Avionics vs. Linguistics
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  1. #1

    Avionics vs. Linguistics

    I am still waiting on the October lists to contract a specific MOS. I've passed everything else and I have the ASVAB scores required to do any job I want. In your experience which MOS group tends to be more of a desk/inside job? I want something where I can learn a new trade or science or language, and I prefer a job that will be challenging my brain (don't get me wrong, I realize a Marine is a rifleman first.) That said, I don't want to be stationed somewhere in an office or repair shop all day every day, PTing once a year. I want to be in the field. I have a feeling linguist would be the way to go, but I thought I would ask some Marines.

    As a side note, which school is better? I heard all avionics Marines go to PCola and all linguists go to Monterey CA, and I have heard PCola is very strict about liberties and leaving base, more so than others.


  2. #2
    If you go Avionics, you will go to Pensacola and do two months of common core. You'll learn a good bulk about BASIC electronics, current, voltage, resistance, all that good stuff. All of the course is computerized, which means you are going to sit in front of a PC and take notes from the program, study them and take tests on the computer. It's not as easy as it sounds, you can still fail and get set back like a lot of people. If you're not stupid and lazy, skip the last sentence.

    After that you will be assigned to your real 'A' school. You'll have to choose between O, I, or AE level schools. For some reason, students in Pensacola (mostly those who have never attended I level school) have some major beef with I level...I don't know what caused this and why it's still going on, but you are going to hear a bunch of stupid retarded crap about I level, how it's too hard, how the school is long, and how I level doesn't do anything and they just sit in an air conditioned lab and I level is about to be outsourced by civilians anyway.

    All of it is 100% bull**** on a stick. Do not listen to those mosquito wing generals. I will always enourage Marines with HIGH EL scores to go I level. Here's why:

    O level is the lowest level of maintenance. They work long shifts on the flight deck and test pieces of gear on aircraft. When they find a piece of gear needs to troubleshot, they set it to I level, which works normal working hours in a nice air conditioned building. To be honest with you, I don't know what AE does.

    Once you go I level, be prepared for a long and challenging academic A school. Your schedule for the day will go something like this: PT at 0445 on monday/wed/friday, formation at 0800, class start at 0815 and ends at 1500 to 1630, depending on how far you are in school. Chow break at 1 to 2.5 hours long, you can go back to the barracks and chill.

    If you go I level, you will NOT live in general squadron barracks. You will be moved to a much smaller building called 601, which is ran by students and students only. It's possibly the chillest place in Pensacola. You will NOT be bothered with stupid ****-**** games from the other barracks, and you will have NORMAL duty schedule (one formation a day at 1100, and MAYBE a second hatch formation at 2200, when you just stand by the door and some LCPL checks if you are there). The school is hard, and the instructors try to focus and just that and not the other crap other schools like to organize.

    Once you finish your I level 'A' school, you will get to pick your 'C' school (no BS). I don't need to tell you what goes from there because by the time you get to this point. you will already know which specific MOS you'll want to have. I will always encourage poolees or Marines who have had some serious geek-out experience with computers (you know who you are) to be a CASS technician (research MOS 6463, 6466, and 6467). It's basically a giant computer, and you have to know how to fix it and operate inside and out. Great job, if you love doing that sort of thing anyway!

    Good luck. You are welcome to ask anything else if you feel I left something out or whatever.


  3. #3

    I was "O" Level...

    Damn, Devil, good answer, but do you have to bash us O-level guys??? Avionics is going to fit your description a little bit better, but as a Linguist, and future career opportunities (especially with the government), you can't beat it... Good luck with your decision...


  4. #4
    Good answer "Donut". I was O level maintenence on the Harrier, the job skill and trades I earned was an A&P FAA licence. That is; in order to work on airplanes in the civilian world you will need either an "A" for airframes or "P" for powerplants. Most people choose to get both as you can work on the whole airplane then. Some MOS's the FAA see determine if the applicant meets the A or the P or Both so choose your MOS wisely IF YOU WANT TO GET INTO THE O LEVEL AIRCRAFT SIDE. I can give you a list of the MOS the FAA deteremins which ratings you can apply for once you get out of the Marines. Either way, if you go Avionics you might be able to get your FAA electronics repairmans certificate, Donut do you know?

