Best Jobs

[Mongoose]

Like Dave said, we didn't get to pick our mos back in the day. I was a 0331. M-60 walking gunner. Nothing great about being a grunt, unless you like to get up close and personal with the bad guys. But, someone has to to it. In the end it's very satisfying to know you actually ate the same dirt your enemy did and came out alive.

[USMC 2571]

Good post, Billy----yep, those days were days of Classification Tests in boot camp, two days of them, and the ever-present Needs of the Corps. Then based on those two things the Corps handed you your MOS.

The only exception was "Aviation Guaranteed", in which case the aviation-related MOSs were available to choose from.

But that was then and this is now, so just be aware in general that an MOS you think you'd hate, you might end up liking, or even loving. No telling how things turn out in reality compared to what you thought a job might entail.

[Sethsonian]

Seth-son, a word of advice here?

Don't take things personally and get upset about them. There are some Marines on this forum who did 20 years before I was even in boot camp (1984), and some of them are a little rough around the edges. That's a thing you'll need to learn about Marines - we tend to be pretty direct and until you've earned the title, we don't all feel the need to be polite and nice and friendly. Hell, even then we can be pretty rude and rough with each other.

So read what m14ed said again and figure out what he meant. Give me a bit and I'll fill ya in on what I thought of my MOS, which is a lot like USMC2571's, except I was just a regular radio operator, none of the spooky secret squirrel stuff for me...

I did read it once more and All I got from what he said was Google can answer my question. Then at the end he said "or do you want me to do that for you" implying that I'm being lazy and can't search on my own when all I'm asking for is rather you liked or disliked your job and your personal experiences with MOS/MOS School. If I'm missing something please enlighten me because I guess I'm not getting it. Maybe my "Best Jobs" Thread tittle was misleading.

[USMC 2571]

Reread the part Andy said about some folks being rougher around the edges in their answers than some others. They answer questions much differently, sometimes. That's what Madsox was talking about, basically.

[USMC 2571]

So in other words, just accept that as part of life and don't over-analyze it. Just continue on and ask questions as they occur to you, on different threads for different subjects.

[madsox]

Well, I was trying not to call anyone a grouchy old codger, since I'm in training for that title myself!

But as a basic 2531 (now 0621, I think? someone currently in can correct that), life could be good or it could be rough.

Keep in mind that I was a Reservist my whole time in, so my mileage varied. But it was a mirror image of the life of the active duty communicator. You can get attached to any kind of unit, from a Division HQ where you've got trucks and jeeps to carry all your gear around, you do shifts on radio watch in the CIC or FCC, and sleep in a hard-floored tent, to a line infantry company where you're just a grunt with an extra "deposit mortar here" flag on you (known fact - radios attract sniper fire and artillery).

Nowadays the Comm field is more integrated with all kinds of IT, data communications and more crypto, info security and things that are pretty valuable to certain employers if you do only one or a few enlistments.

I liked Radio. Not sure how much that helps you, but there it is.

And no, I didn't get to choose it. I enlisted straight into the Reserve, so it was "what Reserve unit is near you? Huh. Okay, they need radio operators. You're gonna be a radioman."

Worked out fine though - needs of the Corps come first!

Now off to fix my signature block...

[USMC 2571]

And, again, a lot of these threads that ask about jobs/MOSs, the OP mentions that he or she does not want to be tied down to some job they hate. And they mention desk jobs, for example. But mostly every job entails SOME time at a desk, no matter what the MOS. Again, trying to figure out what MOS you would like and what you would hate is very difficult, as the opinions of others might vary considerably from the OPs perception of any of these jobs. Evaluating jobs on the basis of what others think about them. That is one way to go about this, but it might prove deceptive.

[MunkyVsRobot]

I like how this shower shoe thinks he rates anything. "Hey tell me what job i should choose from whats school like what job should i pick?" Like you were told do some god damned research yourself it is your life your 4 years not a popularity contest. If you cant handle someone speaking abrasively to you then maybe this isn't the career path for you twinkle toes. I'm surprised everyone has entertained your thread thus far.

You literally reported someone because they told you to go research your own MOS that you will be holding. If you cannot put forth the effort to go do your own research what the heck are you going to do when you have your entire company leadership demanding you do a sizeable work load and if you dont complete it by days end you have to stay late or get punitive paperwork?

[Mongoose]

Josh, why don't you talk to him like your D.I.'s did in boot-camp. You know ....with compassion, concern, with that almost a whisper voice. Treat him with the same understanding your platoon commander had for you.

[Sethsonian]

I like how this shower shoe thinks he rates anything. "Hey tell me what job i should choose from whats school like what job should i pick?" Like you were told do some god damned research yourself it is your life your 4 years not a popularity contest. If you cant handle someone speaking abrasively to you then maybe this isn't the career path for you twinkle toes. I'm surprised everyone has entertained your thread thus far.

You literally reported someone because they told you to go research your own MOS that you will be holding. If you cannot put forth the effort to go do your own research what the heck are you going to do when you have your entire company leadership demanding you do a sizeable work load and if you dont complete it by days end you have to stay late or get punitive paperwork?

I haven't picked my MOS that's why I asked about school and how well others liked it. This is part of my research seeing how others liked it then doing more research into that specific field. By the way if you look at a thread that's like 3 or 4 more down you'd see that I have researched and found one I liked that I am perueing. This is just to see what others are like from personal opinions. And btw i was on my phone and I saw a triangle and pressed it trying to find a delete button. That reporting thing was an accident. If you don't believe me it's fine

[Sethsonian]

Josh, why don't you talk to him like your D.I.'s did in boot-camp. You know ....with compassion, concern, with that almost a whisper voice. Treat him with the same understanding your platoon commander had for you.

you'd do that for me really? Awwwwww

[Sethsonian]

Excuse my last comment. I read your comment wrong.

[Tennessee Top]

One issue manifested in this thread is a generational one. We know mellenials for instance like to ask "why". They also like to be involved in the decision-making process (the OP is in the process of making a decision about his potential MOS choices). Basically, the OP is being a millennial - something he has absolutely no control over (one cannot change the generation they belong to). This explains why some comments are not registering with him but seem completely normal to us. Plus, he is a civilian and understandably does not comprehend our culture.

I'm a "baby-boomer" like many of us here. We never asked "why". In fact, one of our mottos was "ours is not to ask why - our is to do or die".

Probably didn't explain myself very clearly and just confused the issue even more. Just think there is a breakdown in communications due to a generational difference here. And, I could be completely wrong too!

[USMC 2571]

No, Top, looks like you are completely RIGHT. And for the reasons stated. There is no doubt a generational gap. But there's no way to avoid that, and as you said, it is out of everyone's control. We just do the best we can, try to help and encourage folks.