Army ROTC Cadet: Active Duty or Reserves + Finance

Background:
I’m a rising senior and Army ROTC Cadet at a well-known, non-target Northeast school. I’ll be both graduating (BSBA, conc. Finance) and commissioning as an Army 2LT in May 2020. I’ll be spending half of this upcoming summer at CST in Ft. Knox and the other half as a Summer Analyst at a boutique PE firm in Boston. Outside of ROTC and my current internship, I have experience working at a tech-startup, as a firefighter, and other organizational involvement. GPA: 3.2

Dilemma:
Within the next week, I need to decide whether I will be pursuing an Active Duty or National Guard/Army Reserve commission. For those of you familiar with the process, I’m planning on branching Signal or FA. My service commitment is 4 years.

My Current Thoughts:
My goal is to work at a in either IB or S&T (preferably at a BB in NYC, but open to Boston). Commissioning into the Natty Guard/Reserves would allow me to simultaneously pursue Analyst positions directly after graduation. In an ideal world, this would be my preference. However, I’m worried that I am not competitive enough to make this dream a reality directly after undergrad. While Active Duty would delay my career ~4 years, I feel as if I will be more competitive (for an MBA or employment) after my service commitment. I’d rather not commission into the Reserves if I’m unable to get a stellar civilian job along with it. I’m torn in deciding the best path for me.

Any advice regarding my situation, from military or non-military, would be greatly appreciated. Hope everyone enjoys the Memorial Day Weekend.

 

Hi PatrioticPork, hope I can help. Do any of these links cover what you're looking for:

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