One month will mark my fifth anniversary since graduating college in 2009 and I am seriously considering military service. In an era where the evisceration of the middle class by corporate America has left our college graduates engulfed by a miasma of baseless inequity I found this Yahoo question and answer to be pretty informative:
About to graduate college, should I join the military?
Hello to all who read this,
I am currently a graduating senior, set to receive my diploma in 9 days. I will be graduating with a B.A. in Biological Sciences, with a Psychology minor.
Here is my dilemma. Although I am graduating after a challenging 4.5 years of college, where I feel as though I have accomplished a great deal, had unforgettable experiences and made many friends, I am not excited to graduate. I have learned recently (in the last year or so) that with my degree I will have a difficult time finding a worthwhile job without furthering my education in a graduate school program. However, to be completely honest, I am burned out on school. I am sick of classrooms, laboratories, and studying countless hours for tests. I'm also sick of hearing the excuse of "Just go to grad school, because you're not going to get a job right now". Being the kind of person I am, I know that if I am not motivated to do something, I will not give %100 effort and will most likely be miserable doing something that I know my heart is not in. So, I have ruled out grad school at this point.
The other option I have is to enter the job market. I have already spent hours on job search sites, which are taking me nowhere. Not only are there are extremely sparse number of jobs that I qualify for with just my degree, most companies only want to hire someone with 1-5 years of experience already. I am baffled as to how a college graduate is supposed to get started in a career if companies only want to hire people with years of experience already! So, needless to say I am feeling extremely discouraged and not feeling very positive at all about finding a job.
Here is my question- is the military a good option for me at this point? I know that I will not make as much money as someone might in the civilian world (and I'm ok with that), but would the experience and training that military would provdide me benefit me in getting a job later in the civilian world? I'd also like to state that joining the military has always been something that I have wanted to do, even since I was a little kid. Despite this, I decided to not participate in ROTC during college because I wanted to live the carefree lifestyle of a college student, which I did and don't regret at all. However, I feel as though I have an obligation to serve my country, and even a sort of obligation to my family. See, my grandfather was a WWII veteran of the 101st Airborne (did everything the 'Band of Brothers' series covered, if you've seen it. He just wasn't in the 506th regiment). I have a desire to be a part of something bigger than I am, where I will find the motivation I need to succeed. Also, I'd like to add that if I do join, regardless of what branch I decide upon, I will be following the Officer path.
Yet another question (sorry, I didn't intend for this to be this long, guess i'm just sort of venting), I have at least narrowed my decision down to either Army or Marines. I'd love to be a part of the Marines, with their history, reputation and overall bad-assness, but I have heard that there are less opportunites in the Corps and that becoming an officer is harder to accomplish (as in, its harder to secure a spot for officer school). Is this true? Are the job opportunites and benefits significantly different between the Army and Marines?
Well, I suppose I have asked enough questions for one submition. Those who choose to answer don't have to respond to all my questions, just the ones that you feel you can help me the most with. I appreciate any and all responses and I thank you all in advance!
I am currently a graduating senior, set to receive my diploma in 9 days. I will be graduating with a B.A. in Biological Sciences, with a Psychology minor.
Here is my dilemma. Although I am graduating after a challenging 4.5 years of college, where I feel as though I have accomplished a great deal, had unforgettable experiences and made many friends, I am not excited to graduate. I have learned recently (in the last year or so) that with my degree I will have a difficult time finding a worthwhile job without furthering my education in a graduate school program. However, to be completely honest, I am burned out on school. I am sick of classrooms, laboratories, and studying countless hours for tests. I'm also sick of hearing the excuse of "Just go to grad school, because you're not going to get a job right now". Being the kind of person I am, I know that if I am not motivated to do something, I will not give %100 effort and will most likely be miserable doing something that I know my heart is not in. So, I have ruled out grad school at this point.
The other option I have is to enter the job market. I have already spent hours on job search sites, which are taking me nowhere. Not only are there are extremely sparse number of jobs that I qualify for with just my degree, most companies only want to hire someone with 1-5 years of experience already. I am baffled as to how a college graduate is supposed to get started in a career if companies only want to hire people with years of experience already! So, needless to say I am feeling extremely discouraged and not feeling very positive at all about finding a job.
Here is my question- is the military a good option for me at this point? I know that I will not make as much money as someone might in the civilian world (and I'm ok with that), but would the experience and training that military would provdide me benefit me in getting a job later in the civilian world? I'd also like to state that joining the military has always been something that I have wanted to do, even since I was a little kid. Despite this, I decided to not participate in ROTC during college because I wanted to live the carefree lifestyle of a college student, which I did and don't regret at all. However, I feel as though I have an obligation to serve my country, and even a sort of obligation to my family. See, my grandfather was a WWII veteran of the 101st Airborne (did everything the 'Band of Brothers' series covered, if you've seen it. He just wasn't in the 506th regiment). I have a desire to be a part of something bigger than I am, where I will find the motivation I need to succeed. Also, I'd like to add that if I do join, regardless of what branch I decide upon, I will be following the Officer path.
