Im 26, want to join, should I be worried about my age?

[Duncan14]

Hello everyone, a quick backstory about me, I graduated HS and worked a few jobs and have not done much with my life, here I am at 26 years old.

I went to see a Marine recruiter and took the ASVAB and physical at MEPs, all is well and I can ship out in a few months, all I have to do is swear in.

Now I am willing to admit that I am nervous about all of this, its pretty nerve racking to say the least, I fully understand what I am getting into.

My question is this, is age a big deal? I know most recruits join out of HS and many are 18-20 years old, here I am at 26, even one of the recruiters at the station was 26! It made me feel kinda bad, almost like "man what have I been doing this whole time..."

Why do I want to join? I am honest with myself and while I am a hard worker, I feel that I lack discipline, I would love to travel to different places, I would love to learn a job in the Marine Corps, I want to be pushed to my limit and I would love to become a Marine, to earn that title.

I also just gravitated more toward the Marines more than any branch, I admire they way they present themselves compared to the other branches I talked to.

So am I overthinking all of this? I am 26, in good shape and have the opportunity to join, no waivers or anything needed, nothing is holding me back, just my mind, I guess that nervous energy is getting to me.

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[Rocky C]

Your overthinking it.

Yes you will have to answer to Marines that are a lot younger then you but just go with the flow.

After you swear in I will change your status on the forum to " Poolee/DEP "

Keep your nose clean and stay out of trouble.

The most important thing on your mind right now is preparing yourself for Boot Camp and Earning the Eagle, Globe and Anchor.

After that just be the best Marine you can be and don't worry about the age factor.

Best of luck to you and keep us posted please.

BTW, fill out your complete profile so I don't have to send you a Private Message.

[USMC 2571]

Take a look at similar threads by conducting a site search. There are TONS of threads about people being 26 or so, concerned about trying to join. Take a look at as many of those as you can find, all contained here within Ask a Marine section. Good luck.

[USMC 2571]

If you don't find anything as the result of a search by keyword(s)--just scroll back to previous pages here in Ask A Marine and you'll find lots of threads, advice, etc. Again, good luck, and welcome to the site. I also sent you a PM re your profile, then saw that Admin (Rocky C) also mentioned it in a previous post here a short time ago.

[irpat54]

once in the fleet, assuming you graduate recruit training, age will not even enter into your thought process, you will be to busy training and/or going to school for you mos and then on to the fleet and your job,, you will make friends and age will not even be a after thought.. as for those in charge over you,, that won't even be an after thought as well,, it won't matter,

you're young enough so getting in shape and staying in shape won't be a problem ether, the age where that becomes a problem is from the early to mid thirties on, and the Marine Corps don't accept recruits over 29 anyway..

good luck..

[MunkyVsRobot]

No one cares about your age if you want to join, join. Do or do not there is no try. If you want to go to boot camp and pass you will if you are half @$$ing it you will go there and fail. Rightly so.

[Tennessee Top]

Interesting. The average age of a USMC drill instructor is - 26 (and they're on their second enlistment). Understand, they will call you "grand dad", "gramps", or "old man" (amongst other things).

After bootcamp, you will be taking orders from 20 year-old Lance Corporals and Corporals. You will not be competing against them for promotions/assignments. You will be competing against your peer group of 18-19 year-olds. Only you know how you will be able to accept this situation. Have you experienced having someone much younger bossing you around? How about a younger female (their numbers in the USMC are growing as directed by the Secretary of Defense so naturally, they are advancing into leadership positions)?

Understand. Your clock is ticking and you're not getting any younger. This area of concern won't get any easier the longer you wait and you say you still have months before shipping to bootcamp. You need to decide this is something you really want to tackle, sign the contract, swear-in, join the DEP, and ship the first opportunity you get. We cannot make this decision for you.

Good luck.

