Earning A Graduate Degree as 18-Series

[Marauder06]

SF members of the board-

A member who has been around for a while PM'd me and asked a series of questions about earning a graduate degree while a member of an SF team. In my discussion with him, it was clear to me that he has a plan, he did his homework before asking, and he realizes that that the 50m target is getting prepared for and accepted into Special Forces and that anything that follows is gravy.

That said, as someone who was neither enlisted nor SF, I feel unqualified to address his questions. So I'm throwing them out here in the hopes one or more of you can answer them. Please keep in mind that these questions are taken completely out of context from the message exchanges that preceded them.

Thank you for your time.



1. Are there options that allow one to get a graduate degree as enlisted? I know they exist on the officer side.

2. Due to the military system for officer development. What would be the options as an SF officer? For example, Captain-team time. Major- Staff or career broadening I believe. And so one from there.

3. I was hoping you could take what I just told you and possibly give me some advice as to schooling or a great reading list

 

[x SF med]

From working with and watching others on the current OpTempo... on-line courses work best, but mission and training take precedence over everything. Maybe after getting on a Team and spending a year or two or three, see if there are openings at Co, Bn, or Grp that'll 9-5 him so he has less of a chance of getting shot off to a far corner of the world.

 

[TLDR20]

My question would be how much education does the person currently have, and what MOS are they pursuing. If they already have a bachelors I know many guys who got Masters while on teams. But it like anything else is a time commitment and that time has to come from somewhere, either time off, time with the family, or your work will suffer. It is possible though.

You can also check out this .

 

[Dienekes]

After receiving the endorsement for my questions from Marauder, I feel more comfortable asking. I didn't want to portray myself as unfocused on the 25m target by looking so far down the line. With that said, I do enjoy looking at the options available to best prepare for the future.

1. I should have worded it differently, but the question has more to do with timing. As I understand it, I believe at some point, everyone must take a break from time on a team and generally spend that time as an instructor or in other things that I don't know about. I was wondering if there was an opportunity or program that one can apply to for enlisted soldiers to pursue graduate education during this so called "break"? I do not believe that I would necessarily wish to pursue a graduate degree while serving on a team because I would want to put my entire devotion to the team.

2. The SF officer question, which TLDR answered with the website(thank you by the way), also has to do with options and is a contributing factor to completing college right now should I ever decide that I wish to pursue that route. That is more of a way, way down the road type question that was purely speculatory.

To answer TLDR's question, I am getting a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering. Due to scheduling stuff and rigid prerequisites, I am taking a fifth year, and with that extra time, I decided to declare a second major in political science and minor in economics. The graduate schooling I am interested in would be international relations, economics, or defense-related. Also, the option of getting the degree before enlisting is not off the table because I have found a few one year programs that I am interested in. Again, I would like to reiterate that I am fully focused on the 25m target. I just like to know the options available to me so that I can make the best decisions regarding my future. Thank you for the help.

 

[Salt USMC]

As far as question #2 is concerned, it can be done. One of the students in my language class is an 18A enrolled in a similar program as the one you did, @Marauder06.

 

[Viper1]

SF members of the board-

1. Are there options that allow one to get a graduate degree as enlisted? I know they exist on the officer side.
Yes, there are. The link @TLDR20 posted is a good overview of SF opportunities. One of my Soldiers is starting NDU in the fall, as a relatively junior E-7. It is possible, and he paid his dues during ODA time and staff time. Others earned their degrees online. Norwich and American Military University seemed to be the two most popular programs. Additionally, there are other options available at local schools e.g. Fayetteville State at Bragg and Colorado Tech or UCCS near Ft. Carson. Bottom line: guys get it done, take a break if needed, and tailer the grad program to their interests and future professional fields.

I'll answer the other two later.

 

[Dienekes]

Thank you all for your help, it is sincerely appreciated.