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Science Education and Careers
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Military for an undergrad
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[QUOTE="Joshy, post: 6584591, member: 586510"] I did not do the military, but it was a route I considered. I took the test and all and it was a very difficult decision for me. I don't deny that graduating free of debt is desirable or ideal, but is some debt a deal-breaker? I personally see 5 years as a lot of valuable time it might be worth considering the opportunity cost. There's a general phrase I like to repeat often especially in my engineering career, that "being cheap inherently costs more", but I think it applies to so many things including education. The reason I like that phrase is because a lot of people (myself included) are lulled into lower costs, but there might be indirect or higher order details to consider that could end up costing more later down the road. You're seeing an upfront paid off education that could save you let's stipulate $100k. What about 5 years of a career that pays you $80k each year... you usually get raises typically at least a cost of living adjustment, likely a promotion within those years, a stronger network in your field... and you'll have 5 years of experience when that's done. My phrase still applies to how cheap I tried to be during my undergraduate career, and there was a price I paid for it too. I lived in apartments that were further away from the university (often cheaper) and had roommates, and some of them snored... frequently late to class and very tired especially on really bad snoring days. The time I spent working at part-time jobs and internships did eat into some of my studying time which was not helpful for the many classes that had curved grades. Almost all of my part-time jobs and internships paid, and I was fortunate enough to score some interesting ones relevant to my major. I was not the most stellar student and did not get a very competitive grade, but for me... everything seemed to work out maybe just luck and engineering major... I consider myself to have a competitive or desirable career at least I like it, and I'm also going to graduate school and I'm pretty happy about the university I'm going to. Anyhow all of that above... I felt like I was in your shoes once and chose one path, and so that was my take. I still think about what it would have been like the other way around, but so far this has turned out okay I'm not regretful. [/QUOTE]
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