View Full Version : Enlisted or Officer?
philv1987
12-04-08, 01:39 PM
I am a senior in college and will be graduating in May of 2009. I want to join the USMC but am stuck deciding whether I want to go enlisted first and gain some experience or go in as an officer immediately. What do you guys think of this? Is gaining experience in the enlisted ranks common or more respected, or do most college graduates go directly into OCS? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
philv1987
12-04-08, 01:41 PM
I am interested in working in Aviation and maybe becoming a Pilot and I know Officers hold the pilots MOS if this helps.
yellowwing
12-04-08, 01:42 PM
Moving to Ask a Marine forum.
Phil, fill in some detail on your profile. Read the rules notated as Sticky Posts (http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=9) in the Poolee Hall.
It's what we asked of everyone.
temarti
12-04-08, 03:06 PM
If you are finishing College then go the Officer ranks, get an ROI on your education. I am sure you will have a few student loans to attend to. Either way you will be a Marine once you have finished either OCS or RT.
0231Marine
12-05-08, 06:50 AM
Smartest guy I ever met was one of my LCpl's. He had a Bachelors in Engineering from Rose Hulman Institute of Technology (one of the top engineering schools in the country) and a double Masters in Applied Physics and Molecular Chemistry. This guy was 29, could have been some medical engineer making 500k a year but he always wanted to know if he could have made it in the Marine Corps so he enlisted. He figured there was always time for a career after. After the fact, he realized he should have gone officer but he still didn't regret joining.
I guess the point of this is, do what makes you happy. It doesn't matter if you go enlisted first but make sure it's what you want to do. I have met plenty of good officers who weren't enlisted first so don't wrap your head around the idea that to be a good leader, you have to come from the enlisted ranks. Leadership is something you either have, or you don't.
If you are interested in becoming a pilot, I would advise going officer because there is a maximuim age for starting flight school, and I think it is 25 for the Marine Corps.