View Full Version : enlisting with a four year degree
mikeh7644
02-19-10, 01:14 PM
i had a quick question i am in college with a scholarship so i will not pass that opportunity up but i see myself as being the type of person that would enjoy being in infantry or the jobs that enlistment comes with. am i able to just enlist with a four year degree and then if i decide to later become an officer? and also is there a certain type of degree i need to become an officer? like can someone majoring in music become a officer...im not going to major in music but just hypothetical
There are quite a few programs to go from enlisted to officer route. But if you already have a degree, why not go straight to OCS?
Lisa 23
02-19-10, 03:31 PM
Do a search on the site about becoming an Officer, as it's been covered before.
MSSlaughter
02-19-10, 05:08 PM
i had a quick question i am in college with a scholarship so i will not pass that opportunity up but i see myself as being the type of person that would enjoy being in infantry or the jobs that enlistment comes with. am i able to just enlist with a four year degree and then if i decide to later become an officer? and also is there a certain type of degree i need to become an officer? like can someone majoring in music become a officer...im not going to major in music but just hypothetical
You can enlist with a degree, and the only incentive you'll get is contract PFC. After establishing yourself as a Marine (after boot camp, MCT, MOS school, and a while in the fleet) you could put up a ECP (Enlisted Commissioning Program) package to go to OCS. Officers and enlisted Marines will fight for days over which is harder, boot camp or OCS, but the bottom line is...they're both extremely challenging. Why do both when you'll have the option to do just one. If you're one of those people who isn't sure if you've got what it takes to be an officer, or you don't think you can handle the burden of responsibility...OCS will let you know. It's a screening process.
For your second question...yes the band nerd with a band nerd degree can become an officer. I reserve the right to say band nerd as I am one myself. What the degree is in doesn't matter, as long as it's properly accreditted.
mikeh7644
02-19-10, 09:28 PM
alright thanks a lot slaughter.. That helps a bunch I think I am fit be a marine but it seems like being a warrior on the field will suite me more idk I will look into it more..another question I have is..is there any class that would do me some good? Like science for certain things or a math or something I know it matters on my MOS but like a math class that would help with coordinates or something like that
stein07
02-19-10, 11:54 PM
You could be an infantry officer if you make it and get selected for that MOS. What is your motivation to enlist? Why not make that degree pay off while still being a Marine?
I ask these questions as someone who did enlist with a four-year degree.
mikeh7644
02-20-10, 01:02 AM
You could be an infantry officer if you make it and get selected for that MOS. What is your motivation to enlist? Why not make that degree pay off while still being a Marine?
I ask these questions as someone who did enlist with a four-year degree.
what do you mean infantry officer IF i make it? is it hard to be one? do they not take infantry officers often? and my motivation to enlist instead of become an officer is because it seems like Marines that are enlisted are the ones who do the dirty work and that is the way i am and the way i have been. i see officers as the drill sergeants, the officers giving out directions for a certain activity or what not and/or who walk around and make sure the soldiers are doing it right, which i know they do but i dont know if they go out into the field and risks themselves because the government keeps them away as they are more "valuable"(not to put anyone down at all im just saying to the enemies) correct me if im wrong though, i do not have experience with the military yet. it seems like i want to be the one as i said into the action frontline. and for your last question; i am not completely sure what you mean by that. im thinking you mean having the Marines pay for my way through college and i have a full ride playing football.
Sgt Leprechaun
02-20-10, 02:16 AM
IF you make it because slots are allocated based on performance and class standing. Officer candidates don't get to automatically pick what they want to do, it's assigned based on 'needs of the Marine Corps'.
Also, it's "Staff Sergeant" and not last name.
Do some 'book' research. Read what officers do and have done in the Marine Corps. Start with 'Fix Bayonets' and proceed from there to any one of the very good biographies on notable Marine officers. There are some fine current one's out there about current Marine Corps officers as well. Educate yourself and determine if that's what you want. If they don't sound appealing, then look to the enlisted side.
And if your next post will be "I don't like to read" then seek a career path elsewhere. Officers and enlisted read....a LOT. Those who don't, don't last long.
stein07
02-20-10, 10:12 AM
Great advice, Sgt.
Also try reading "One Bullet Away" by Nathaniel Fick. The author was an infantry officer who became a Recon Marine as well. Officers may not do 'dirty work' like cleaning the head, but they lead from the front.
ameriken
02-20-10, 10:30 AM
alright thanks a lot slaughter.. That helps a bunch I think I am fit be a marine but it seems like being a warrior on the field will suite me more idk I will look into it more..another question I have is..is there any class that would do me some good? Like science for certain things or a math or something I know it matters on my MOS but like a math class that would help with coordinates or something like thatIf you want to be taken seriously as an officer in the Corps, then take some classes that will improve your English, writing, and communication skills.
Candidates who are officer material know how to communicate properly.
Socal2361
02-20-10, 01:10 PM
Officers may not clean heads or do any b*tch work, but they do go into combat right along side the enlisted. Now I do believe going enlisted first will help develop you into a better officer because you will know what its like to wade through the sh*t jobs that non-NCO's have to deal with. Its easier to know how the man on the very bottom feels if you've been there.
SgtThrasher
02-20-10, 01:24 PM
Officers may not clean heads or do any b*tch work, but they do go into combat right along side the enlisted. Now I do believe going enlisted first will help develop you into a better officer because you will know what its like to wade through the sh*t jobs that non-NCO's have to deal with. Its easier to know how the man on the very bottom feels if you've been there.
:thumbup: Roger that!
Sgt Leprechaun
02-20-10, 06:56 PM
Great advice, Sgt.
Also try reading "One Bullet Away" by Nathaniel Fick. The author was an infantry officer who became a Recon Marine as well. Officers may not do 'dirty work' like cleaning the head, but they lead from the front.
THAT'S the book I couldn't think of. Thanks!
'Ken...thank you. I get so weary of being 'the grammar police'. I'm thinking of making my sig line something like "If you can't read, spell, or write a correctly formatted sentence, don't complain when someone assumes you are an idiot, or at least, uneducated".
Lisa 23
02-20-10, 07:13 PM
THAT'S the book I couldn't think of. Thanks!
'Ken...thank you. I get so weary of being 'the grammar police'. I'm thinking of making my sig line something like "If you can't read, spell, or write a correctly formatted sentence, don't complain when someone assumes you are an idiot, or at least, uneducated".
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