College credits in the Navy

[Demo]

I aspire to become an aviator in the Air Force however I come to this forum because I need some advice on getting a college diploma while in the Navy. If I enlisted in the Navy how many college credits can I hope to complete within 4 years time? I am considering joining up, getting my diploma, and getting out and commissioning in the Air Force. I already talked to a recruiter about this and he said it'd be more then possible to earn all 120 credits before my enlistment is up but you know how they are and I can't really tell whether he's just feeding it to me or not. I also did some searching around here and I read that I can complete 1 academic year within 4-6 years. I think I am misunderstanding something, 1 academic year is 30 credits, I don't believe it'd take me 6 years to complete 30 credits. So what is the deal? Nice site by the way, not as nice as the AF site but... lol Just kidding

 

[makana]

Okay, seriously, whose alias is this? Let me guess... you want to be an Air Force pilot vice a Navy pilot because your chances of flying jets is greater?

 

[Demo]

Let me guess... you want to be an Air Force pilot vice a Navy pilot because your chances of flying jets is greater?

Where did I say I want to fly jets?

 

[Kycntryboy]

*pulls Demo aside and whispers* ....everybody on the site is a little touchy when it comes to ...*looks both ways* ...jets in the Navy.
It's been a long running problem on this site, personally I don't think anyone would take the time to come up with a fake location. Honestly I don't see anything wrong with your question Demo, wish I could answer but then I would just be making crap up. I will ask though is why you would want to enlist in the Navy and not the Air Force?

 

[Demo]

Thanks Kycntryboy.

I am not really aware of what's been happening around here with the whole jet thing, but I can assure you I am not trying to stir anything up, I just need some advice and thought this would be a good place to ask. Back to your question, I am considering Navy over the Air Force because I heard I have a greater chance of finishing my diploma there. If I get deployed with the AF I may not always have time for college but in the Navy if I'd be on the boat all the time so I would have more opportunity to either log-on the internet or take some classes with your instructors. At least that's what I've been told.

 

[Kycntryboy]

Well you have come to the right place (although for the right gouge it sometimes takes a couple days for the right people to see it), if I had to guess I would guess that it depends on what you duty is. Some things I would suspect you would be on call 24-7, with other things it would be like a 9 to 5 (have to talk with a recruiter about which ones are a 9-5 type). Because me thinks that might be better because if I understand you correctly you do want to take classes, so you would want to take them at night lets say. With the Air Force I know of the "Space and Missiles" billet for officers where its I believe a week on, week off type thing (someone please correct me if I am wrong). With that you could devote one week to the Air Force next week to school.
Sorry if I'm not much help.
http://www.airforce.com/education/enlisted/ea_comPrograms.php
http://www.navy.com/education/pursueyourdegree
https://www.navycollege.navy.mil/

 

[Kycntryboy]

In all honesty though, if I were you I would talk to an officer recruiter I feel that they would be more candid with you. I have a great Master Cheif that is an officer recruiter and I don't think he would spoon-feed you, if you want his email or phone number just pm me.

 

[smittyrunr]

Enlisting in the Navy because you think you will be on a ship and able to take classes via the internet is probably not the greatest idea. When you are deployed, there will (generally) be the option to take classes, but you will spend plenty of time at sea not on deployment and without a college instructor. If you are on a smaller ship, you opportunities will be more limited than on a carrier. And in either case, internet conectivity at sea is just not that fast or reliable, plus you will most likely be sharing a computer with others. Things will obviously be different if you are shore based.

It's great that you want to get an education, and I assume, serve your country. Agree with Ky- go talk to an officer recruiter. Good Luck

 

[Rg9]

A guy I know enlisted as a nuke in the Navy since his recruiter told him he could fly F-18's in a few years if he did (no joke). Probably told him he'd have to "play his cards right," or something like that.

Anyway, I don't mean to rip on recruiters, but find someone who did exactly what you want to do, and then copy what they did. This site is a good place to look, btw. My guess would be that you could get the same amount of college credit in either Navy or AF (since a lot will probably be through correspondance courses).

