Twenty or so years ago the job market was competitive and tight at its best. Len and LaCarole began contemplating their career goals while dating in college. LaCarol's father, a retired senior Army Sergeant, offered her this advice, "Keep a duffle bag of options. The R.O.T.C. program is your opportunity to become an Army officer. You should go for it." She took his advice. Len had already joined the R.O.T.C. program. Both found that the professors of Military Science and other staff members were invaluable, comparable to those found at HBCUs. Both completed the R.O.T.C. program, thinking that a strategically, well thought out plan to use both their degrees and the R.O.T.C. program would eventually lead them to self-fulfilling and profitable lifestyles. Their years of service in the United States Army challenged them to adopt the highest standards and values under very adverse situations. Their military environment depended on teamwork and peer socialization that were far greater than those of most fraternities and sororities.

In the Army, they received intense training, discipline, challenging assignments, comradeship, travel, responsibility, and were required to keep physically fit. The pressures to stay physically fit became a way of life. During their travels, both LaCarole and Len, now married, were able to stay together as a family, in assignments in Germany and "stateside." The Army supported their family orientation: Their children were born while they were on active duty.

• After 20 years in the Army as a personnel officer, LaCarole retired as a reserve officer. Len went on to work for a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company. He and LaCarole now run their own business, L&L Associates, on skills they acquired from their years in the military, from combat boots to high heels and coat and tie. The Army taught them persistence, determination, to reach out to others, a sense of hindsight and dependability, all qualities they use as entrepreneurs.

The Air Force

The Air Force is an outstanding career-option for collegians. You get to work in a very diverse work environment. The military bases within the Air Force offer safe, clean communities. The Air Force has a very clear path to promotion and achievement. It uses objective measurements to promote people instead of subjective ones and does not tolerate unlawful discrimination or sexual harassment. So it offers a work environment that is respectful of others. It has mandatory physical fitness programs and conducts random drug testing. Therefore, those of you who are already high achievers and who want to come into the United States Air Force will find an environment in which there are high standards and where you will be with other people who are physically fit and drug free.

Pay and Benefits: The Air Force has great pay and benefits, regular pay raises, and bonuses in certain career fields. For those collegians who want to live in those great Air Force base communities, the Air Force has free on-base housing and paid utilities. It offers 30 days vacation with pay a year–a pretty big benefit in and of itself–full medical and dental coverage for Air Force members and their families, as well as free prescription drugs. Members have access to tax-free shopping in shopping centers on Air Force instillations, and tax-free allowances for those in the United States Air Force. To top it all off, the Air Force has an incredible retirement system that has cost-of-living adjustments every year. So collegians have many very, very attractive reasons to come into the Air Force.

Programs in Continuing Education: The Air Force offers programs in continuing education. The education that you come into the United States Air Force with is just a start, never an end. Officers are encouraged to continue their education to the master's or doctorate degree level, and those who come into the enlisted ranks are strongly encouraged to get their associates, their bachelor's, and beyond, degrees as well. In fact, the Air Force does a very fine job of paying your college tuition so that you can continue to increase your education. In addition to education at traditional colleges and universities, the Air Force offers professional military education for both the enlisted and officer ranks. For the enlisted side, it has the Community College of the Air Force. Of all the services, the United States Air Force has the only accredited community college. If you go into basic training and into their technical training, you immediately earn college credits for that training. These credits apply toward an associate's degree.

Public Trust: Another reason you should come into the United States Air Force is that the American public has great trust and confidence in its personnel in the United States military. Take a look at the USA Today / CNN/Gallop Poll, their "Confidence in Institutions" poll. The military is consistently the only institution that ranks number one of all the institutions polled. Members of the military are very proud of the fact that they rank number one in the eyes of the American public in reference to their confidence in our institution. Time Magazine named all members of the armed forces as its person of the year, a tremendous award for members in uniform.

Air Force Core Values: The Air Force has a set of core values. These are values that you will hold extremely dear. Those core values are integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do. In some degree, these core values set the Air Force apart. For those of you collegians who have high standards and who are looking for a place to work that has high standards, the United States Air Force offers an excellent fit.

Education for Children: Those collegians considering a career in the United States Air Force would probably want to know what kind of educational system their children might have access to. The Department of Defense schools are as good as any schools that you can find anywhere in the nation. Air Force children score highly coming out of our DOD schools. For those of you considering a family, you may take comfort in knowing that your children will be well educated when you come into the United States Air Force.

