College graduate, Enlisted to Officer

[DayandNight]

Hello Marines. I'm 25 and I recently graduated this past May from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor's Degree in Geography and Political Science. I was working temporarily for Hunt Oil here in Texas part time, but unfortunately I got laid off a few months ago. I have been searching for a job since. Anyway, I have been considering joining the Military for a while now. I have spoken to both my local recruiter and the Officer recruiter. My goal is to be an Officer, I have the Degree, and a good GPA. However, financially, I cannot afford to wait for nearly a year or more or so before I even would get accepted to OCS after going through the process. So I am more than likely going to join as Enlisted. My recruiter told me since I have a Bachelor's Degree, I would enter the Marine Corps as an E-3, also he said that I would have a better chance of getting accepted to OCS once I'm Enlisted, since its like the Marine Corps is just hiring from within.

My question is I guess, is it better to enter the Marine Corps first as enlisted, then apply for OCS, that way I have prior experience as Enlisted? My goal is to be an Officer. Also, as stupid as this sounds, do Officers treat Marines who have degrees as if they are lower than them, or do they treat them as a person? I mean, like I would hope that they didn't think they were better than anyone else just because they were an Officer. I'm sorry if that sounds kind of disrespectful, but I really didn't know how else to word that. Thank you for any advice. I appreciate it.

-Tyler.

[Tennessee Top]

Tyler,

Not to shoot you down but your question gets asked on here about every week. Try doing a search; I'm sure you'll find a ton of responses and they're all basically the same.

Good luck.

[03Mike]

Top’s right – there’s a lot of info already written on this (Heaven knows, I’ve written a lot of it!).

That being said, I want to address your last question – is an enlisted Marine treated any differently if he or she has a degree. Well, 99% of the time no one will know that you have a degree unless you tell them. Sure, someone looking at your Service Record Book will see it, but in general….

How an officer treats you – how an NCO or SNCO treats you – or how other Marines treat you - has nothing to do with your educational level, instead it almost entirely depends on how you behave and perform your duties. If you are locked on, you are respected and treated accordingly. If you’re a walking goat rodeo, well, you are treated accordingly. The same goes for an officer with prior enlisted experience, or who graduated from the Naval Academy, or who came in through OCC or PLC – generally, you are respected by virtue of your uniform and rank… until you give a Marine a reason to not respect you. Your behavior and performance will dictate the level of respect you earn – not whether or not you hold a degree, which school you got it from, whether you were prior enlisted, or whether or not you come from a rich or poor family.

[DayandNight]

Thank you everyone for the responses. I really appreciate it. Thanks.

-Tyler

[tripledog]

What a question!

[DayandNight]

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend anyone by sounding stupid and naive with what I asked.

-Tyler

[lamanognr86]

Listen here kid. You will be granted E-2. The higher ranks will be expecting a lot more responsibility and action out of you due to your degree. The other Marines will be looking up to you with the utmost respect, so make sure you DO NOT f*ck up. Your sh*t better be tight, or you will lose respect. Also, if you do anything stupid or screw up in any way, the higher ups will make fun of you and rub that degree in your face. I, for one, have not screwed up since I been in. As a four year college graduate with the responsibility I possess, I've been more than helpful in the shop.

Personally, if you have goals and desire to accomplish what you want to do, nothing should stop you. You should be breathing dedication and spitting out motivation every day.

[Perez671]

No one get's E-3 on a contract. Only E-2. Only ways to get E-3 early is if you're company honor grad or you got a lot of friends that want to join the Marine Corps after you graduate. I've only been in almost a year so far, not saying I know much, but I know a little so far. From what I see, and I'm only saying this as an opinion not direction, I think being enlisted is a good foundation and experience no matter what your intentions or goals. That being said, I gotta go, these sandbags ain't gonna fill itself. -Semper Fi

[DayandNight]

Thank you everyone for the advice and the replies. I'm sorry, I meant E-2. I was thinking of the other branches such as the Navy and the Air Force where you enter as an E-3 if you have a Degree already. You are the right, it is E-2 if you enter the Marine Corps with a Degree. My mistake.

[DayandNight]

Listen here kid.

Kid? We are the same age according to your profile, I don't think I'm a kid.

-Tyler

[devilbones2]

When I was at MOS school to be a Topographic Intel Specialist we had two guys that were in a similar situation to you. One had a degree and the other was just about done. They both somehow went into a program to the Naval Academy and earned their commission. They were promoted non-competitively and earned pay/entitlements the entire time they were there. Keep your nose clean and if you can sign under a guaranteed intel contract, you may find some people willing to help you out on your way. This should by no means be a reason for you to join, I just wanted to share to let you know that the opportunity is there.

[lamanognr86]

Kid? We are the same age according to your profile, I don't think I'm a kid.

-Tyler

Relax sport, just read the advice and say thank you.

[Cpl Heglar]

Hey Tyler do you know a gent named Emmit York at Hunt oil refinery? I was there about 16 years ago working on some firepump controllers.

[osborned]

Relax sport, just read the advice and say thank you.

Okay mister joined-up-last-year, kid-sport-slick-chief.

[lamanognr86]

Mister? What does "joining up last year" have anything to do with this post?