 

[gaijin6423]

Also, it is possible to earn college credit for military schools/OJT. I have something like 124 credits floating around in the electric world from my four years of enlistment. Unfortunately, most of these credits (in my case) would only apply to an associate's. There are some jobs, though, where these credits can be applied to a bachelor's (I'm thinking mainly of the nukes here), but you'd have to dig deeper than what the recruiter tells you for that.

 

[Brett327]

Also, it is possible to earn college credit for military schools/OJT. I have something like 124 credits floating around in the electric world from my four years of enlistment. Unfortunately, most of these credits (in my case) would only apply to an associate's. There are some jobs, though, where these credits can be applied to a bachelor's (I'm thinking mainly of the nukes here), but you'd have to dig deeper than what the recruiter tells you for that.

Yeah, with very few exceptions (like nukes) credits for Navy experience don't really do anything for you if you're after a real degree.

Brett

 

[Steve Wilkins]

I'm gonna be a bit preemptive here. If you're gonna enlist, you need to come in with your eyes at least partly open. Meaning, you shouldn't expect to get in and immediately get right to work on your degree. There will be other priorities for you to worry about, especially as a new sailor onboard the ship or in the squadron. While I can't speak for the squadron life, on a ship you will need to be concentrating on not only getting your job done but also getting the various quals completed. Additionally, most ships in the navy are not aircraft carriers which means they do not have the same internet connectivity resources allocated to them that carriers do. What would this mean for you? Well, if you go to the surface fleet (ships), you will most likely find yourself on a frigate, cruiser, or destroyer. All of this is not to say that you will not be able to accomplish your goals. It just means you need to understand that your number one priority would not be to get your degree. Your number one priority will never be getting your degree unless you are selected for a commissioning program and the navy sends you to college to do just that.

 

[Crowbar]

I couldn't agree more with Steve. Getting a degree in any service will take much more than four years, unless, like he said, you are in a commissioning program. Not to mention, the 'credits' you get for your schools and boot camp are worth less than the puke you find behind a dumpster.

Besides, am I appalled that one of the big concerns here is which service to choose to finish a degree the fastest? If finishing college in record time is the goal, the best way to do it is to just go to college. Hands down the fastest way. So if your desired endstate is to graduate in four or less years, you really shouldn't even consider joining any branch of the Armed Forces to facilitate that. Believe me, I was in for eight years before I got into a commissioning program and in that time had finished ~60 hours.

 

[Brett327]

I couldn't agree more with Steve. Getting a degree in any service will take much more than four years, unless, like he said, you are in a commissioning program. Not to mention, the 'credits' you get for your schools and boot camp are worth less than the puke you find behind a dumpster.

Besides, am I appalled that one of the big concerns here is which service to choose to finish a degree the fastest? If finishing college in record time is the goal, the best way to do it is to just go to college. Hands down the fastest way. So if your desired endstate is to graduate in four or less years, you really shouldn't even consider joining any branch of the Armed Forces to facilitate that. Believe me, I was in for eight years before I got into a commissioning program and in that time had finished ~60 hours.

Concur w/ Steve and Crowbar. If you wanna get a degree, get yourself a combination of some schollarships, loans and a job. The military isn't designed to be a support system for your higher educations goals. Being in the military means dedicating 100% of your efforts at being good at your job. Anything less will get you the kind of attention which will impede or prevent getting a commission.

Brett

 

[The Chief]

Here to tell you it is possible to get a degree in 4 years while in the Navy. Had no social life, no leave, not much sleep, carried a full academic load while holding my own vs-a-vs shipmates, albeit 9 to 5 type job. Was E-7, that helped. Had been in just over 6 years and had been to about every electronic school the Navy had, A School, B School and lots of C schools. Got credit for a lot of the ET/FT type stuff, almost a full year, actually ran labs for the University and got credit for that. Knew more real world stuff that most of the Profs.

Steve is right on target. Do not expect to be able turn on a degree program right after you come in.