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5 Reasons to Get Your Bachelors After the Military

Hi everyone and welcome (or welcome back) to the blog “Soldier to Student”. This post is going to be 5 reasons why you should get your bachelors degree after getting out of the military!


  1. Higher Earnings: Those with college degrees statistically make more money and are more financially stable than those without college degrees. Below I am going to provide statistics from two different sources and let the numbers talk for themselves. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 

  • “Those without a high school diploma had median weekly earnings of $721

  • High school grads with no college had median weekly earnings of $905

  • Those with some college or associate degree had median weekly earnings of $1,012

  • Those with a bachelor’s degree had median weekly earnings of $1,499

  • Those with an advanced degree had median weekly earnings of $1,864”


    In addition, according to the Associations of Public Land-Grant Universities

            (APLU), 

  • “Typical earnings for bachelor’s degree holders are $40,500 or 86 percent higher than those whose highest degree is a high school diploma.

  • 87% of bachelor’s degree holders report financial wellbeing, 20 percentage points higher than groups with any other level of education.

  • Median lifetime earnings are $1.2 million higher for bachelor’s degree holders.”


  1. More Job Opportunities: Having a college education ensures a larger chance of employment as well as more job and career advancement opportunities. A statistic from APLU (a source mentioned in reason one) states, “College graduates are half as likely to be unemployed as their peers whose highest degree is a high school diploma.” Having a college degree can open more doors for you when looking for work.


  1. Education Benefits: By utilizing veteran education benefits you can go to school for FREE. According to the Education Data Initiative, “The average cost of attendance for a student living on campus at an in-state public 4-year institution is $27,146 per year or $108,584 over 4 years.” College is not cheap but veterans who served more than three years honorably have access to the GI Bill which will cover tuition and fees.


  1. Transition from Military to Civilian: Going from the military to civilian life can be very stressful and attending college could be a good option to help you transition. Universities have a plethora of social and educational programs that veterans could utilize to adapt back to civilian life. The college I attend has multiple military/veteran clubs or organizations so there are opportunities to connect with others also in your position.


  1. Solid Foundation: After leaving the military there is an instilled sense of discipline and maturity which can give you a strong foundation for starting and completing school. I personally found the military made me more responsible which is a good trait to have when working towards your degree. In addition, those who served also already have some college credit from the military. This can help to give you a stronger platform for getting started on your degree.

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