3 answers
Stephen’s Answer
Darshan, On the surface these two options may seem distinct and unrelated. However; there are many areas of the armed services for engineers. You may be able to be both an engineer and an army officer. As stated above, there are potential benefits and drawbacks to to each path, but combining them may give you the best of both worlds. As an example D.A.R.P.A. (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) works with, and employs, some of the best and brightest in the world and is only one small area of the military where engineering is central to the mission.
Hope that helps
Taylor’s Answer
I would weigh the pros and cons of both sets to determine which path you should take. The army will pay for your education but you have to do quite a long time of service before you can exit. For school on the other hand, there's a lot more flexibility but you have to pay!
Good luck! It's a difficult decision, but take your time and really think on what you want to do.
Nicole’s Answer
Thank you for your question. So I have good news...you can do both! :). As mentioned in one of the previous answers, there are many branches of the armed forces where engineering disciplines are taught. The even better news is the skills that you may learn as both a member of the armed forces and an engineer can be used in many other spaces whether your plan is to move to different levels within the military or when you choose to retire from the military.
There are many examples of ex military personnel, who also have strong technical backgrounds, who move into other levels of government, work for corporations and/or start their own businesses. Oftentimes, their strong technical backgrounds were learned over time as they used and developed their engineering skill sets.
Best of luck to you!