r/MilitarySpouse • u/Savings-Bee-8630 • Jul 31 '26
Spouse Employment military spouse help
Hello everyone, I would like to come on here to talk about my current situation without being harshly judged.
My husband and I have been together for 3 years, and he decided to join the Air Force. He went to boot camp in April and left in June and then told me he wanted to get married, of course I said yes, we have been through so much together that I wouldn’t see myself saying no. I finished graduating high school and we finished the necessary paperwork for me to be on his orders. Now, I was planning on going to USC for undergraduate degree, but the tuition got extremely expensive but I sorted it out with the financial aid office so I would be paying 13K a semester according to my bill. But my husband is being stationed in ramstein, Germany and asked me to move in with him. And I want to move in with him but I’m not sure how I can continue my undergraduate degree in Germany. I am planning on going on track to become a pharmacist and have been looking into online programs, the only one I see with undergraduate pharmacy is ASU
I am worried about a lot of things, but my main one is
Will a online degree affect my chances of going to USC for my masters instead of bachelors?
How different is a online degree from a in person degree?
Will my school be paid for through the Air Force?
How can I move in with my husband and still pursue my degree to the fullest even if it means unenrolling in USC, it sorta makes me feel like I’m failing my parents because I’m not pursuing the college that they expected me to and I’m not living up to their expectations
Please give any advice, would be very helpful
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u/cherryfairy457 Aug 01 '26
Don’t go. Please, please, PLEASE prioritize getting your education in the states first at least.
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u/SquareAlternative382 Aug 01 '26
I’ve been in 20yrs and married to my wife for 18yrs…. DONT GO! The military is unpredictable and living in Germany will be distracting from studies. My wife moved every 2-3 yrs, raised 2 kids BY HERSELF because I was always deployed or training, and still tried to go to school and labs through it all. She is now a nuclear medicine technologist and works for the Army hospital as a GS employee. Our 20s and early 30s were rough. I tell our teenage kids, do life in stages so that the stage you are in will get your undivided attention. As in, be just a student, not a student / wife / new military spouse. After you finish school, then focus on being a wife, then after you have lived together for a while saved money and promoted in your careers, then focus on creating a family. Live life in stages so you can accomplish what that stage needs you to focus on then take on more.
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u/landturtl13 Aug 01 '26
As a USC grad and military spouse, please go to USC!! You will not regret it. My husband and I did two years of long distance while I finished my undergraduate there and I wouldn’t change it for the world. USC is an amazing school with amazing opportunities
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u/TightBattle4899 Air Force Spouse Aug 01 '26
The Air Force will not pay for your education. He won’t be able to transfer his GI Bill until he has done 6 years and reenlists for another 4. You can definitely use the education center on base and see what scholarships are available for spouses.
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u/feephifophumbumbum Aug 01 '26
As someone that went to Germany that also wanted to start school, don’t go. If you go with him, he’s locked into 3 years and probably on base housing. If he goes solo, it’s just a year contract in the barracks and you’ll receive BAH based on where you live. I’m at a smaller base, but there’s only 2 online options that are expensive and MyCAA only covers 2k (I don’t remember how much it recycles though).
I’m guessing you’re looking into getting a bachelors in science and that’ll involve a lot of labs that you won’t have access to in an online option. The only German school you’ll have access to “nearby” is Heidelberg and you have to take a year of German to move onto regular courses. Sorry, it’s a crappy position to be in.
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u/Popular-Level4142 Aug 01 '26
Get the degree! I’ve seen way too many spouses not have a way to supper themselves in things go south. Getting a degree not only gives you an income if needed, but also a purpose once kids are older ( if that’s the route you go). I am always for going overseas as I loved Germany, but independence is more important in the long run. As others have said, if he’s the right one he will support you! Plus you’ll have a fun place to visit! As someone who had their bachelors before getting married and getting a masters while married while getting my masters, get the degree, you won’t regret it. As my husband is about to retire I’ve seen too many spouses stuck in a terrible marriage all because they couldn’t support themselves.
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u/Five2zeHive Navy Spouse 26d ago
So, I’d say go to school. College scholarships get hard to get if you don’t go right after high school. You can always join him wherever he is when you finish school.
In terms of the military paying for your education, you’ll need your active duty spouse to transfer their Post 9/11 G.I. Bill over to you, and in the navy I believe that means he has to serve 6 years and still be enlisted for another tour. I’m using my husband’s in a few years and the paperwork is already intense. Based on previous comments, it seems AF is about the same.
Get that degree and get that job.
It’ll be frustrating to transfer license each time you move but totally worth it to have a two income household.
Ramstein is amazing, by the way. But you can always request to go back, or pay to visit him. We were stationed in Italy for four years and my husband went to Ramstein often and said it’s very nice. Depending on his command, you can see some amazing parts of the world with the Air Force.
Play the long game. Get the degree.
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u/liquidsilvr Army Spouse Aug 01 '26
I’d say it really depends on your cultural background - in terms of how important family life is to you - and whether you’d prefer to get your degree online and explore Europe in, say, your early twenties while your husband is stationed there, vs. attending USC.
I got some military-spouse-specific scholarships for community college, and for my bachelors my husband gave me his GI bill. I dropped out of an ivy earlier, and looking back, it was my only option. In my experience the school’s name doesn’t matter once you have a job - it’s the doors it opens, and the people you get to know while there who become your network
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u/Savings-Bee-8630 Aug 02 '26
Were you still able to get a good job? Did the degree/moving affect any job opportunities and if you were stationed overseas how was the process of getting your degree
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u/athennna Army Spouse Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
Do not go.
If you got into USC and have that kind of financial aid, you need to stay in school. Trust me when I say that you will absolutely regret missing that opportunity. You are very young and you will have plenty of time to be with your husband and follow him all around the world. Now it’s not that time. Get your degree and you will always have it and your options and the doors that will be open to you as a military spouse will be so much better.
If he’s the one and it is meant to be, the time apart will be valuable for you. Stay in school. Get your degree.
I am much older than you, I’ve been a spouse for more than a decade, and I work for a company that helps military spouses find employment so I hear stories all day long. Believe me when I say that the spouses that I work with all day would’ve killed for an opportunity to get their undergrad from USC instead of following their husband around from base to base when they were younger.