lawyer/adviser in one very messy navy legal drama that was a big news story 10 years ago. It resulted in several flags getting sacked and several 0-6's joining the sack club. I experienced a real truth: JAGS work for URLs. URLs run the navy, not lawyers.