The job market is down, but Travis Thibeault isn't worried.
When the UF sophomore graduates, he has a steady job, good pay and benefits waiting for him.
Thibeault hasn't unlocked some secret to life, but like an increasing number of college-age students, he's enlisted in the military.
What was at one time a career path reserved for few has become many Americans' answer to the faltering economy.
"I tell everyone when they ask me why I joined the Air Force that not only do I want to serve my country, but when you're in the military in any branch you always have a job and a paycheck on the first and 15th of every month," he said.
After enlisting in the Air Force Reserve when he graduated from high school, Thibeault joined UF's Air Force ROTC. At the end of his four years, he'll become a commissioned officer.
For Thibeault, the decision to enlist and join ROTC was an easy one.
"There's no doubt in my mind that this is the right thing for me to do," said Thibeault, whose father was also in the Air Force. "If college doesn't work out, I always tell myself that I'll be in boot camp the next day."
For the 2009 fiscal year, every branch of the military reported recruitment numbers that either met or exceeded their goal.
The armed forces have even seen in increase of interest from older generations; in 2006 the Army changed its enlistment age limit from 35 to 42.
"Because of the economy and a lot of people losing jobs, people want job security and health care," said 1st Lt. Sean Norres, an officer strength manager for the Army.
Recruiting quotas were met within the first few weeks of the year, quickly satiating the armed forces' need for more than 300,000 new recruits each year.
"We've actually had to put restrictions on the amount of people we could recruit," he said. "There's been such a big over strength in the Army as a whole that instead of quantity it went to quality."
Norres, who works with the UF Army ROTC, said numbers for ROTC have also increased dramatically.
"The seniors are only at 20 (cadets), and the freshman class is at 60," he said. "Every year it increases probably by 15 or 20."
Students who participate in a commissioning program, like Thibeault, are eligible to have their tuition paid for, a book stipend and a monthly stipend that can be used for anything.
"People are looking around now for different avenues to pay for college," Norres said. "People that would have never noticed the Army or ROTC now see the appeal of enlisting."
