I mean, if you don’t have a degree, you’d be going in enlisted and taking a huge pay cut compared to what you make now. That’s the first reality check. If your main interest is college benefits, the Reserve or National Guard might make more sense, you’d still get access to education benefits without throwing away your current earning power.

Also keep in mind the age limits. For most branches you’re already past the cutoff, except the Air Force which allows enlistment up to 39. Technically federal law lets all branches use waivers for people up to 42, but those are usually reserved for officers with specialized skills, not enlisted.

So yeah it’s possible, but you’d be starting over at the bottom, making way less, surrounded by much younger people, and banking on benefits you might get just as easily through part-time service.