    PS we had Avionics techs in the "O" level in or squadron, they are outside on the Jets with us, plus just like every shop in the squdron there is a nice A?C workspace to cool off. I had a blast especially after the first year into the fleet.


  5. #5
    My last two posts here have magically disappeared...


  6. #6

    Avionics v. Linguistics

    I was 'O' Level Avionics. To answer the previous question; yes, you can get an FAA Electronics Repairman Certificate. However, you have to be working at an approved FAA repair facility at the time you apply for it. So, if you get out and don't have it you cannot get it until you get another job. Which was my case, they required one but I could not get it until I was hired? But it is pretty much worthless, as the civilian world wants Avionics Techs. to be A & P certified as well. IMO, I would not choose Avionics. Although it was good for me at the time as I was into electronics and aviation never the less, the work is hard and the civilian jobs don't pay nearly enough for the level of responsibility & work expected. So, I would go the Linguistics route hands down especially for civilian employment after the Corps. And don't worry about which base is better for students. Student status is student status. Time will fly and you will be in the fleet in no time and none of that stuff will matter! Good luck.

    And the old 'O' v. 'I' level thing was pretty funny. Even though we ‘O’ level guys gave you guff, 'I' level had it made!


  7. #7
    If you have any questions about 27xx send me a pm.


  8. #8
    I realize I'm a little late on this thread, but just came across it and thought I'd chime in as well, from the student perspective.

    I've been here in Pensacola for almost 6 months now, and Donut Brigrade hit the nail on the head in his description. The school(s) are long and tedious, but intellectual. The O/AE/I competition is pretty funny while you're here, but ultimately they are all jobs that need to be filled by someone, so not much point in hating

    I-Strand is arguably the more technical of the schools, however as it currently stands, most AE Marines get to pick an "I" or "O" focus, and ultimately end up doing much of the same work as your typical "I" or "O" Marine, sans the super-long school, in I-Strand's case. In other words: I have a friend who graduated AE-I, and will likely be serving in a shop on deployment with other I-Level Marines, doing the same work as them.

    What sets I-Level apart is the extra coursework we do on transistor theory; we do a LOT of theory and fundamentals before we get into anything that really seems like pratical knowledge. But, if you're the kind of guy that likes learning new stuff for the sake of learning it, I think you'll do fine. It is a challenging course, but it's not unheard of to get through the course in the 90 percentile region -- several Marines (including myself) and several Sailors in my class are doing just that, with only a few more weeks to go in the course.

    As far as life in Pensacola goes: It is pretty restrictive. The "601" barracks are arguably the most chill place you can be, although there are still some drawbacks. The liberty policy is pretty suffocating at times, but often-warranted because every weekend there are more and more Marines getting into trouble in town. So we reap what we sow, I guess.

    All-in-all, the school goes by quick once you get into the swing of it. It can be painfully slow actually getting classed up, however, particularly if you arrive here in the holiday season.

    I don't know a whole lot about I-Level's transition into the civilian workforce. I personally don't plan on pursuing it if/when I get out. Youl should be able to land any electrical job in the civilian workforce, but unfortunately they don't all pay so well anymore. MATC and CAL tend to translate over the best into civiian jobs, from what I've heard, but again, it's all hearsay.

    I would imagine there are plenty of high-paying jobs you can get by knowing another language, but remember that it will likely be the Corps' decision on which language you learn. And if that's the goal, you can probably learn a language on your own while still doing an Avionics job. O-Level has more demanding work hours, but I would imagine you'd still have some time to pursue that kind of thing with programs like Rosetta Stone or distance learning classes.

    I have no regrets about choosing Avionics and I'm happy to be almost done with Pensacola, and hopefully moving on to MATC in some capacity. We aren't in the thick of it, kicking down doors, but who knows, any opportunity for that kind of excitement might pop up down the road somewhere.

