Open Contract

[docileurxtasy]

What is an Open Contract? Also, what papers do you have to make sure you signed after choosing a MOS? I know about the 3 wish list but during that do you sign anything? Do you sign anything? After boot camp or before u ship out? Etc

[marinepooly1361]

An open contract means that you dont have a specific MOS when you enlist.
After boot campt the Corp. will place you where its needs bodies. you sign something at MEPS but You dont actually sign your contract till you get to boot camp (correct me if I'm wrong Marines). So basically it means that you do what they need you to do.

[hawks]

DO NOT DO OPEN CONTRACT I REPEAT DO NOT DO OPEN CONTRACT. All the open contracts in my platoon got "Food Service Specialist".

[Chumley]

I enlisted open contract in 1989. I believe you do sign your contract at MEPS, just no MOS listed at that time.

hawks is right!!!!! You will have very poor odds of getting a good deal..."if you make it through boot camp, we'll give you a job". I was just plain bold and went for it.

Here's what happened to me. I had an overall score of 90 on the ASVAB. I signed up in March of '89 and left for reported to boot at PISC May 15.

I was sent to Hawaii for 3 years 2 months and had a cushy desk job using my brain.

I am the exception, and therefore listen to hawks and myself here - I was SOOOOOOOOO freakin lucky. You have about 98% odds of being either food service or 0311.

If you give a hoot at all about your future, I suggest that you get an MOS that will give your technical training and a future after the USMC too. A large majority of Marines do not make careers out of it. There is no shame in food service. I would only give you the best advice and that is to put yourself on top of your priority list and be open minded towards your future.
I would tell anyone to get the most from your service. Open contract does not do you any favors, it only makes the recruiters job a little easier. Stack the odds in your favor. Do not gamble with this. Let me know if you need direction to address this with your recruiter.

Signed,
"My recruiter's wet dream, Chumley"

[kbs95125]

When I went in to process the last time at MEPS the Gunny at the liason office told me he would not let me go to boot camp with an open contract, so I needed to have a job before the next time we met or he'd kick my a**.

[Marine84]

Open contract ain't THAT bad - guess I was a lucky one. I went in open contract and ended up in Ordnance. It's a crap shoot either way you go..................

[Echo_Four_Bravo]

The notion that all open contract people end up as cooks is a little silly. The Marine Corps only needs so many cooks. But, there is no reason to not pick a job that sounds OK to you, just to try to make sure you're happy with your career path.

[Sgt Leprechaun]

LOL. Half the "Open contracts" in my platoon in 1982 got Infantry. The other half? "Cooks and Bakers School".

Don't do it unless you like to gamble.

[MikeC049]

When I went to MEPS I signed an open contract but then later on at the recruiters office I signed something for the Combat Support field. He said when I go down the MEPS again before I enlist I will sign a new contract with the new MOS.

[SladeReaper13]

I went open contract only so I would be able to get the job I wanted. I Didnt have to sign anything at MEPS when I got back from MEPS to the Recruiters Station. Then I got to select my MOS.

[MikeC049]

Open contract wont get you the job you want unless your REALLY lucky.

[KRenee87]

When I went to MEPS I signed an open contract but then later on at the recruiters office I signed something for the Combat Support field. He said when I go down the MEPS again before I enlist I will sign a new contract with the new MOS.

Same here. The liason at MEPs told I'd better pick job before he sees me again.

[SladeReaper13]

Yea lately they don't like you to sign open contracts they want you in a job. But some get to select their job at the recruiters station that way they can think about the job that they want to fill

[davblay]

Here's the thing about open contracts. Yes you will be a cook/baker if that's what is needed at that time! You will be Infantry, MP, candlestick maker if that's what they need at the time. It is only a crap shoot to the Poolee, not the Corps! Your recruiter has the best knowledge of your line scores and what you have relayed to him your interests are! He can best help you select the right job based on your apptitude, not just from "WHAT I WANT". You might want to be a Grunt, but you may be best suited for a mechanic, or something like that. I am not saying to leave it up to your recruiter, I am saying nail him down, one on one, and decide what's best for you based on your wants as well as the needs of the Corps. It's a lot better doing a job that you CAN do, than it is to maybe fail out of some school that you can't do or really are not interested in, then get shipped to the Grunts, or somewhere that you really don't want to be for your enlistment period.

