View Full Version : MOS advice (for males)
Branriggle
11-30-10, 09:29 PM
I have always wanted to enlist and go infantry but recently I has decided to try to become an officer. I have researched and found out you need a bachelors degree. My new plan is to enlist and get my degree while in the Marines and was wondering what MOS would be close to 03 but would allow me to get the degree without much difficulty?
Potato Salad
12-02-10, 01:48 PM
Reserve Infantry.
Branriggle
12-02-10, 07:20 PM
i was thinking something active duty, i probably should have specified.
Muhreen4Lyfe
12-02-10, 07:47 PM
enlisted to officer will never happen for you in your first enlistment, you will not get your bachelors degree as active duty unless you want to blow your brains out due to the stress that would cause.
Do not join the Marine Corps if education is your priority, at least go reserves if you're looking to do college.
My Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, and Operations Officer are all MECEP guys, so I would disagree with the previous post... The CO and XO were both 03's and the Opso was a 06XX Comm guy... If you're willing to put in the time and effort, and you're qualified, the ball is always in your court... You could spend your free time cruising the mall, spending all your cash, or you could go to college classes and make it happen... Its up to you... If qualified, I would suggest Airside though, as it is more like shift work, and not in the field... Deploy yes, but again, shift work, so you still have the opportunity to have a schedule of sorts to better plan and get classes done... S/F
josephd
12-03-10, 01:29 AM
My Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, and Operations Officer are all MECEP guys, so I would disagree with the previous post... The CO and XO were both 03's and the Opso was a 06XX Comm guy... If you're willing to put in the time and effort, and you're qualified, the ball is always in your court... You could spend your free time cruising the mall, spending all your cash, or you could go to college classes and make it happen... Its up to you... If qualified, I would suggest Airside though, as it is more like shift work, and not in the field... Deploy yes, but again, shift work, so you still have the opportunity to have a schedule of sorts to better plan and get classes done... S/F
While I agree with this Gunny, I am not sure this would be the best advice to give to a poolee or wannabe. MECEP is extremely selective/competitive. After doing 3-5 years enlisted he may not be quite the caliber Marine it takes to be selected.
If you want to be an officer, don't bother enlisting IMO. Go to college, stay out of trouble, talk to an OSO, and get into a commissioning program.
Enlisted commissioning programs have an overall selection rate of less than 20 percent. The actual selection rate varies year to year - I've seen it as low as 8 percent and upwards towards 30 percent - but realistically I'd say that your chances are 1 in 5 (or less). Also, very rare for it to happen for folks in their first enlistment.
If your goal is to be an officer, focus on that. College is a necessity - and if that's an issue, start with your local community college to knock out your general education requirements and even push all the way to an associates degree. That gets you started. You'll still need to get your bachelor's degree, but you can get the first two years knocked out at the community college for a lot less $$. Joining the reserves at this point can help too.
If you decide to enlist anyway and go active duty, go ahead and get as much community college knocked out as you can before you go to boot camp, as those college credits stay with you. Just realize that it will take much longer to earn your degree on active duty (as a full time Marine and part time student).