I'll be beginning my 3rd year of college this fall as an Economics/Intl Relations double major with a French minor. Over the last year or so I've come to both appreciate and take pride in my country a lot more, and the idea of serving in the military after graduating has entered my mind. I plan on doing a fair amount of research, talking to recruiters, people I know who have served, and researching options, but thought this would be a good place to start to get some information/opinions.
First, about me. I have a 4.0 right now and honestly think I can keep it through graduation, might end up with a 3.9 but either way my grades are solid. I attend a large, state school on a full academic scholarship, am president of our club cross team, and have held smaller positions within my fraternity. Eventually I plan on going to grad school for a Masters, most likely something related to Foreign Affairs or Diplomacy, although pursuing the economics side of my studies is also an option. I am currently doing an internship abroad and will either do another internship or a study abroad next Spring.
About joining the military, these are my main motivations (in order of importance)
1. Serving my country: Like I said, I really am proud of my country and would love to give something back. I don't think I'm quite at the "jump on a grenade give my life" level, but I still consider myself more patriotic than most.
2. Future career: I can easily see myself working for the Dept of State/Defense, the CIA, or some other related gov. agency, and am assuming having served would be a big help in starting out.
3. Grad School: I'm pretty set on going to a top graduate program. I have no problem going 100k in debt to achieve this, but if I could avoid the debt that would be ideal. Also, if I applied after having served I'm thinking time in the military would greatly strengthen my application.
4. Opportunity to travel: I would love to see more of the world and feel like the military is one of the best ways to do so
Now my Reservations
1. Individuality/problems with authority: I've always had problems with people telling me what to do, goes back to some psychological stuff that isn't really important here and is contributed to by something of a superiority complex (trying to be honest here). I know the military is all about doing what your told, following orders, and forgetting about being an individual, and I'm not sure how/if I would be able to adjust to this
2. Opportunity Costs: There are a lot of other appealing opportunities I would be passing on. Doing Teach for America is pretty high on my list, as I feel like it would be an extremely amazing/rewarding/challenging experience, and talking to people I feel like I would have a good chance of getting in. I would also consider teaching English in France, going straight to grad school, or taking some time to travel on my own.
I know very little about the different branches and what each offers, but based on the very little that I know my initial ranking of which branch to join would be 1) Air Force 2)Marines 3)Army 4)Navy.
Like I said, I know next to nothing about the whole process, and any advice would be greatly appreciated. Anyone who's served, would serving fulfill my motivations? Are my reservations legitimate? What could I expect going in as a college graduate with good grades and (some) leadership experience? Am I crazy to be considering this at all? 2 Years ago I never would have even considered it, but learning more about our history, seeing other cultures, and thinking of the sacrifices of past soldiers (visiting Omaha beach might have been the most powerful experience of my life) has all combined to lead me to my present position.