I need advice from a Marine.

[VApatriot]

Hello Marines,
I have been trolling these forums for quite a few years and I have finally registered to make my first post. I want to give a little background about myself and then ask for some honest advice on what path I should take from some of you Marines.

I am 25 years old, I have a wife and a 5 month old child. I have roughly 15 credits left to completion of a B.A. in political science. I have wanted to be a Marine since I was 17 years old when I was in 11th grade in high school and I saw the planes strike the twin towers. I went to the recruiter and got the paper work and started talking about enlistment. I scored an 88 on my ASVAB at the time. My parents talked me out of it by telling me they would pay for college if I went, for every class I got A's and B's in. Being a mediocre student in high school, they probably figured this would translate into them not having to pay much but it would keep me "safe". I would up getting deans list in college and they were realistically too poor to afford to pay me for my grades.

I started working different jobs to pay for my schooling and I have always worked full time while I have been a student which is why it has taken me so long to complete this bachelors degree. I have worked on political campaigns and most recently I have been working for a government contractor. I am almost done with my degree and I still have a strong desire to enlist in the Marine Corps.

I will have accumulated roughly 28,000 of student loan debt over the coarse of me attaining this bachelors degree in Political Science. Naturally, the ARMY will help me pay this debt off which makes my wife happy but she has accepted the fact that the only bonus I want from the military I can get from earning the title of Marine.

My work history and skill set is very much alligned with the 0231 mos and I would be ecstatic to have the opportunity to use my acquired work experience in research skills to aid the Corps.

My questions to all of you are as follows:

Is being 26 and enlisting stupid?

Are their any Marines on this forum who have done something similar?

Does the Corps need 0231 MOS recruits right now and if I get 0261 will it still help build my resume along Political Science lines and provide civilian opportunity afterwards?

How often will I be away from my young child in either of these MOS's? From my understanding it is 6 mo in the states and 6 mo on deployment.

Since I live in the VA Beach area I will be near my family while I attend school for 0231 in Dam Neck should I be lucky enough to receive that MOS would I be able to see them when I am on liberty?

And finally, will my background in research and analysis and degree in political science give me any sway in obtaining the 0231 MOS after boot camp?

Thank you very much for reading this Marines, I just want to make the best decision for myself and my family. Thank you all for serving this country that I love.

P.S. - Any other MOS suggestions for enlisting at my age with my background with a young family?

[Nedward]

To answer your most likely BIGGEST question, the way deployments work...


It is not 6 months in the states and 6 months out of the year deployed. If it worked this way, many marines would be happy with it. To be honest, depending on the MOS (I'm not sure about yours) you will be LUCKY to see Afghanistan.

TBH, most marines these days want to enlist to be Intel, which is not necessarily the smartest move. Alot of intel guys have huge problems picking up rank, and a lot tend to spend their entire first term as a Lance Corporal. As a Husband and Father, this may not be your best route!

Just my 2 cents. And dont worry about deploying at all, if you feel "hesitant" or that you maybe "dont want to go to war".... Your opinion will change when you hit the fleet.

[VApatriot]

Thanks for the reply Nedward. I am not hesitant about deploying or going to war. I understand the fact that the size of the Corps limits advancement in a field as small as Intel and I am sure there are many lat moves from other MOS's into the field at higher ranks that take up most of the slots.

I just want to be a Marine and in the process build my resume in the field I have chosen to work in professionally and academically.

Does anyone have any information on the other MOS that is possible with an 02XX contract? Are there any 0261's that can offer insight on what they do on a daily basis and how they like their job. Also how transferable is this MOS to a future civilian career?

Thanks.

[Ice Man]

I was 24 when I enlisted. It can be tough, since you have people a lot younger than you who are half retarded trying to give you advice on life, when realistically you probably have more life experience then they do, but if it's what you want to do, do it. Age is just a number. I have no real insight into the 02xx MOS's, so I can't help you there. I know they were looking for a lot of 0241's recently, but I know nothing about it or it's requirements.

[iamspartacus]

First of all, why was the Army looking especially attractive to you for paying off college? You know every branch helps you with tuition right?

As for your questions:

Is being 26 and enlisting stupid?
No. If it were stupid for you to enlist at 26, the Marine Corps wouldn't let you.

