can i go to soi

[madman1042002]

i would like to be a 6051 data network specialist, i hear that you have to go to mct but i think i would like to go to soi an learn there instead is there any way for this to happen ?

[Lisa 23]

At the SOI, Marines with the MOS of infantry (0300 occupational field) are trained at the Infantry Training Battalion (ITB), while all non-infantry Marines are trained in basic infantry/combat skills at the Marine Combat Training Battalion (MCT Bn).

[madman1042002]

yes i have read this but is there anyway for me to trade and go to soi it just seems like better training and, I would like to better grasp infantry if i decide to change my mos later i will already have this under my belt

[josephd]

you want to go to ITB (infantry training battallion) and not MCT you mean. Every Marine goes to SOI, infantry marines go to ITB and everyone else to MCT.

But to answer your question no, the Marine Corps has a particular budget set for you and others as students. Sending you or anyone else to a school/course you don't need is a waste of funds.

[Backhaus 1103]

i would like to be a 6051 data network specialist, i hear that you have to go to mct but i think i would like to go to soi an learn there instead is there any way for this to happen ?

yes there is....be a grunt.
ITB isn't anything special anyways.

[Sgt Leprechaun]

Exactly. You want to go to be an Infantryman, BE one.

[madman1042002]

every Marine is a Rifleman first right might as well get the infantry schooling for it but if Mct is pretty much the same then i can see how it effects me. i guess me trying to jump school and basic scuba diving is also out of the question

[Sgt Leprechaun]

Unless you are an Infantryman...yes. There is no call or need in the Marine Corps for Data entry Marines who jump out of airplanes or have scuba qualifications. Those slots are reserved for warfighters not computer techs.

Again...you want to do that sort of thing....go Infantry. You want to be a computer tech...well, be a computer tech.

[brian0351]

This isn't a University. You can't pick and chose what you want to do.

You want to be a computer tech...that is all you will be. Sure after a few years you may be able to lat move into another MOS...however that is based on the needs of the Marine Corps.

The Marine Corps has limited slots available to Dive School and Jump school. Those slots are needed for those who will be out in the field operating. That's their job.

You will be in a server room keeping the network up and running. That will be your job.

[madman1042002]

I wanted to say thanks to everyone thanks for the info this first 6 years im going to be a data network specialist so i can have something to fall back on when i get out but hopefully if i get the chance to reenlist and change my mos i will be more than happy to switch it over to infantry i have the heart for infantry but the mind for data network

[Backhaus 1103]

I wanted to say thanks to everyone thanks for the info this first 6 years im going to be a data network specialist so i can have something to fall back on when i get out but hopefully if i get the chance to reenlist and change my mos i will be more than happy to switch it over to infantry i have the heart for infantry but the mind for data network

Did I read this right? Are you signing a 6 year contract as data super pogue whatever it is then planning on reenlisting into the grunts after 6 years?

[brian0351]

You REALLY need to get your priorities straight. You want to go from a specialized MOS into the Infantry after 6 years in? I'm not going to say it will never happen, but everything is stacked against you. 1st off, You'll have to go back through SOI. You'll be training with privates right out of bootcamp. 2nd, You'll report to your unit as a Cpl or Possibly Sgt...never having served a day in the infantry. Infantryman don't like POGs...so you will have to out smart, out run and out lead everyone you come across before anyone will take you seriously. If your not close to a 300 PFT runner, I wouldn't switch. 3rd, Infantry school billets are ALWAYS booked. Just talk to any of the DEPs who are waiting on a slot for the next fiscal year. The chance of them sending you to SOI as an active duty retread aren't likely. (Being a reservist is something else)

[madman1042002]

wow i thought it wouldn't be such a big thing my brother told me he was a avionic engineer then he switch over to EOD for his last two years its all about if they need a space filled

[Backhaus 1103]

wow i thought it wouldn't be such a big thing my brother told me he was a avionic engineer then he switch over to EOD for his last two years its all about if they need a space filled

You'll probably be a Sgt and will be going to a grunt unit where PFC and Lances will be more senior/know more than you. That's if they'll let you switch which after being in one mos for 6 years I doubt you'll switch.

Anyway EOD is different, you have to be an NCO do even try and do it.

Here's an idea...enlist in the fu*king infantry!

[madman1042002]

i would join up for infantry if i could get a good career when i got out i really dont want to be a cop when i get out of the corps no offense but you dont have that many option outside of the Corp when you leave infantry i was going to try to do what my brother did was got what he needed for a good career outside the corp then switch and run the last years in the infantry i have lots of friends who done the infantry and ae having hard times finding jobs because they didnt have any skills other than war when they got out

[madman1042002]

this post is not to **** anyone off its just me trying to figure out what my options are

[BR34]

1st of all, it's CorpS, not Corp.

2nd, if you want infantry + specialized skills and you're already planning to stay in and lat move why don't you do infantry first then lat move to 6051.

3rd, contrary to what some have told you, you CAN do the 6051 thing and still get more than the basic infantry training. Google "MARSOC" for more information.

[Lisa 23]

While this may not bother other Marines, it bothers me.
You're 22 years old...try using capital letters at beginning of sentences, punctuation marks were needed, and periods at end of sentences. It's terrible to see one long sentence that has no proper sentence structure to it.