[lcplsperle]

Trust me, your age isn't going to be a factor. You have to decide whether you are willing to make a three or four year commitment. Once you sign that contract, there's no turning back. Talk to some former Marines and get to to know a little bit about what you are getting into.
It will be a challenge, but I certainly have no regrets. You'll get to do and see a lot of interesting **** and the experience will last you a lifetime.
I say go for it if you think you're up to it.

[Phantom Blooper]

Be afraid...be very afraid....that can't get your run time down fast enough to get the process started.....at the RSS

As stated keep your nose clean and stay out of trouble....PT....and good luck!

[capitolfire1822]

I was in your shoes not too long ago. I enlisted at 26 and left for boot camp at 27. I'm not a 28-year-old Lance Corporal. If I had to make the decision again, I wouldn't change a thing.

There are going to be both pros and cons to enlisting at your age. I enlisted as a reservist and had a full time career as a firefighter in a large city. Working in a para-military field was definitely beneficial to me. Heck my first day of the fire academy consisted of a Marine screaming in my face. I was living on my own for years and was grown and mature. That can all be helpful to concentrate on becoming a Marine while your fellow recruits are sitting around home sick and lost while being on their own for the first time in their lives.

The cons are like what was mentioned earlier. You may have drill instructors older than you. For me, this was not a problem. These Marines are so well-put-together and mature that you don't even think of the age. Those drill instructors did such a great job molding us into Marines that I would listen and do anything that they tell me.

The annoying part has nothing to do with the younger drill-instructors, it's the fellow recruits. You will be around some recruits that are not very motivated, are lazy, and never had to work in their lives. This is where you need to step in. Your experience in life can help push them through. Get yourself a billet such as squad leader or guide and become a leader. You're only as strong as your weakest link.

In MOS school I was given a billet based on age alone. I started as a squad leader and quickly moved up to guide and then class leader. It was something I never would have thought about a year prior. I never imagined myself as a leader until the instructors told me to use my experience in life to take charge. I held my billet throughout MOS school and am back in the civilian world more confident than ever, about to take the Sergeant exam for the fire department.

My point through all of that is don't let the age thing bother you. Use it to your advantage. The best moment of my life was standing there after The Crucible and getting that Eagle Globe and Anchor placed in my hand. Let me know if you have any questions.

[USMC 2571]

Good post, helpful to the OP.

[Duncan14]

Thank You for all the responses, it motivates me even more to go through with this, this is going to be a big challenge and as I said before I am nervous about it all but I truly believe in facing challenges head on, I wont shy away from adversity, once you conquer it you can only grow stronger.

I do have a question about shipping, my recruiter told me that I could ship as soon as May but being 100% honest here, that seems too soon for my physical state.

I can do about 8 pull ups, 50 push ups and when it comes to running, its terrible, I have never been fat in my life, more on the average side and not a shining example of an athlete but I work hard, obviously I'll work hard but can I really be ready for boot camp by May?

[Rocky C]

I asked you in your thread, I sent you a private message, I don't know what part you don't understand when I say " Fill out your complete profile " These are Forum Rules.

But you continue to post and disregard. You are not even a " Poolee " yet !!!

Last request..

[Tennessee Top]

May will be here before you know it. You better get busy.

As far as shipping goes. You must be able to pass the Initial Strength Test (IST) in order to ship (plus, whatever fudge factor your recruiter wants to add to the minimum required scores). Once you can do this, you are eligible to ship.

There is no rule that says you have to ship to bootcamp when your recruiter says you're ready to ship (you do not belong to the USMC at that point). If you know you're not ready, have that conversation with your recruiter and come to an agreement on when to ship. Actually, you should be having this conversation now.

[Duncan14]

Thanks for all the replies everyone, got my profile up as well.

Talked to my Recruiter. I swear in Tuesday, man Im nerveous/excited. My recruiter keeps asking if I want to consider reserves, I wonder if hes asking because of my age, It has definitely crossed my mind, I could work on school while being a Marine but I dont think it would be the same experience.

i definetly regret not joining at 20 but no time to sulk in the past, move forward only.