Are their any Marines on this forum who have done something similar?
I was 21, but I had already been living on my own for a while and had been married for a year. Yes, I did feel a lot older than everyone else... even at 21. But it's only weird if you make it weird. I decided to use the real world knowledge I had to help out my peers and Marines below me.

Does the Corps need 0231 MOS recruits right now and if I get 0261 will it still help build my resume along Political Science lines and provide civilian opportunity afterwards?
No way of predicting the needs of the Corps. Generally speaking, the Corps doesn't need anyone right now. They're cutting back. As for beefing up your resume, any MOS will do that. There are things the Marine Corps just naturally gives you that is desirable to civilian employers.

How often will I be away from my young child in either of these MOS's? From my understanding it is 6 mo in the states and 6 mo on deployment.
Again, can't predict your rotation schedule. Some people spend 4 years sitting at a desk stateside. Some people spend 4 years OCONUS. I'd plan on being away a lot no matter what MOS you have.

Since I live in the VA Beach area I will be near my family while I attend school for 0231 in Dam Neck should I be lucky enough to receive that MOS would I be able to see them when I am on liberty?
Every schoolhouse has different rules for libo. My schoolhouse had phase cards. Depending on what phase you were on you could go off base. It also depends on how long your school is. Longer schools are usually more flexible. Shorter schools normally suck more.

And finally, will my background in research and analysis and degree in political science give me any sway in obtaining the 0231 MOS after boot camp?
Probably not.

In case you don't know, when you enlist, you pick a job field and then the Marine Corps assigns you a specific MOS (which normally has about 20 different MOSs underneath it). So even if you do get the job field with 0231 under it, you're still rolling the dice if you'll actually get that specific one.

[iamspartacus]

Right back at ya' Dave!

[VApatriot]

Thanks a ton for the advice guys. Iamspartacus, the army was particularly attractive not because of the tuition aid, I already will have completed my degree, it is the loan repayment to wipe out some or all of my already accumulated college debt.

This is more of an issue as far as my wife is concerned, but she knows I want to be a Marine, regardless of any "perks" the other branches offer. I have never and would never really consider the Air Force, Navy or Coast Guard, I guess because of personal preference for the ground fighting forces.

I am aware of the 02xx job field and the dice roll on what specific MOS I would be awarded, but there are only 2 entry level Intel MOS's so it would theoretically be a 50/50 shot at the one I am gunning for. I was only particularly interested in 0231 because I have a pretty good idea what it is about and what the possibilities for my daily life to be like. The other entry level Intel MOS 0261 I am not very familiar with and can't find much information on.

Thanks again for the detailed insight.

[iamspartacus]

The way I understand it, the DD contract is: Intelligence/Signals intelligence/ground electronic warfare. You got the 0200 MOSs you listed, but you also have your 2600 series MOSs. The entry level MOSs there are: 2621 and 2651. Then you have the linguistics MOSs: 2671, 2673, 2674 and 2676. If you haven't seen the sticky titled "Job Field Codes" check it out. The second person posted a link to a Word document with all the Contract Option codes with what MOS fields are in that option. Just wanted to make sure you knew all the possible MOSs. If it works out to where you can go to school close to home, great. But things rarely turn out like you plan them... especially in the Marine Corps. I'm not sure where the schools for the other MOSs are, but I know the linguistics MOS school is in Monterey, California... which might ease the pain a bit of being away from your family

[VApatriot]

Thanks again Iamspartacus, yea I see now that the contract is 02XX, 26XX so I will start reading up on the 26 series now. Yea man, that linguistics gig looks pretty amazing I am sure during and after the Corps. That is one long ass school though with a low pass rate!

[Ice Man]

How often will I be away from my young child in either of these MOS's? From my understanding it is 6 mo in the states and 6 mo on deployment. Again, can't predict your rotation schedule. Some people spend 4 years sitting at a desk stateside. Some people spend 4 years OCONUS. I'd plan on being away a lot no matter what MOS you have.

6 months in the states and 6 months deployed? Definitely not. MAYBE as an 0211 a few years ago, but that is definitely not the norm. Deployments are seven months, and dwell time is at least about a year and a half or so on average. Need time to complete PTP requirements.