[thewookie]

I was short on time due to my circumstances and so I went in open contract. I also took the ASVAP in HS only to get out of class, so I was playing behind the 8ball. Got Motor T, can't truck it fvck it, it was fun for my first 3 years because I was with the grunts, and I always volunteered to go out with the comm truck for the STA platoon. But Motor T wasn't for me, I wanted more fun with guns, so my last 5 years I got away from Motor T through Security Forces. I wouldn't change a thing about my time in the Marine Corps, except for going in open contract. Don't do it, pick something.

[Jdncowboy]

When I went in to process the last time at MEPS the Gunny at the liason office told me he would not let me go to boot camp with an open contract, so I needed to have a job before the next time we met or he'd kick my a**.


Hey which Gunny was it?

[kbs95125]

Gunny Bernardo

[TJR1070]

I got in in 1989 and my cousin and I both went open contract. I got NBC specialist and he got infantry. It worked out for both of us and I ended up loving my job, but it is definately a crap shoot. Do yourself a favor research all the jobs you might be interested in and ask some of the Marines on this site for specific info on what a junior Marine in that MOS actually does on a daily basis. Some jobs can sound good on paper but not be what you were expecting.

[Korling]

Open Contract in 1985. Got screened in bootcamp for 2673 Korean linguist and never looked back. Greatest move I ever made as I wanted Meteorology but it was closed and nothing else really interested me.

What is always striking to me on these forums is that whenever the open contract question arises (here and on other sites). Those who were never open contracts jump in with the doom & gloom of "everyone in my platoon that was open got ____! Dont Go Open!" Those of us who actually were open though usually have had pretty positive experiences. [of course, if you went open, hated what you got, you probably are none to happy with your Marine experience and are not hanging out on Marine websites.]

[Ub3rmike]

Gunny Bernardo

Oh man, I remember when we came into MEPS early in the morning for a physical and we all had to line up and he was pretty much already chewing us out to make sure we didn't do anything to embarass ourselves because we were borrowing the USMC's name on our name tags.

I was talking to one of the female liasons, with Gunnery Sergeant Bernardo talking to another applicant. "Get your hands off my desk!" Even though a lot of people at my recruiting office said they hadn't chosen a job, a couple of us including myself already chose infantry. I don't know how people got away with not choosing a job since I was taken upstairs immediately to choose a job after being asked if there was anything I should let them know that would potentially DQ me after passing physical.

[Alphaonethree]

KBS- Pick a MOS, I went open contract and was sent to the grunts, I did not mind it because first and formost every Marine is a grunt.

[Haffner]

You know why at MEPS they want you to pick a job? There are a couple of reasons that stand out in my mind:

1) It shows you are decesive and have thoroughly thought the military through and have begun planning on what you want to do not just with the military, but potentially your career. This shows that you're able to think long term, make objectives and complete goals.

2) Getting a job you want will greatly increase (more than likely) the satisfaction you get out of your military experience. A happy Marine is a productive and motivating individual. Primarily (but not limited to) junior Marines let their emotions get more in the way of their work than more senior Marines. Having an MOS that you don't want will on average make you less satisfied with what you're doing as a Marine, which even if you don't notice it and think you're trying your best, can get in the way of overall productivity and efficiency.

On the same tangent: if you have an MOS that you not only don't like and also doesn't set you up very well for the future -- that's just more fuel to the fire. Mind you, all MOSs teach you critical skills, but some teach more skills valuable in the civilian workplace than others, some teach skills that are very highly in demand, some not so much.

All of the reasons and offshoots therein that I just presented seem, in my opinion, to be pretty good inklings as to why some Marines/civilians would want you to actually choose a job.

It's kind've like investing in yourself: if you take some more time to choose a job that you know you'd like and is similar or in part what you'd like to spend your life doing (whether or not you stay in the Corps) you'll be happier, more successful, and most importantly (to the big green machine) more productive!

It's your 8 years, poolees (yes, I said 8) -- take charge of it and carry it out accordingly as to how you see yourself doing best. For you, your other Marines, and your country.