Yet another question (sorry, I didn't intend for this to be this long, guess i'm just sort of venting), I have at least narrowed my decision down to either Army or Marines. I'd love to be a part of the Marines, with their history, reputation and overall bad-assness, but I have heard that there are less opportunites in the Corps and that becoming an officer is harder to accomplish (as in, its harder to secure a spot for officer school). Is this true? Are the job opportunites and benefits significantly different between the Army and Marines?
Well, I suppose I have asked enough questions for one submition. Those who choose to answer don't have to respond to all my questions, just the ones that you feel you can help me the most with. I appreciate any and all responses and I thank you all in advance!
Best Answer
Navy Ocs and Air Force Ots are very competitive at the moment. Air Force Ots only had one selection board in 2010 and it was only for rated slots(flight school applicants.) The selection rate was 20%. Navy Ocs has had selection rates as low as 8% in certain designators such as Supply and Intelligence. Unlike the Navy and Air Force, Army and Marine Ocs applicants do not apply for a particular branch(Army) or Mos(Marines) except Marine Ocs Aviation applicants are awarded Aviation contracts as Ocs Officer Candidates and Army Ocs Officer Candidates have to pre qualify to branch Aviation prior to arriving at Ocs. Army Branch selection takes place at Ocs according to class rank at Ocs. Marine Officer Ocs selection takes place after commissioning at TBS for all Marine officers except those who arrive with Aviation or Jag contracts.
The Army has been running thousands of Rotc Cadets short nationwide and has had to increase the percent of officers commissioning through Ocs from the 20% rate the Army prefers to around 40%. Both the Marines and Army have been expanding while the Navy and Air Force have been contracting. All Marine Officer Commissioning programs require a 1st class Marine PFT, 225+, though many Oso's will not forward an application to a Selection Board with a PFT less than 240.
As far as income, you may not have considered the tax free housing allowance, BAH, which varies with location. O-1 to O-2 in 18 months. O-2 to O-3 in another 24 months. Change the location to calculate the level if compensation;
http://militarypay.defense.gov/mpcalcs/C...
The benefits for all are essentially the same. Ocs/Ots commissioned officers are eligible for full GI Bill educational benefits with 36 months of active duty service. That includes 36 months of tuition at the rate charged to state residents by the most expensive public university in the state plus 36 months of tax free E-5 with dependents BAH. Yellow Ribbon Schools add to the benefits from their own funds.
Marines Occ:
http://www.dcmarineofficer.com/officerca...
http://www.dcmarineofficer.com/pdf/mosha...
http://officer.marines.com/marine/making...
Army Ocs:
https://www.benning.army.mil/infantry/19...
http://www.goarmy.com/ocs.html
Navy Ocs:
http://www.cnrc.navy.mil/noru/orojt3/gen...
http://waynesdyno.net/generalofficer.htm...
Air Force Ots:
http://www.airforce.com/opportunities/of...
Coast Guard Ocs:
http://www.gocoastguard.com/find-your-ca...
Good Luck!
The Army has been running thousands of Rotc Cadets short nationwide and has had to increase the percent of officers commissioning through Ocs from the 20% rate the Army prefers to around 40%. Both the Marines and Army have been expanding while the Navy and Air Force have been contracting. All Marine Officer Commissioning programs require a 1st class Marine PFT, 225+, though many Oso's will not forward an application to a Selection Board with a PFT less than 240.
As far as income, you may not have considered the tax free housing allowance, BAH, which varies with location. O-1 to O-2 in 18 months. O-2 to O-3 in another 24 months. Change the location to calculate the level if compensation;
http://militarypay.defense.gov/mpcalcs/C...
The benefits for all are essentially the same. Ocs/Ots commissioned officers are eligible for full GI Bill educational benefits with 36 months of active duty service. That includes 36 months of tuition at the rate charged to state residents by the most expensive public university in the state plus 36 months of tax free E-5 with dependents BAH. Yellow Ribbon Schools add to the benefits from their own funds.
Marines Occ:
http://www.dcmarineofficer.com/officerca...
http://www.dcmarineofficer.com/pdf/mosha...
http://officer.marines.com/marine/making...
Army Ocs:
https://www.benning.army.mil/infantry/19...
http://www.goarmy.com/ocs.html
Navy Ocs:
http://www.cnrc.navy.mil/noru/orojt3/gen...
http://waynesdyno.net/generalofficer.htm...
Air Force Ots:
http://www.airforce.com/opportunities/of...
Coast Guard Ocs:
http://www.gocoastguard.com/find-your-ca...
Good Luck!
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