What Does A Soldier get out of College?

From The Griffon, Vol. 28.4, Fall 2004

A college degree represents years of hard work and advanced education. Graduates end up with initials such as BA or PhD after their names and expensive pieces of parchment on their walls.

In the military, however, the value of a degree may be ambiguous. Service in the Army represents years of hard work and training in a career. Soldiers wear initials such as SSGT or MAJ before their names, and awards and citations adorn walls and uniforms.

Nevertheless, there are several compelling reasons for soldiers to earn degrees.

Promotions and Money
College opens up the door to more money, both during and after a military career.

In the military, a college degree brings unique promotion potential: the eligibility to become a commissioned officer. If you ask an enlisted soldier about the difference between the officer and enlisted ranks, the answer will probably be that officers have earned a college degree. Although the answer may be simplistic and overlook many other distinctions, it is a fact that is hard to ignore.

In the Reserve, I have seen many people enlist to gain experience and money while they attend college. They decide to continue their military careers and pursue a commission. One day, an E-4 becomes an O-1.

Have you ever looked at the pay differential between those two ranks? How about the pay difference between a Sergeant First Class with 16 years in the Army compared with a Lieutenant Colonel with the same number of years in service?

A commission is not the only promotion that a college degree invites. In the junior enlisted ranks, soldiers earn points towards promotion for college courses. As a soldier ascends through the ranks, however, promotions become less a game of numbers and more a matter of convincing a board of decision makers that the soldier deserves to advance. Off duty education and college degrees demonstrate intellectual curiosity, time management skills, and an effort to improve oneself—traits that the Army seeks to promote.

In the civilian world, promotions and money are linked to education as well, and rather significantly. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, an employee with a four-year degree earns about $20,000 per year more than someone with a high school diploma.

Jobs that you are technically qualified for because of your military training may require college degrees, or you may be hired at a higher paying level than you would have without a degree. In any case, the obvious, tangible reward for college is money.

Proficiency
On a related note, the Army wants educated soldiers for a reason: they perform better.

Imagine a soldier in a technical MOS who works with computers for the Army. If that soldier earns a college degree in computer science from a reputable institution, the Army benefits. Not only is the soldier better able to work in her field, but she can bring the lessons and knowledge of the classroom into her workplace and share those lessons with other soldiers.

Proficiency is not restricted to technical fields. College courses involve studying, writing, and communicating. Soldiers who attend college get experience in skills that are valuable for leaders in all MOSs.

The same holds true for commissioned officers. One way to imagine the relationship between commissioned officers and enlisted soldiers is as teachers to students. An officer instructs soldiers, technically and professionally.

Advanced degrees—such as master's and doctorates—often require students to exercise teaching skills. An officer who returns to the classroom to earn a master's degree may be required to assist a professor in teaching an undergraduate course. Thus, an officer can increase technical knowledge and improve his ability to communicate the information to his soldiers.

It is easier to enjoy a job that you are good at. College can increase your effectiveness as a soldier, and you can enjoy your time in the Army as a result.

Challenge and Satisfaction
Perhaps some of the best reasons to attend college are the least tangible. Serving in the military can be both satisfying and challenging, but sometimes soldiers want to do more. They want to explore and conquer new challenges. College provides the opportunity to push boundaries and discover limits.

College courses are challenging because students are expected to learn independently. Unlike in high school, where everything you need to know is force-fed to you by teachers, college courses require that you bring your own motivation and initiative to complete the course requirements under your own steam.

A history course at a university, for example, may ask you to research and write a five-page paper on early U.S. History. Although professors will help you if you need it, it is up to you to choose your subject, find your research sources, and produce the paper. No one will hound you about getting your work done or dictate when you must work. It is up to you to do it.

The point of college is to push your boundaries, and you will have the opportunity to explore subjects you never imagined in a high school setting. The range of subjects gives you a chance to challenge yourself in the classroom.

If you work in a Military Police field, you can certainly study criminal justice, but you can also study philosophy, physics, political science, or phlebotomy. You can expand what you already know and discover new interests.

College is a "safe" environment to experiment. Lives are not on the line, and the worst thing that can come from a failed experiment is usually a bad grade. Thus, you are free to test yourself with few consequences, meet challenges, and earn the satisfaction of having pushed yourself.

Changing the trajectory of your life
Most students do not really understand what education is all about. They go to college because they finished high school and that is just what people do when they finish high school.

But college is about changing yourself and your life—and people who have served in the military should recognize that feeling.

If you picture the path of your life, it heads in a definite direction. When you decided to join the military, your life changed. You suddenly had a new range of experiences and skills that shifted the path of your life and your perspective.

You understand things that many civilians do not. For example, you may hear people talking about the unbearable cold in New England and remember "real" cold from days in the field in Korea. You also have opportunities that civilians do not. When you go to a job interview and spot a citation for an Army Achievement Medal hanging on the office wall, you know that you have a common bond. Your life is different than it would have been if you had not decided to enter the service.

Going to college has the same affect on a life. It gives you new perspective that will help you personally and professionally throughout your life. It adds to who you are, what you know, and how you interact in society.

College is not all about money and proficiency—some of the best things that college can do are subtle and life changing.

Sean-Michael Green is a consultant, speaker, and author on the topic of higher education and the military. He is a former enlisted Marine; a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Pennsylvania, and Cornell University; and the author of Marching to College: Turning Military Experience into College Admissions (Random House).