A Career in the Marines

[Bornagain]

If you plan to make a career out of the Marine Corps is it better to be an officer or an enlisted Marine? Are there any difference in the things that you get to experience in both?

[ecfree]

If you plan to make a career out of the Marine Corps is it better to be an officer or an enlisted Marine? Are there any difference in the things that you get to experience in both?
Officer...Why?? Because RHIP....

[Lisa 23]

In my opinion.......... what difference does it make, besides the money (officer to enlisted).

[Phantom Blooper]

Enlisting or going in as an officer is a personal choice.

Can't anyone here tell you what to do or which career path to follow.

Officers have a more stringent and social career to follow....

I never wanted to be an officer.....not because I couldn't.....because I opted to make the choice of enlisting.

If you go to college and get a degree you can opt for either.....allot will steer you in the direction of having a degree and using it for more money and better opportunities in the Marines.

The Marines are what you make of it...enlisted or officer.

There are a few Marine officers on here that you can PM.....or wait and they will give their opine.

I am of the opine that becoming a Marine whether enlisted or officer is a milestone and also a personal choice.....you have to live with your decision....speak to a recruiter and a OSO and make a decision for yourself.

Good luck!

[Bornagain]

Going through college doesn't really sound appealing to me so as of now I am leaning towards the enlisted side. But I want to know the differences before I make a complete decision.

[Bornagain]

Plus I want to go to bootcamp :p

[Mxzero]

Neither, a career in the Air Force is better.

[Bornagain]

Neither, a career in the Air Force is better.

No thanks.

[Tennessee Top]

Officers go to bootcamp and have DI's too. Their's is called Officer Candidate School and The Basic School and it's in Quantico, VA. Their bootcamp is geared more toward leadership skills/training.

[Bornagain]

Officers go to bootcamp and have DI's too. Their's is called Officer Candidate School and The Basic School and it's in Quantico, VA. Their bootcamp is geared more toward leadership skills/training.

I was not aware that they were similar. Thanks for the info.

[03Mike]

I was not aware that they were similar. Thanks for the info.

In some ways, OCS and Boot Camp are similar, and in many ways they are not.



At OCS, you are an officer candidate - referred to generally as a "candidate" (Sir, Candidate Jones reporting as ordered).
At boot camp, you are a recruit - generally referred to as "recruit" or "private" or other less endearing terms.

You are not a Marine at either.


At Boot Camp, you have a Senior Drill Instructor (black duty belt) and usually two to four Drill Instructors (green duty belts).
At OCS, you have a Platoon Sergeant (black duty belt) and one or two Sergeant Instructors (green duty belt). At OCS you also have a Platoon Commander, usually a Captain.


At OCS, the PT is more intense.
At boot camp, the intimidation is more intense.
There are plentiful mind games at both.


You'll largely do the same classes at both.
You'll do more close order drill at Boot Camp, but you'll drill enough at OCS.
You'll master your General Orders and stand plenty of guard and firewatch at both.
You won't get much sleep at either, but you'll sleep less at OCS.


There is peer pressure and feal of failure at both - but at boot camp you know that if you successfully complete the training you will receive your Eagle, Globe, and Anchor and go on to SOI and your MOS school. At OCS it is, at times, competitive, and you train with the fear that at the end of OCS regardless of how well you performed they might not offer you a commission as a second lieutenant. There is the constant worry that out of the 250 candidates graduating from OCS, the Marine Corps only needs 200 second lieutenants, and there will be 50 guys who successfully complete training and get sent home empty handed.


At OCS, there is constant fear that you will be found wanting, and be sent home against your will.
At boot camp, the fear is that you'll get recycled and never leave.


At OCS, you can, if you've had enough, quit and go home. The Marine Corps is not going to commission an officer who doesn't want to be there.
At boot camp, the don't give a flyin' flip if you want to be there or not - you're there and you will train.


At OCS, they give you tasks for which there is no solution or to which you don't have enough time / equipment / space to succeed, simply to see how you react to and handle failure.
At boot camp, for those who fail, they handle failure by training you over and over until you meet the minimum standards.


At boot camp, the goal is to create a basically trained Marine.
At OCS, the goal is to screen and evaluate your potential to lead Marines.


After a couple of weeks at OCS, you do get overnight liberty - complete with a "civilian attire inspection" before you are released. Don't be fooled - libo at OCS is part of the evaluation process. Many a candidate has found himself before an evaluation board an hour after liberty secures because of his conduct on liberty - and several get sent home.

After you complete OCS, if you are commissioned, you will then get orders to The Basic School (TBS). TBS is a requirement for ALL second lieutenants regardless of commissioning source (PLC, NROTC, Naval Academy) - it's like "grad school" and it is where lieutenants learn about almost every aspect of the Marine Corps and learn to be a rifle platoon leader (regardless of MOS, because at that point, you have no MOS other than those who signed up to be JAG officers - but even the lawyers learn to be rifle platoon leaders -- I say platoon "leaders" here because those that go on to the Infantry Officer's Course will learn to be rifle platoon commanders - a subtle but significant difference).

After TBS you go on to your MOS school (I won't go into how officer MOSs are assigned, as that's been covered extensively on this forum).

[Bornagain]

Wow! Thanks a lot. The information greatly appreciated. That post is sticky material, "boot camp vs. OCS".

[USMC-SSGT]

I would recommend going in as enlisted if college is not for you. The best deal in the Corps is the MECEP program (search it). You will apply for it and essentially be cut "free" from the Corps while attaining your degree AND being paid for it AND accruing service towards retirement. When you are done you will finish your time as an officer and be paid under the "E" scale for the first few (3 I believe) ranks.

The MECEP program is highly competitive but if after a few years of being an enlisted Marine you would like to go that route it can not be beat. Another option is if you are in an MOS that allows more free time, you can complete a degree on your own. All of the commands I was involved with were very PRO education and had no problems cutting a Marine lose a few minutes early at the end of the day to make a night class. I knew a handful of Marines who finished a 4 year degree during their first enlistment...this is also free. At that point you can simply EAS as an enlisted Marine and commission as an officer.

These are just options if you want to pursue both or get your feet wet as an enlisted guy first.

[Phantom Blooper]

O3Mike was the officer I was reffering to in my post.

He gives very good explanations.

Search this site .....he gives good and valuble information.

Good luck!

[Bornagain]

O3Mike was the officer I was reffering to in my post.

He gives very good explanations.

Search this site .....he gives good and valuble information.

Good luck!

Thank you very much.