Pharmacy student considering military, but the financial comparison to civilian life gets tricky. Anyone have any insights?

I think you have a few misconceptions, or not, but I'll clarify a few things.

  1. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is only for federal loans, private loans are not eligible. You are eligible to cap the interest on your student loans at 6.0% though.
  2. You can either live on the base for free or you can receive tax-free BAH. BAH can be used for anything, it's just income. My wife and I receive $3,027/month in BAH but our total housing cost (mortgage+taxes+insurance+utilities+etc) are only $1,800/month. That is not an insignificant difference.
  3. The health insurance, life insurance, and dental is 100% free. You cannot even buy a health plan that is 100% free. Consider this to be worth at least $300+/month over the course of 20+ years. If you ever decide to have kids, consider this to be worth at least $700+/month.
  4. The pension plan is extremely generous. 50% of base pay after 20 years and 75% of base pay after 30 years.
  5. The 401k plan options are some of the best available. There are fund groups that are basically zero risk with decent returns.
  6. You'll get 30 days of vacation annually

Financially speaking I think you'll come out way ahead assuming your student loans are indeed federal loans. Extra especially if you have kids.

...but living in the military is not all fun. There are serious and major downsides. Such as...

  1. You'll probably be relocated every 3-4 years and you might not be able to pick where you go. Some places are nice while others are shitholes in the middle of nowhere.
  2. The health insurance, while free, is dependent upon where you are stationed. Some places offer excellent care while others merely have a clinic on post and getting an appointment sucks and/or is borderline impossible.
  3. Good luck taking your vacation days and remember that it's 30 calendar days not 30 business days.
  4. SpaceA sounds amazing on paper but then you realize that every time you would want to go on a vacation is the same time everyone else wants to go on a vacation. And so you'll spend at least 3-4 days of your vacation just waiting to get on a plane unless you go at obscure times of the year.
  5. You lose a lot of control over your life. When you work, where you work, your freedom to find new work, etc. If an amazing opportunity comes up you'll have to decline it.
  6. Unless you are permanently stationed, and I doubt you will be, you'll most likely be stuck renting until you separate.
  7. Moving all of your shit across the country will get seriously old quickly. My wife and I have seen a lot of people come and go and a lot of people are so tired of moving their shit that they just sell it all, move, and buy new shit.

Have to think about the downsides short term and long term. It's a contract. You can't leave just because you don't like it.

/r/personalfinance Thread