Expert: Aaron Shifferly - 11/27/2009

Question
I will be graduating from a state university in December of 2010 with a bachelors of communication and a minor in public relations. I am considering enlisting in the army because of the difficulty to find a decent paying job in the communication field. An army buddy of mine says i may be able to go in as an officer but he doesn't know all the details. What would i actually be doing if i signed up as active duty for 2 years in the army WITH my communication degree? what would the money look like? What branch of the military would better suit my skill? Would i be traveling outside the states? I would ask a recruiter in my town or at my university but i'm not exactly sure how i feel about the whole thing yet.

Answer
With a college degree you can enlist, go to basic training, and then attend officer candidate school and become an officer. As far as what you'd be doing, if you went to OCS the Army would assign you as an officer in a career field that it needs.. if you were enlisted you'd have more of a say in what that career field would be. Enlisting you'd go in as an E4, and if you went officer after you graduated OCS you'd be an O1.
http://www.dfas.mil/militarypay/militarypaytables/2009MilitaryPayTables.pdf  
you can find the pay information at the above link. As far as going outside the US.. you'll go wherever the Army sends you, and it could be outside the US to a number of places, including Iraq or Afghanistan. Take your time and consider all the options.. if you want to join, do it being well informed. Talk a lot to your recruiter.