[Ben Martin]

As others have said, this really, really varies by person and situation. I went to school for Industrial Engineering, and there weren't any extravehicular activities that appealed to me more than FIRST did (especially since I was more into the teaming, strategy, and student learning parts of it than the mechanics of the robot itself). The first year is always difficult to transition in, however I would argue that it is this way for almost all adult mentors I have worked with as well.

It was the right thing for me, and I would do it the same way again. That being said, I know many individuals who it has not worked for--usually because they come back and try to continue being students, and depending on how the team you're on works, that may or may not fly.