Medical Professional Fields: The Air Force offers numerous opportunities across all medical professional fields, from nursing to pharmacists, hospital administration, medicine, dentistry, and many others. It has sign-on bonuses that range from $10,000 to $30,000 and a variety of special pays for professional areas. If offers loan repayments for students across a variety of the officer programs–not for medical alone–that provide up to one full year of loan repayment just shy of $30,000 in loan repayment. Any student interested in specific opportunities, specific officer programs, should contact a local Air Force recruiter or 1-800-423-USAF. Air Force.com has a tremendous amount of information that students can get online and do a little bit of research on their own. The Internet site will also give a section that allows any student to find a recruiter for their area, no matter where they are in the United States. Recruiters will be able to provide specific information about the opportunities that are available based on a particular student's background, desires, and career interests.

Opportunities in Nursing: For nurses in the Air Force, opportunities abound, as far as education. Nurses in the Air Force have many more opportunities than nurses elsewhere. A nurse may become a flight nurse or a nurse for the White House. The Air Force has numerous specialties and several different major-medical centers.

Becoming an Officer: There are three ways to become an officer. You may go to the Air Force Academy or you may go through an ROTC program or you may search out your Air Force recruiter to inquire about becoming an Air Force pilot, an Air Force navigator, or engineer, or about working on some of the most sophisticated, high-tech equipment that the Air Force offers. Then you would go through the officer's training school process, OTS. The Air Force recruiter will work with you, taking you through the application process. Once that is accomplished, a board selects individuals to come into the Air Force through the officer's training school program. The Air Force is looking for pilots, navigators, engineers, as well as doctors, dentists, and nurses.

Entry-Level Officer: Once you graduate from officer's training school, you are commissioned as an officer in the United States Air Force, as a 2nd lieutenant. Then you go to your first base assignment. In the realm of aviation, a newly commissioned officer is required to go to pilot training school or to navigator training school. These schools are quite extensive, about a year. Once you graduate from those schools, you then head off to specialize in a particular aircraft that you have been chosen to fly. The Air Force trains the finest pilots in the world, fantastic pilots for the United States Air Force. It trains navigators and air-battle managers. But, you may certainly become an engineer or computer science specialist who does marvelous work for the Air Force in a technical field.

Entry-Level Enlisted Side: If you want to come directly into the Air Force without a college degree but with some college hours, the enlisted side of the Air Force offers you excellent opportunities. To qualify for them, you have to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test (ASVAB) and score 40 or higher. Then you would go to the military processing station and pass a physical. If qualified mentally and physically, you then go to boot camp for basic training. That takes six weeks at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Once again, as soon as you enter basic training, you are enrolled in the Community College of the Air Force and you start getting college credit. You get four hours of college credit when you finish basic training. Once you finish basic training, you go to technical training. Once you complete that, you start learning your new job. There are over 150 jobs, 50 percent of which are mechanical job, for the Air Force. There are administrative and general jobs, which include medical, air traffic controllers, and electronics. Technical training programs offer college credit. Once your training is complete, you go to your first duty station for your on-the-job training. There, your career starts.

The Navy

The United States Navy has it all– cutting edge technology, advanced systems and millions of dollars of aviation, submarine, and surface hardware. Naval Officers are highly trained professionals who lead the way in achieving operational and management requirements. Navy Officers provide technical, scientific and managerial expertise in a wide variety of specialties at sea, in the air, and on the shore. The Navy can provide you a unique lifestyle that offers responsibility, adventure, and travel opportunities unparalleled in any civilian organization.

The Navy Collegiate Programs offer students interested in obtaining a commission in the United States Navy the ability to achieve this dream. The various programs that the Navy offers are: the Baccalaureate Degree Completion Program, the Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate Program, JAG Student Program, Chaplain Corps, the Nurse Corps, the Health Services Collegiate Program, and the Medical/Dental School Scholarship Program.

Baccalaureate Degree Completion Program (BDCP): This program is designed for students interested in Aviation, Supply Corps, Intelligence, Surface Warfare, Civil Engineering Corps, and Special Warfare. If selected for the program, you do not drill or wear a uniform while you complete your undergraduate degree. Upon acceptance into the program, you enjoy the full benefits of an active duty member, such as being able to earn up to $60,000 while working on a college degree. Medical and dental benefits are available, not only for the member but for their dependents as well.

