When should I go talk to a recruiter

[Tat1Guz]

Hey I’m 16 and in my sophomore year of high school. I already know I want to join the marines, I was thinking of going to talk to the recruiter my sophomore year of high school but I’ve heard stories of the recruiters not wanting to talk to you until your 17.I was just wondering wether that was true and should wait till my junior year or if that was false. I want to join the 0331 field of that helps.

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[Zulu 36]

The first thing you should learn is Marine, Marines, Marine Corps, are all spelled with capital letters.

Second, yes, you'll need to wait until you are 17 to talk with a recruiter about enlisting. What year you are in school is immaterial, but the age is a legal requirement on the recruiter.

Third, you can't enlist for a specific MOS like 0331 unless you are enlisting in a Reserve unit with an open billet for 0331. The best you can do with an active enlistment is ask for the 0300 field (infantry). If you eventually get 0331 (machine gunner), then Bonus!

[crazymjb]

You can always call a recruiter (with your parents permission) just to get some general information. They may or may not talk to you given your age, which you should be upfront about. I started working out at the recruiting station at 16, as did many others. Official policy seems to be 17. Either way, if you are under 18, talk to your parents about it first. Talk to your parents about it anyway so they get used to the idea.

Honestly, most here can answer your questions, probably more honestly than a recruiter will, or with more experience -- except for stuff relating to your individual fitness to join the Marine Corps in so far as health, legal issues, tattoos, etc are concerned.

As a 16 year old sophomore, you'll be 17 years old your junior year and 18 your senior year, which should give you plenty of time to get all your ducks in a row before you graduate.

The comments about MOS are accurate. There will be a wish list for MOS at SOI if you go active duty. Depending on a multitude of factors you may or may not get what you want.

Mike

[Tat1Guz]

Thanks, I was under the impression that I could pick exactly what I wanted to do. One more question. I’m in MCJROTC and I have it set up for 4 years and I’m also working towards my Eagle rank in Boy Scouts of America. I heard that if you do 4 years of ROTC then you get higher pay. But I also heard that if your a Eagle Scout you also get better pay of the start. Are these true and if they are do they stack and I get extra pay for doing both.

[Tat1Guz]

Thank you, that’s clears that up, I’ll do better to check my spelling before I post again!

[Tennessee Top]

MCJROTC and Eagle Scout should guarantee you Private First Class out of bootcamp which will put you one pay grade above your peers meaning more money after you graduate. Can't double stack it, only one pay grade increase. You'll have to talk to your recruiter about this. It must be in your contract when you ship to bootcamp or it won't happen - your DI's won't be able to do anything about it if it's not there.

Goos luck.

[crazymjb]

Top makes an excellent point. There is a saying that the only person in the military that cares about your career is you. You need to always make sure you are advocating for yourself, and always trust but VERIFY. This is true for getting the MOS you want as well as all sorts of other crap throughout your career, whether it is 4 years or a lifetime. Don't be afraid to bother people, albeit tactfully, to make sure you aren't getting lost in the green machine.

Reservists sign a contract to fill a specific job at a specific unit. Active duty typically select their field and either by class ranking and wish list or needs of the Marine Corps are assigned a specific job. In the infantry there is generally a good amount of cross training on weapon systems within a company. We had a handful of 0311s in my platoon who were better on machineguns than many 0331s. Its not like your platoon can't teach you in years what takes SOI 4-5 weeks. In fact, any good platoon will be structured so Marines know how to do their buddies jobs, both in terms of rank and MOS.

Mike

[Tat1Guz]

Thank you guys so much for the help! I appreciate it!

[USMC 2571]

Congratulations in advance re the Eagle Scout accomplishment!!!!!