Effect of a college degree on military pay scale?

I read that having a college degree actually affects your pay in the military. In particular, I'm curious about the E3 rank. Could anyone elaborate how this works?

Yes, that's correct. In the military, having a higher education degree can potentially impact your pay grade. However, it's more important on the officer side as compared to the enlisted or E ranks.

Now, about your specific question: enlisted ranks (which E3 falls under), do not generally see a pay scale difference solely based on education credentials. Your pay within E3 sort of works on a step scale based on time-in-service rather than education differentiation.

However, where education comes into play significantly is with the officer ranks. If you have completed a bachelor's degree or higher, you could be eligible to commission as an officer rather than enlist, which does come with a higher pay grade. An O-1 (Second Lieutenant in the Army, Air Force, and Marines or an Ensign in the Navy or Coast Guard) is the entry officer rank and their pay is considerably higher than an E3.

In other words, while a degree might not change the pay directly at the E3 level, the opportunities that come with higher education could potentially lead to significant differences in how your military career and pay scale progresses. Please note that commissioning as an officer also demands additional responsibilities and leadership roles.

Hope this helps!