Upon graduation, you will enter Officer Candidate School (OCS) where you will follow an intense curriculum of academic and military course work, and rigorous physical training. In 13 weeks, you will earn your commission as a Naval Officer. Following OCS, you will go to your primary warfare school in areas such as Pensacola, Florida (Aviation), Athens, Georgia (Supply Corps), or Newport, Rhode Island (Surface Warfare), to name a few.

Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate Program (NUPOC): The NUPOC program is the premier training program for the world's most accomplished engineers. Navy Nuclear engineers are known as the best of the best. If you become a members of this elite, team you are likely to lead highly trained junior officers and enlisted sailors while they maintain and operate the sophisticated nuclear propulsion plants, modern weaponry and sensor systems on board nuclear powered aircraft carriers and submarines. After mastering the engineering spaces and the theories behind nuclear power, junior officers learn more about communications, navigation, armament capabilities, and the tactical employment of the ship.

Throughout your time onboard ship, you are in charge of a division and are responsible for ensuring that the personnel in the division, as well as the equipment, run smoothly and that all required tasks are completed on time to ensure that the ship is mission ready as scheduled. These responsibilities provide unique experiences for you, now a young junior officer, in leadership, managing people, and managing time. These qualities will help you in either a career in the Navy or in the civilian sector. In addition, the amount of responsibility levied on your shoulders as even the most junior officer on board well exceeds that of most peers entering the civilian sector.

Nuclear Instructor: Navy Nuclear Power Training Command (NNPTC) is located in Goose Creek, South Carolina (a suburb of Charleston). Nuclear Power School instructors teach future nuclear trained officers and enlisted personnel the theory and fundamentals behind the design and operation of Naval nuclear propulsion plants. Nuclear Power School is a 24-week course in science and technology. It is designed to provide theoretical background knowledge of nuclear power. As a nuclear instructor, you would teach graduate and undergraduate level courses in math, physics, electrical engineering, heat transfer and fluid flow, chemistry, radiological controls, and reactor plant engineering.

Naval Reactors: Engineer Naval Reactors (NR) is located in Arlington, Virginia, and is a joint Department of Energy and Department of the Navy activity. About 100 of these engineers are junior naval officers with engineering or technical degrees. As a member of this Headquarters Group, you would be responsible for all aspects of the Nuclear Propulsion Program including the following:

• Advanced research and development in concepts, materials, design, and operation of nuclear propulsion plants
• Training and qualification of nuclear propulsion plant operators
• Reactor safety and radiological controls
• Development of equipment, procedures, and specifications for naval nuclear propulsion plants
• Overseeing the acquisition, construction, testing, and operation of propulsion plants
• Developing and implementing the operating, maintenance, and refueling procedures for these plants
• Resolving emergent fleet technical issues
• Decommissioning the nuclear propulsion plants when removed from service

JAG Student Program: Law school students are commissioned as ensigns in the Naval Reserve and are on inactive duty during law school. You may apply for the Student Program at any time after you receive your first-year grades. If you are selected and commissioned, you have no drill or uniform requirements, but you do accrue time-in-service credit for pay purposes from your commissioning date, are eligible for regular promotions while in law school, and may request active duty during summer breaks. After graduation and admission to the bar, you'll be promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTj.g.) with a three-year active duty obligation.

Navy law can take you into the courtroom within 120 days of beginning active duty as a JAG Corps officer. You gain practical experience at trial and appellate levels while being entrusted with full legal responsibility for your cases from the start of your career. As a new JAG Corps Officer, your most extensive experience will probably be in criminal law: pretrial investigations, trial and defense counsel and appeals. You'll be responsible for preparing and presenting cases, sharpening your skills in presenting evidence, examining and cross-examining witnesses, delivering oral arguments, and preparing legal briefs. You will draw upon these experiences throughout your career and may have the opportunity to become a judge.

Chaplain Candidate Program Officer Program: Any collegians currently enrolled in an accredited theological school may join the Navy Reserve as a commissioned officer. Between semesters, you can attend an orientation course, followed by on-the-job training with an experienced Navy Chaplain. During these periods, you will be paid as an officer. With the endorsement of your denomination, and after you graduate from the seminary and are ordained or licensed to the ministry, you are eligible for a commission as a Navy Chaplain. At that time, you may either continue in the reserves or enter active duty status.

