Do what you can see yourself doing for the next 30 yrs or so. I went to college...wanted to be a doctor...changed majors from Biology to Aerospace Engineering and career goals after my freshman yr...did some thinking when it came time to graduate in 05 and decided I wanted to do the Air Force thing as an officer after job interviews with Lockheed and NASA JPL. Not everyone in the military has the 20 yrs til retirement mentality. Ive definitely done a lot of cool shit while being in. Ive flown in F-16s, T-38s, and C-12s as a test engineer dropping bombs and testing out cool shit. They paid for my first Masters in Aero Engr from Cal Poly with tuition assistance and currently paying for my 2nd Masters in R&D Management at AFIT...and Im only 26 right now been in for 3 yrs. Its been a great experience for me and Im pretty sure i dont want to be in 20 yrs. Id rather be sitting on the beach in Santa Barbara, CA day trading or something. The Army doesnt necessarily pay more. There might be bonuses for signing up but an E-1 no matter which branch will make E-1 basic pay...its all about the bonuses and incentives for specifc jobs. Im partial to going to college and then joining the military (esp USAF) as an officer. Standard of life is better. Ive got tons of buddies that did the whole Army ROTC thing and wish they went USAF. If education is important to you then I would probably go USAF. Id disagree with the person that said the military would be the easy thing as with having a career path set. Sure youll come in with a set training plan but that doesnt set up for the rest of your life. You may only do 3-4 yrs and get out...and then what? Id argue its just as easy/hard if you wanted to be a welder. College is great. You have to understand that its not only there to provide an education but a great place to learn who you are/what you want to do with the next phase in your life.