After pursuing a degree in the field you want to be, can you go into the armed forces?

You can go into the service after going to college. Once you have a degree you would go in as an officer. Most people who go into the military after college have done ROTC in college. I believe being Rotc makes your college much cheaper, but you have to do training in the summers. (I was not Rotc so I am not sure about the specifics). Alternatively, you could go to a service academy (us. Military academy, us naval academy, us air force academy, us merchant marine academy) for free in exchange for a direct commission and requirement to serve so many years on active duty. It was 5 active and 3 reserves when I went, not sure what it is now. But it fluctuates with the needs of the military. My class only have to serve 3 years active duty because of they were lessening the number of people in the Army at that time. Check out the websites of the universities you are most likely to go to, specifically the Rotc program at those schools, and the websites for the military academies for the requirements and specifics.

Normally you can join the military up until the age of 40 or 42. That is because you need to be able to get 20 years before you turn 60, with two wavers you could make 62. Your degree doesn't matter matter but promotion does come faster with civilian education. If you were going into a specialty job, lawyer, doctor or the like you would have to have your degree. For specific steps and whither or not you qualify the best bet is to call a recruiter.

Cassandra,

It's been several years since I looked into this. At that time, a college graduate could go into the military, either as an enlisted person or an officer. If you go enlisted, you would not get paid as well as if you went as an officer. However, if you go as an officer, there was less of a guarantee of what career field you would go into. I believe they have separate recruiters for officers, so you want to talk to the recruiters for both enlisted and officer programs, to see the difference.

Why not go into the military prior to finishing your schooling, and work on your schooling while in the military?

Yes you can. Many people who join the military already have college degrees. By having a degree you can join at a higher rank, which means you'll have higher pay and generally gain more responsibilities and authority sooner. Also there are often college loan repayment programs; if you've taken out student loans joining the military can be an effective way to start paying them down consistently.