• random9@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    170
    ·
    9 months ago

    I went to highschool and university in the US - I was lucky that I got a scholarship and that covered pretty much all my tuition costs.

    But I had a friend, one year older than me, who joined and served in the US army for something like 2 years just so he could get his university costs covered and to save some money for living expenses.

    It may not be intentional, but the high cost of higher education is an excellent recruiting tool for the US military.

    • Neato@ttrpg.network
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      87
      ·
      9 months ago

      The poverty draft is very real. Usually it’s for enlisted who have no other prospects. But I was in that same boat in college. 2 years in ROTC before something made me realize I was not going to enjoy military life and dropped it.

    • hex_m_hell@slrpnk.net
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      43
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      9 months ago

      I went to school in a dirt poor place. Like half of my graduating class joined the military. Recruiters were in the halls like every week. Yeah, it’s absolutely intentional.

    • Honytawk@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      19
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      9 months ago

      Wasn’t there some tweet of a US general that said to not get rid of high college costs because they would get less soldiers signing up?

    • SendMePhotos@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      9 months ago

      Yes. It was. Now days most jobs offer to cover college. I want to know how they benefit because I don’t get it.

      • Serinus@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        9 months ago

        They get relatively cheap, more educated workers for at least a short time. And they’re often able to keep them at a cheaper salary than hiring someone with the same education. A (proactive) promotion that doubles your salary from $35 to $70k a year generates a lot of goodwill, even if that education and position would usually start at $90k.

        Also people who “go to college” that work pays for don’t live on campus, so the company is only on the hook for tuition, and not room and board. And it’s often not full time. It’s worth $10k/year for all that.