I've been talk with a lot of head hunters because of my position with the Kansas State University Military Veterans. I have asked about that program specifically, and a lot of recruiters view the degree more like an associates than a 4 year degree because it does not have ABET accreditation. For those not familiar with ABET, it's essentially the control standards nationally accepted for degrees, much like ANSI would be for measurements and standards, or MILSPEC for military standards. ABET accreditation is something that TESC is currently trying to get (as mentioned in a previous post), however TECS has been seeking ABET accredited at least since 2006 when I looked into it, and as of yet is not accredited.
For a degree, I would recommend first transfer as many credits as possible to the Air Force community college, which is ABET accredited. This will make it much easier to transfer credits to an ABET university. As a next step, research universities that offer programs that you are interested in, primarily in the state that you are a resident of as many states seem to not accept veterans as in state students. Active military generally do get in state tuition at most universities with an LES to show that they are stationed there.
When looking for a university and a major, make sure you know what you're wanting to do, and what that major does. For instance (my case) you may be a nuclear mechanic and think you want to go into mechanical engineering with a nuclear minor (my previous major). The more I found out about what mechanical engineers actually did, the less I wanted to do it. I ended up switching to industrial engineering, which basically is engineering management and optimization.
The next thing is to look at is how many credit hours your degree will take, and how many credit hours your GI bill covers. With the post 9/11 GI bill you will be paid up to 12 credit hours per semester at that state's highest state school tuition. As an example, I am in Kansas, and our most expensive university is University of Kansas. I go to Kansas State University, so basically taking base tuition of KU and multiplying by 12, and then dividing by base tuition of K-State, the GI bill pays for 14 credit hours per semester if I am enrolled in 14. If I enroll in 12, only tuition is paid, no extra.
Another thing you may want to consider if you go to an accredited 4 year university is lifestyle. When I got out in 2008 if you calculated the BAH, Sub pay, special duty pay etc. etc. etc., I was making about what a university engineering graduate makes per year, except with 6 years experience.
I actually would recommend a job in college if you go back after you're out. Most of the military veteran guys I work with deal with frustration of having to take random classes that don't make any sense to take after 6+ years in the real world matter even less for your degree. Working provides not only a little extra spending money on top of the GI bill's living expense, book and expense stipend and paid tuition. If you do go to a university with a reactor, contact the reactor or facility manager, and you'll more than likely be first in line for a job, which means if it takes you 4 years for a degree (paid for by the GI bill) and you have 6 years in the navy, you'll be starting in the commercial world with 9-10 years nuclear experience with a degree. When I first started at Kansas State, I worked for the Student Union in the maintenance department. I was told I was over qualified for the job, but at least for me, it was relaxing because I could go to work and actually do stuff without supervision that I didn't have to think about.
Hope some of that helped.
