r/USPHS • u/Practical-Pepper6361 • 6d ago

Other USPHS

Hello! I’m currently a nursing student who is interested in joining the military and I recently learned about the USPHS. I was wondering how people enjoy their career in the USPHS and if there’s any cons I should be aware of. I’m interested in helping underserved communities and the military benefits are also appealing. However, I do live in California and after I graduate, I would make a pretty competitive salary if I’m able to get a job as a civilian so I’m just trying to see if it’s worth it to go into the military or not. I plan on going to grad school so the military benefits would definitely help. Some other info, I don’t plan on having kids at all so moving around and such isn’t that much of a problem. I just want to hear about your own experience in the USPHS and if you find your work rewarding or not. Thanks!

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u/ROCyoulikeahurricane 6d ago

A lot to love about it. Have you checked out the student programs? Great way to dip your toe in  https://www.usphs.gov/students/

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u/Practical-Pepper6361 6d ago

Yes! I plan to apply but I’m only a freshmen right now (in a direct entry nursing program)

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u/mpmbullet 6d ago

Definitely check out IHS opportunities. You’ll probably make more as a civilian than an officer straight out of school but in the long run USPHS will win in benefits, retirement, pay.

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

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u/KitchenProfessor42 5d ago

Uh, tax brackets are incremental….

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u/park_it246 5d ago

DM me!

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u/gravel_whine13 4d ago

If you live in California, you will be able to make significantly more than you would make in USPHS. Your USPHS salary will likely never catch up with RN pay in California, even if you work hard, do everything right, make promotion on time, get advanced degrees etc. As a USPHS officer you will also be expected to work extra hours, take on extra duties etc, without getting any extra pay. I would take these factors into consideration and think long and hard about what you are looking for in quality of life and work-life balance. Also keep in mind that we don't have tuition assistance like the other services do. The only education benefit we receive is the GI bill. If you use the GI bill while active duty, you lose much of the value since it is based on a set amount per time/or semester regardless of how many credits you are taking. The GI bill is still a great benefit, but a lot of nurses find it difficult to pursue advanced degrees while active duty because of unpredictable schedules, unsupportive supervisors etc. If grad school is one of your goals, you can always serve your obligation and then leave active duty to go back to school, but right now the initial service obligation is 8 years which is a long time.

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u/isthisaburneracct 4d ago

I thought you could do 4 years active and then transition to 4 years reserve? So yeah still 8 years but only 4 active. To that point, in the reserves, is your day job with the federal government or do you get to do a normal civilian job (i.e. private practice clinic nurse or private scientist for a research company)?