Master's Level

I finally made the leap. I signed up for my Master's Degree online! You may be thinking why? Does she need it? Isn't it expensive?

1. I do need it if I decide to stay in the AF past April 2016. The AF has become stringent on promotions and aren't handing them out like they used to. If I want to remain competitive among my peers then it's a must do.

2. It is expensive, but FINALLY the AF is fitting most of the bill. Now before you roll your eyes and think, "Wow she gets everything paid for..." nope! I didn't get a dime of my undergraduate paid for. In fact, my husband and I are still paying that off, over $20k worth. The AF is paying for up to $250/credit hour of my master's degree. I found a military-friendly online program that offers degrees and that I already have credit towards from my tech school in TX. Basically my tech school credits transferred over and I only need 7 more classes to graduate with a Master's Degree in Intelligence Studies with a focus on transnational crime and organization. The school costs $325/credit hour, each class is 3 credit hours so the AF pays for $750 out of each class and we only fit the bill for $225. Every class is 8 weeks long, so I hope to be done early in 2014. When everything is said and done, my Master's Degree will only cost us $1,575. Cheapest degree I've ever got, even cheaper than my associates! It's ironic that the AF will only pay for my cheapest degree, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.

Now the AF doesn't just hand out $$ to go to college for free. In turn, when I finally graduate, the AF will tack on 2 years to my service commitment. Right now, I owe the AF 4 years of service, starting from April 2012. The plus side is the college service commitment can run at the same time as my original service commitment. So confusing! Bottom line, as long as I finish my Master's before April 2014, then I won't accrue any more time on my service commitment.

Finally, understand that this isn't my bread and butter idea of a Master's Degree. This degree checks a box needed at work, and honestly gives me something to work on while my husband is deployed. Plus for less than $1600, wouldn't you do it? Yes I will hang it on the wall, but it won't be my pride and joy. I still hold on to dreams of pursuing something else in the near future that I will be extremely proud of. Also, if we start a family and I get distracted, at least I'll have one Master's Degree. People at work always say get it done now, because your time just becomes more valuable the longer you live. How true they are.