Question about shipping to basic with an open contract. Short verion at the bottom

[Ivon]

I posted this in the Ask a Marine section, but I figured I might as well post it here too. If that is not ago, please let me know.
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I am Poolee Ivon Martin and I've been in the delayed entry program since March first of 2011. It has been, and still is, my goal to be a cryptologic linguist in the Marine Corps. I have already taken the DLAB (I took it at MEPS when I entered the DEP) and scored well on it with a 121. When I told my recruiter about this, I was told that with my score I should have a relatively easy time acquiring my desired MOS.

When I tried to sit down with my recruiter to get my contract set up, he told me that I should wait because new jobs were not yet available. I said that I understood that, and I waited. When I brought it up again, a ways down the line, he told me that he would start making calls and attempt to get me this MOS. Once again, I was happy to wait. Now, as I approach my ship date (Sept. 12) I am being told that there is a good chance I will not be able to get this MOS. He asked me if I would rather try for another MOS, or go in with an open contract. This is where I am struggling with a decision.

If I go to basic training with an open contract, what chance do I have of being picked up for this MOS? I scored an 82 on the ASVAB and 121 on the DLAB, and already speak multiple languages, so I hopefully meet the requirements. Should I take my chances with an open contract for the MOS I really want, or attempt to get something else? Also, is there anything I can do before I ship to get this MOS?

I am unsure of what to do. I hear such mixed messages about people going in with open contract, that I don't know what to expect. Any help I could get regarding this would be highly appreciated, and I eagerly await a response.

tl;dr version: I want to be a cryptologic linguist, but my recruiter says he probably cannot get me that before my ship date of Sept. 12. If I go in with an open contract, knowing that I did well on the ASVAB and DLAB, what are my chance of getting this MOS?

[semperfimrn1]

you don't go to "basic training" it is BOOT CAMP.

also if you go open contract to boot you get whatever MOS the Corps decides on. you might get luck but it's a gamble you have to be willing to take

[Failla]

My story was/is similar to yours. I DEPed on June 3rd, with a 93 on my ASVAB. I ship January 23rd. When I got back to my recruiting office and was selecting my top three job options, I put Intel and Crypto Linguist as my top two, respectively, (these were DD and DC, I believe) and filled in my third selection with something I didn't necessarily want. As fate would have it, there were no openings for my first two choices, but there was for my third, and I was assigned that. I lived with it for a month knowing becoming a Marine is more important than the specific job, but soon I realized I just wasn't satisfied and asked my recruiter to let me go take the DLAB. I went to MEPS on August 1st and ended up getting a 122. By the time I got back to my recruiting office, my recruiter had already faxed the request for DC (Crypto Linguist) saying after he saw my test score he checked the openings and there was one more open for Linguist and I may or may not get it, but it may take a few days to hear back. The next morning when I came in, it had already been assigned. Now, where did that "one opening" suddenly come from? I still wonder that myself, but oh well, I'm not going to complain.

Sorry to write such a long story that may seem irrelevant, but I just wanted to explain that I was nearly in your exact situation, facing the same decision. I asked my recruiter what my options were had I not got the DC assigned to me or there were no job openings, and he went on to explain how (Note: this is my interpretation of what he explained to me, it may not be 100% accurate as I may have misunderstood something) each office or RS get a very small number of jobs, and while in the DEP your "job pool" is restrained to only that. His example explained how the jobs fickle down from the entire Marine Corps > west/east of the Mississippi > region > smaller region > etc. However, if you go open contract, once you're at boot camp you may be able to (or at least your test scores might) influence the job selected for you if there's an opening in the entire Marine Corps. Therefore, just because Crypto Linguist was popular in your region and wasn't available, maybe it didn't fill up everywhere else and once you're at MCRD you have a greater chance of getting it.

With all that said, it's still up to you and if you're willing to take that risk. However, scoring over a 110 on the DLAB qualifies you for any language the DoD may want you to learn. It would be a shame to waste such an asset and I'd like to think the Marine Corps wouldn't do such a thing, and you would get Linguist one way or another.

Either way, best of luck and I really hope it all works out for you.

[Ivon]

My story was/is similar to yours. I DEPed on June 3rd, with a 93 on my ASVAB. I ship January 23rd. When I got back to my recruiting office and was selecting my top three job options, I put Intel and Crypto Linguist as my top two, respectively, (these were DD and DC, I believe) and filled in my third selection with something I didn't necessarily want. As fate would have it, there were no openings for my first two choices, but there was for my third, and I was assigned that. I lived with it for a month knowing becoming a Marine is more important than the specific job, but soon I realized I just wasn't satisfied and asked my recruiter to let me go take the DLAB. I went to MEPS on August 1st and ended up getting a 122. By the time I got back to my recruiting office, my recruiter had already faxed the request for DC (Crypto Linguist) saying after he saw my test score he checked the openings and there was one more open for Linguist and I may or may not get it, but it may take a few days to hear back. The next morning when I came in, it had already been assigned. Now, where did that "one opening" suddenly come from? I still wonder that myself, but oh well, I'm not going to complain.

Sorry to write such a long story that may seem irrelevant, but I just wanted to explain that I was nearly in your exact situation, facing the same decision. I asked my recruiter what my options were had I not got the DC assigned to me or there were no job openings, and he went on to explain how (Note: this is my interpretation of what he explained to me, it may not be 100% accurate as I may have misunderstood something) each office or RS get a very small number of jobs, and while in the DEP your "job pool" is restrained to only that. His example explained how the jobs fickle down from the entire Marine Corps > west/east of the Mississippi > region > smaller region > etc. However, if you go open contract, once you're at boot camp you may be able to (or at least your test scores might) influence the job selected for you if there's an opening in the entire Marine Corps. Therefore, just because Crypto Linguist was popular in your region and wasn't available, maybe it didn't fill up everywhere else and once you're at MCRD you have a greater chance of getting it.

With all that said, it's still up to you and if you're willing to take that risk. However, scoring over a 110 on the DLAB qualifies you for any language the DoD may want you to learn. It would be a shame to waste such an asset and I'd like to think the Marine Corps wouldn't do such a thing, and you would get Linguist one way or another.

Either way, best of luck and I really hope it all works out for you.

Thanks for the response. Do you (or anybody else) know anything about how it works with shipping to boot camp with an open contract? I mean, do you walk into a room with someone and they just tell you your MOS, or is there some way in which you are screened based on test scores? Does what you want make any difference?

I wouldn't want to show up, and have no chance to say "Hey, I did really well on the DLAB can you guys use me?" and instead just get assigned something.

[DrinkTwiceT1000]

Another option is to look at shipping after October 1st. That is the start of the new fiscal year and that affects jobs. Part of the reason that you may have an issue with your current job is because most of the jobs have been filled by the time you are leaving. They figure out how many people they need for each job by fiscal year. So, if you leave after Oct 1st then there is a better chance to get the job you want because slots haven't been filled yet. I found out about this job difference because I had to change my ship date from 20110502 to 20111010 because of graduation. Since I changed my ship date until after Oct. 1st I needed to reapply for the job I was assigned before.

Your recruiter may want you to leave in Sept. to meet his numbers, but if you have a chance to leave a few weeks later and get the job you want then I say go for it. There may be someone willing to switch slots with you and leave earlier.

[PNW2011]

You will not get that job period if you ship open contract. They need to start investigating you as soon as you ship to boot camp.