Not sure if I should do ROTC at HYP
I'm currently a senior in high school who is looking towards going into finance. NROTC scholarship winner (which basically does nothing for me because of how good the financial aid is at the school I'm going to), and prospective student at a top university (think HYP). Now here's my question; will going into the Navy for five years, coming out, getting my MBA, then trying to enter the private industry put me behind my peers significantly? Is the time spent as an analyst valuable/important? What can I expect to be earning when I come out with an MBA?
I want to go into the Navy, because it seems like an awesome way to pay back my debt to society, but if it's going to affect my future plans too much, I feel like there are other ways I could do that too, ya know?
Most of the kids who did ROTC or NROTC at the school I went to did so with significant respect to finances. It's a large commitment time-wise, and your contract length is longer than standard OCS graduates.
For some schools financial aid is withdrawn if you receive other financial support. Let me put it this way: you graduate from ROTC with the same commission (2nd LT) as someone from OCS, and if you decide at some point during your four years that the military isn't for you, you happen to owe Uncle Sam a ton of money.
Unless you're considering career military or are concerned with becoming the best officer you can be, I would skip ROTC and enroll in OCS after four years if you still feel strongly. Don't get me wrong - it's great to serve your country and a lot of the ROTC kids enjoy the order, stability, and responsibility it instills in their lives.
MBA's without prior experience are always a little shaky at first, but b-schools love military experience and if you have solid undergraduate grades you shouldn't have trouble getting into a good school and catching up. You'll be mainly interviewing for associate roles, which come after 2-4 years on the job.
If you're on the fence about it, and money isn't an issue, I would just hold off, enjoy college, and look at it again your senior year of college.
OCS is extremely difficult to get into, at least if you're not prior service.
OP, a lot of people do active duty and then get an MBA. Many of them go to Houston - check out the Rice University MBA and their Veterans in Business Association. I know a few of them. They are older than their peers but it seems like a great and respectable career path.
Except when you do ROTC, you're ineligible to accrue post 9/11 gi bill benefits until after your initial service obligation is over, sooo you'd pay for that MBA out of pocket, unless you did 8yrs...buuttt they offer you 105k for a 3yr extension at your 6th year, so 9year commitment--fuck that.
I am more familiar with Army ROTC, but you should be able to participate in the program without obligating yourself. I would decline the scholarship but still enroll in the program and determine whether it is something you want to pursue long term.
I was considering this, but the time that I spend in the ROTC program is time that could be spent networking, doing undergraduate research, playing sports, etc. If I am uncertain about joining the military, it seems like ROTC would be a bit of a waste of time (considering the opportunities that I have at the college that I'm going to).
It may put you behind your career objectives in the short-term, but here are my observations:
(1) My peers who did NROTC at one of H/Y/P/M/S served 5 years and then exited to McK/GS (business analyst or analyst programs) or more commonly, to a top JD, MBA, or MD program.
(2) Those who attended top MBA programs landed positions at McK/MM PE/top banks. While it may be more difficult to break into "white shoe" finance, I have seen several of them do it with small or very solid MM firms. Those who did had insane resumes/scores/etc (even for HYPMS). Having said that, they don't necessarily have the same opportunities in the short term that my other peers who went to finance had out of undergrad.
(3) You can expect to earn $225k-$300k depending on what you choose to pursue and where you end up landing a job.
(4) You have not started college yet. I do not say this condescendingly, but to reiterate the point that your mind probably is not made up on what career you want. Do you really think going into the Navy will perversely affect your career in the long-term? It did not appear to hurt Carl Icahn, Sidney Weinberg, or John C. Whitehead (just some of the ones that popped up when searching for prominent veterans in finance).
(5) Take the scholarship. Join an eating/finals club or fraternity. Keep in touch with your finance buddies when exiting the military. Good luck.
Regarding (3), that's a lot more than first year associates usually make, and in my experience, ex-mil MBAs enter as associates. Can you elaborate on this info?
Evercore/Moelis/PJT A0 base is 150k. Signing bonus is $50-60k. A1 bonus is roughly 80-100%, depending on EB/group/year. Yes, you are correct - all MBAs (regardless of military experience) enter as associates.
Just curious, what is your experience that causes you to think an A1 would not hit mid-200s?
Echoing short_round, that's definitely a good range of what you can expect to make as a first year associate. First year mid bucket at BB's was 250k. Top was 280k+. EB's were slightly higher than this for both buckets.
Thanks so much for forming such a structured response to me. In my current state of indecision it is much appreciated.
Would a military MBA be on equal footing with an analyst MBA when they enter as associates? What do you mean when you say that your peers did not have the same short term opportunities?
There are a few people in my group who served in the military before doing and MBA and joining our group as associates. I feel like MBA hires are generally equally unprepared when they come in regardless of background, so I wouldn't worry about not being on equal footing. There's a lot of on the job training (at least this is the case in banking). The military guys are usually very mature, responsible, and hardworking, at least in my experience. That being said, if you're planning to spend 5 years in the Navy, you'll probably be around 30 when you start as a first year associate and a couple years older than the average associate. Nothing wrong with this, as I'm sure the Navy will provide a fulfilling and worthwhile experience for you, but just something to keep in mind.
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