ASVAB Scores, Officers, and Jobs

Okay, so for now, as everyone knows, I'm going in as a Reservist, which means that my list of jobs really wasn't all that deep, especially considering my Reserve unit is a Recon unit. So for the time I'm a Reservist I'll be an 0621 Field Radio Operator, which is cool and all and for the next 2 years I will get good experience being a "Battery Operated Grunt".

However, here is my question. I got a 96 on the ASVAB, which I guess is pretty good, although I'm not really sure how it's scored and all. I do know that I'm qualified for all the jobs in the Corps.

So here's my question. Is having a score like this going to make it harder to get an Infantry job after OCS? I know, Needs of the Corps, and I'm fine with that, I'm just going to TRY and get a basic Infantry command, rather than something else that Officers do. If the Marines decide they need me elsewhere, then elsewhere I will go with just as much motivation.

So I guess my question is this: Is being qualified for my jobs going to limit my ability to get jobs that don't have as high of requirements?

The same question applies if I were to augment into the Active forces. Would having a high score limit my ability to try out for Recon?

Thanks!:banana:

I don't know why you would think that having a high score would make it more difficult for you to be an infantry officer or to go recon. I had an MOS that required a decently high ASVAB score, and I knew many grunts that did much better than people in my platoon could have ever thought about doing. The notion that grunts are dumb simply isn't true. That being said, if you qualify for OCS, you will be in the company of many bright people. The Marine Corps isn't going to allow an idiot to become an officer.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Echo_Four_Bravo

I don't know why you would think that having a high score would make it more difficult for you to be an infantry officer or to go recon. I had an MOS that required a decently high ASVAB score, and I knew many grunts that did much better than people in my platoon could have ever thought about doing. The notion that grunts are dumb simply isn't true. That being said, if you qualify for OCS, you will be in the company of many bright people. The Marine Corps isn't going to allow an idiot to become an officer.

---

Well, I didn't mean it like that. I meant that because I would be qualified for so many more jobs, it would mean that the Needs of the Corps would enter into the decision even more, y'know?

Like, let's say you have guy A, and his score qualifies him for 2 jobs, and one of those is the one he really wants. He's got a 50% chance of getting that job.

Then there is guy B, who has a score that qualifies him for 8 jobs. He really wants the same job as guy A, but he only has a 12.5% chance of getting the job he wants.

Or let's say I want to be a grunt, but they are EXTREMELY short on nuclear technicians. Now, if I had an ASVAB score that didn't qualify me for nuke tech, I'd get the grunt position, but because I am qualified to do anything in the Corps, I'd end up as a nuke tech to serve the Needs of the Corps.

See what I'm saying?

It doesn't quite work like that, at least from when I enlisted so things very well may have changed in 20 years!

Essentially when I enlisted I was shown a list of MOS fields (not specific jobs mind you) that had openings. These then were crossed reference to my ASVAB Scores (back then there were more than one score, you had an overall score and then specific scores for other areas, electronics and language for example) to see what of the open fields I qualified for. Then I picked 3 ranking them in order of desire. The the Corps assigned me to where I was needed. So you are guaranteed one of the 3 fields you chose and that cannot be changed unless you fail - fail boot camp or MOS school, and then the Corps can put you whereever they want you.

So if you don't want to be a nike tech (which the Corps does not have any of) then don't select that field as one of your 3 choices.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jryanjack

So if you don't want to be a nike tech (which the Corps does not have any of) then don't select that field as one of your 3 choices.

---

Ahh, excellent. See, going in as a Reservist I have been guaranteed a specific job, so I was just mistaken as to how job selection actually worked.

Now I understand. Thanks for squaring me away!

P.S. I was just using nuke tech as an example because it sounded fancy ;)

Officer MOS selection is a source of constant confusion for candidates and LTs. Your ASVAB score can't hurt you at all, at least that I'm aware of. The ASVAB score only helps you out if it means that you are brilliant and are going to ace all of your tests and TBS and be ranked at the top of the class. Here is a link to the TBS MOS page. https://www.tbs.usmc.mil/Pages/MyMOS...nt_Process.asp

You can also go to the TBS page and read the student handouts, there is lots of good info there.

Officers get their MOS at The Basic School (TBS). At TBS, your class is split into thirds for the purpose of ranking and MOS selection (top 1/3, middle 1/3, and bottom 1/3). Then the top ranked students in each of those thirds will get to choose their MOS first. Of course, the availability of MOSs depends on the needs of the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps breaks the class into thirds so that all of the rocket scientists at the top of the class don't pick the same MOS. Then you get smart people in the popular MOS's and less smart people in the least popular MOSs.

This method of selection means that a Marine ranked at the top of the middle 1/3 of the class rankings will have a better selection than somebody at the bottom of the first 1/3.

You get your MOS around the 14th week of training. LTs are ranked according to their average grades in Military Skills, Academics, and Leadership. Then the list is split into thirds with the available MOSs apportioned between each third. LTS get to rank the MOSs available to them in order of preference. They also get to list their preference of East Coast, West Coast, or overseas.

The goal is to be ranked near the top of your third. The Staff retains the right to change the MOS assignements according to the needs of the Marine Corps. Roughly 28% of the jobs are combat arms (15% infantry), 27% flight related, and 45% are support jobs. By the way, every MOS is important to the Marine Corps. Nevertheless, the system is set up so that you should get one of your top 3 choices. Hope that helps!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dscusmc

*snip*

---

Awesome man. That answered all of my questions perfectly. Thanks for that very, very, informative post!

It is good to see that the way officer's are assigned their MOS is about the same as it was when I was considering OCS. I assume that most of the people still want to be infantry or pilots (flying is fun, infantry is... well what the Marine Corps is). I know that is why it didn't work where the top students got to pick their jobs first all of the time. The infantry and flying jobs would take the best and brightest, with the "leftovers" (that still aren't all that bad really) being in the support roles.