Navy Nursing Programs: There are two ways by which those of you collegians interested in becoming U.S. Navy Nurses may do so. First, is the Nurse Commissioning Program (NCP), designed to assist the cost of tuition for juniors and seniors attending accredited nursing schools. Nursing students selected for NCP receive a $5,000 sign-in bonus and a monthly stipend of $500 for a maximum of 24 months while in nursing school. Upon graduation, they are commissioned as Ensigns in the U.S. Navy for a period of 5 years. The other commissioning route for a nurse is through Direct Accession (DA). Specifically, those seniors ready to graduate from an accredited nursing school may apply, and they must have a greater than 3.1 cumulative GPA and be physically qualified. DA candidates may enter the Navy and serve for a minimum of three years or, if they accept a $10,000 bonus, their service obligation is four years.

Medical/Dental School Scholar-ships: The Navy offers approximately 300 scholarships a year to attend medical school and 80 for dental school. It's one of the best programs around, imagine getting through Medical/Dental School debt free. The Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) offers you that kind of value. If you are selected for an HPSP scholarship, you will receive full tuition, as well as have all required books and equipment paid for. In addition, you will receive a monthly stipend of $1,185 to help with your living expenses. The only obligation during school is that you must attend a clerkship. Once you become a doctor or dentist, you will start your payback for the scholarship: one year of active duty service for each year of scholarship received.

The Navy's Health Services Collegiate Program (HSCP): The HSCP is your opportunity to complete an advanced degree in Environmental Health, Health Care Administration, Pharmacy, and various other health specialties while also earning over $54,000 in the process. Students selected for the HSCP will be placed in an active duty status, receiving full pay and allowances, which include free medical and dental benefits and access to base shopping facilities. While in the program, you are not required to wear uniforms or attend military class, but you must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA and pass the Navy Physical Readiness Test twice a year. Upon graduation, you will be commissioned into the Medical Service Corps and are obligated to serve three years of Active Duty in your respective specialty.

The Marine Corps

Young collegians of all backgrounds tend to gravitate towards the Marine Corps for a few different reasons. They are looking for a physically and mentally challenging experience in their lives. They are outgoing students who want opportunities to excel on both a personal and professional level, as well as being productive.

There are two options available, and they apply to males, females, and minorities:

Enlisted: Marines attend twelve weeks of recruit training at either Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, Calif., or Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C. Male recruits also undergo an extra four weeks of combat training.

Officer: College freshmen, sophomores, or juniors can begin their training through the Marines' Platoon Leaders Class program and enter the Corps as second lieutenants—with all the benefits that come with being a commissioned officer.

If you join the Corps as a senior or after graduating from college, you can accomplish the same goal by attending the Marines' ten-week Officer Candidates School.

Ways for Collegians to Get in: There are a number of ways for you to enter the Marine Corps as an officer. First, you must contact an Officer Selection Officer. Essentially, these are recruiters for officer programs. The OSO can give you specific information on careers available: ground, air, or law. Some of the ground jobs available are in finance, administration, infantry, supply and others. The air jobs are as pilots or naval flight officers. Once you decide on a career path, you enter the Platoon Leaders Course. PLC is a program that prepares individuals for Officer Candidates School and The Basic Course, which are the Marine Corps basic training programs.

You can also join the local Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at your college if its available. NROTC is a credited college class that teaches leadership and further prepares you for life in the Marine Corps.

If you want to wait until you graduate to become an officer, you can contact an OSO and enter officer training directly.

You do not have to wait until you graduate to enter the Marine Corps. You can enlist at any time in college by visiting your local recruiting station. You will be sent to boot camp, after which you serve full-time on active duty or part-time in the reserves. Contact a recruiter for both enlisted and officer programs by calling 1800-Marines or through the Internet at www.marines.com.

No Preparatory Curriculum: No specific curriculum prepares you for the Marine Corps. Marine officers and enlisted personnel have degrees in English, engineering, history and multiple other disciplines. The only college courses specifically geared towards the Marine Corps are Naval Reserves Officer Training Corps classes.

Salary Based on Rank: The basic pay system is based upon rank and time in service. It is uniform across all branches of the armed forces.

From day one, a Marine holding the enlisted rank of Private (E-1) with less than 4 months of service receives $1,104 per month. A Marine holding the officer rank of 2nd Lt. (O-2) with less than 4 months of service receives $2,264.40 per month.

A Gunnery Sgt. with more than 12 years of service, for instance, draws $2980.20. Keep in mind that this is just basic pay. Depending on your situation as a Marine, you may qualify for several different types of additional allowances, among them are basic allowance for housing (BAH), family separation allowance and basic allowance for subsistence. Factoring in allowances such as those, that Sergeant mentioned above actually takes home about $3,600 per month.