    One last perk about a longer Avionics school: You should (ideally) have time to make your "resume" look a lot nicer by the time you hit the fleet. You'll have lots of time to PT on your own and build up your PFT and CFT, and if you're lucky, will be able to earn your Gray MCMAP belt (we were told we might even get our Greens, but unfortunately MCMAP had to be canceled for some time). So there are plenty of perks that accompany the longer school.

    That was a pretty lengthy $0.02, but hopefully I answered some of your quesitons, or at least confirmed what Donut Brigade mentioned. Happy to answer any other questions if you have any.

    - LCpl F


  9. #9
    You can get all those same perks are a 27xx at DLI. I left DLI a green belt, with a bunch of MCIs done, and a high first class pft.

    Neither job is better than the other. All depends on what you like, and what you are good at.


  10. #10

    Avionics Questions

    Quote Originally Posted by Donut Brigade View Post
    If you go Avionics, you will go to Pensacola and do two months of common core. You'll learn a good bulk about BASIC electronics, current, voltage, resistance, all that good stuff. All of the course is computerized, which means you are going to sit in front of a PC and take notes from the program, study them and take tests on the computer. It's not as easy as it sounds, you can still fail and get set back like a lot of people. If you're not stupid and lazy, skip the last sentence.

    After that you will be assigned to your real 'A' school. You'll have to choose between O, I, or AE level schools. For some reason, students in Pensacola (mostly those who have never attended I level school) have some major beef with I level...I don't know what caused this and why it's still going on, but you are going to hear a bunch of stupid retarded crap about I level, how it's too hard, how the school is long, and how I level doesn't do anything and they just sit in an air conditioned lab and I level is about to be outsourced by civilians anyway.

    All of it is 100% bull**** on a stick. Do not listen to those mosquito wing generals. I will always enourage Marines with HIGH EL scores to go I level. Here's why:

    O level is the lowest level of maintenance. They work long shifts on the flight deck and test pieces of gear on aircraft. When they find a piece of gear needs to troubleshot, they set it to I level, which works normal working hours in a nice air conditioned building. To be honest with you, I don't know what AE does.

    Once you go I level, be prepared for a long and challenging academic A school. Your schedule for the day will go something like this: PT at 0445 on monday/wed/friday, formation at 0800, class start at 0815 and ends at 1500 to 1630, depending on how far you are in school. Chow break at 1 to 2.5 hours long, you can go back to the barracks and chill.

    If you go I level, you will NOT live in general squadron barracks. You will be moved to a much smaller building called 601, which is ran by students and students only. It's possibly the chillest place in Pensacola. You will NOT be bothered with stupid ****-**** games from the other barracks, and you will have NORMAL duty schedule (one formation a day at 1100, and MAYBE a second hatch formation at 2200, when you just stand by the door and some LCPL checks if you are there). The school is hard, and the instructors try to focus and just that and not the other crap other schools like to organize.

    Once you finish your I level 'A' school, you will get to pick your 'C' school (no BS). I don't need to tell you what goes from there because by the time you get to this point. you will already know which specific MOS you'll want to have. I will always encourage poolees or Marines who have had some serious geek-out experience with computers (you know who you are) to be a CASS technician (research MOS 6463, 6466, and 6467). It's basically a giant computer, and you have to know how to fix it and operate inside and out. Great job, if you love doing that sort of thing anyway!

    Good luck. You are welcome to ask anything else if you feel I left something out or whatever.
    I really did enjoy reading the info that u just provided. You have answered a vast number of questions that I had and couldnt find even in the MCOs that I have read so far. Now just another question or two... You did mention the first two (2) months prior to being placed either in I level or O level. The question is to know how long either of those levels last after the initial two months? I have heard that the entire Pcola job school for 63/6400 field is 6-7 months. Is that true? Also, how big are the classroom n Marines per graduating class? I am also kinda interested about what come next after PCola n I do understand that at that point it does depend on the specific MOS n length of trainng can vary after that....Any chance u happen to know about the 6324 field nad how long do they go to CNATT in Pendleton for? What MOS r u and how do u enjoy it?

    Out


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