Enlistment after college question...

[Infinitum]

Alright I went to my buddies house today and was talking about the Marines, he plans to enlist right out of high school. I plan to take a different route and get college out of the way ASAP. Anyway, when I told my friend and his dad I was going to ENLIST (yes, enlist) after college my friends dad, who is a total armchair Marine, said "Nope, they won't let you do that. They will make you become an officer and you won't be able to do infantry." Now this sounds a little fishy to me so I figured I would ask some ACTUAL Marines if this is true. So basically what I am asking is:
Can I go to college, enlist, and choose my MOS?

Thank you Marines.

[Lisa 23]

I'm not try to be a smart a$$ here, but if the search engine works for you, please do a search on this. This topic has been covered many times before.
If it doesn't, report it to one of the mods so they know.

[Infinitum]

I ran a search on this and couldn't really find anything on picking an MOS. I am just concerned that I wouldn't be able to be a 0311.

Sorry if I caused any offense.

[Lisa 23]

You're not causing any offense.

Do you plan on enlisting or being an officer after college?

[Infinitum]

I want to straight up enlist. In my opinion, if God intended for me to be an officer, I will eventually work my way up from the bottom. Plus, I wouldn't want to be a kid fresh out of college leading Marines who have seen crazier stuff than I could imagine.

[Lisa 23]

Yes, you can go enlisted after college. My nephew went to college and went enlisted. Some know that they cut out to be officers, and some don't. That's you're choice.

[Infinitum]

Alright, I assume that means I can choose my MOS as well. Thank you for your time WMarine, and thank you for Serving our Country.

[Lisa 23]

You're Welcome.
I'm sure some Marines will come along and give you more advice on this.
Good luck to you!

[Quinbo]

The only way you can nail down an MOS is to go reserves. You can join under an 03XX contract. Maybe you'll find interest in one of the other 03 fields after you get to the school.

[stein07]

To do yourself and your future justice, you should at least talk to both an enlisted recruiter and an officer recruiter (OSO). Find out what all of your options are and evaluate them. Don't dismiss going officer off the bat. Make sure you have a reason.

I'm saying this to you as someone who did enlist after college, so yes, you can do that. There are 03's in the officer corps as well.

[Capital M]

Got's a BA in economics and just graduated from the island a brand new bootass PFC last week. Your friends dad or whoever is sadly misinformed. It's a tough decision to make but do your research well and you'll know what path is right for you. But do make sure you talk to an OSO and a recruiter. That's a must

Just remember enlisting doesn't mean you can't become an officer.


Also be aware that your OSO isn't going to try and sell the Marines to you as much as and enlisted recruiter would. OSOs want candidates who know they want to be Marines already... and they have plenty of those already. It's going to be a lot more competitive. I wouldn't recommend walking into the office with anything less the like a 230-240 pft.


Good luck and hit me up with any questions. I was in the SAME spot you were in 4 years ago and I chose the college route

[Infinitum]

Another quick question on this subject:
If I were to attend the Citadel for college would I still be able to enlist or would it automatically put me in an officer position.

Sorry for all of the questions Marines.

[Dragonscript]

Another quick question on this subject:
If I were to attend the Citadel for college would I still be able to enlist or would it automatically put me in an officer position.

Sorry for all of the questions Marines.

I'm not certain about the Citadel but they can't force you to become an officer. In my reserve unit over half the guys already have college degrees and many of the others are working on it.

Don't worry about asking questions, just as long as you search to find if someone has asked it before. You would be amazed at the number of enlisted Marines who have college educations, some have just as much college as officers if not more. It's not like it used to be in the olden days.

[JWDevilDog]

I want to straight up enlist. In my opinion, if God intended for me to be an officer, I will eventually work my way up from the bottom. Plus, I wouldn't want to be a kid fresh out of college leading Marines who have seen crazier stuff than I could imagine.

Obviously no disrespect intended to our shiny brethren, but I agree whole-heartedly with this observation. I decided on the same route, although I ended up simply leaving college early to enlist. I don't recommend doing that, though. At least finish your degree.