[Backhaus 1103]

You misspelled "where" herr commandant

[Lisa 23]

Ooops, my bad.

[Sgt Leprechaun]

As others have said, I will elaborate just a touch:

First, you realistically have no idea what you are going to do when you EAS. Just because you spent 4 years in the Infantry does NOT limit your job choices upon getting out. The only thing that would limit that would be YOU. While going to school as a grunt is difficult, it's not impossible. Many courses/classes can now be taken on line, for example. Plenty of former Infantry Marines go elsewhere upon EAS and become successful at ANY career.

As another Marine said, this isn't Walmart or junior college, you don't get to pick and choose what you 'want' to do once you decide on an MOS. If data is what you want to do, then fine, do it, be the best there is, STICK with it, and go from there. Otherwise, go infantry. It sounds like you'd be happier (which is relative in the Infantry I assure you) on that path. Lateral moving from data to infantry is going to be difficult at best and likely a nonstarter for you at worst. Besides, none of us here can predict the future, the Marine Corps may decide to dump the 'data' MOS...who really knows?

Life is a crapshoot, sometimes you just have to gamble. I can tell you this, though, it would be easier to lat/move FROM Infantry TO data than the opposite.

No one here is pizzed at you, believe me. We are just trying to lay it out for you with 'no bs'.

[FattyTheFerret]

i would join up for infantry if i could get a good career when i got out i really dont want to be a cop when i get out of the corps no offense but you dont have that many option outside of the Corp when you leave infantry i was going to try to do what my brother did was got what he needed for a good career outside the corp then switch and run the last years in the infantry i have lots of friends who done the infantry and ae having hard times finding jobs because they didnt have any skills other than war when they got out

First of all, use sentences.

Second, data networks isn't really going to get you that many great opportunities out of the Marine Corps after your first tour unless you're already technically inclined and have some decent knowledge of the IT industry. Regardless of what MOS you have your best bet will be to use the GI bill and get a degree. Some of the data network guys I know are outstanding but every single one of the outstanding ones was a pretty big nerd before they joined. The ones that just went into it knowing nothing about computers got out knowing nothing more than what they needed to know to work on the very specific things they used in the service. Most of them can't network their way out of a paper bag once they're working on civilian equipment. At best it gave them a general idea of what they'd need to study to get more than a phone center tech support job.

I don't think whatever your brother did is going to happen for you. Lat moves are rare and lat moves into infantry even more so. Pick an MOS and stick with it. If you want to be at the tip of the spear, be a grunt then go to school when you're out. If you want job skills, pick data and work on learning everything you can about networking and IT before you get out but this isn't a movie where the nerds get guns and kill swarms of bad guys so they can get to the evil mastermind's computer and hack his interwebs.

[martinj]

Just saying you've been a Marine is enough too land you a job. Besides the fact your probably going to go back to school when you get out so you will be just as qualified as everyone else that's going through school with you plus youll be older and be able to say i'm a Marine. You just have to decide if you wanna look through an RCO and nail a haji in the head or sit on your ass all day and do what thousands of people are doing back in the states, I'm just sayin you only live once.

[Beltayn]

Just saying you've been a Marine is enough too land you a job. In this economy, it might be enough to get you an interview, but unless you can sell yourself and your talents/qualifications/certifications in that interview well enough to have landed you that job anyway, simply having served a term isn't going to rate you much in the real world.

It's sad, but its reality. I know a lot of veterans that are unemployed or working at Walmart because they thought the title was all they needed.

[Beltayn]

As an addendum to the above, for any technical MOS, be it Air Traffic Control, or Data Networking, one of the most important things you can do to set yourself up for success in the civilian market is to focus energy into getting your official certifications.

A good place to start is looking at the companies you would want to work for and finding out their qualification expectations of specialists filling their vital positions.

In many cases, working on these kind of certs will require extra effort from you, above and beyond doing the minimum in your Marine Corps job. Your MOS training is not designed to teach you skills for the civilian job market, nor to get your official certifications, it is designed to allow you to competently operate military gear and equipment in a military mission in wartime.

As an example from my own MOS, there are Marines who I work with that came into the food service field with the desire to start a career as chefs and restaurant managers. To this end, these Marines got together, researched into the civilian market's expectations, and registered themselves into an apprenticeship program which allowed them to log their hours of normal military duty as cooks for credit towards a food service certification. They volunteered for extra assignments which gave opportunities to earn the chance to go to special schools at the Culinary Institute of America. One Marine got his official certification as a sous chef while still a LCPL at his first duty station. Another LCPL who got out immediately was given a position as a head manager at a restaurant and makes more than our married gunny.

On the other side of the coin, I know plenty of Marines who did none of the above and just showed up for work and PT and then went home and drank and played video games in their spare time. These Marines then got out and are almost all unemployed and can't even get jobs at McDonalds.

The thing about serving is that most employers will look at you the same regardless of what your MOS was. Most police recruiters give no more weight to a former Marine who served as an MP or Infantry than they would to a Data Networks Marine or Water Tech (Water Dogs Oo'Rah!) Marine. Civilians don't really understand those distinctions very clearly, and even when they do they know enough not to lend them much weight. What we do in the military occupational field often as little bearing on what knowledge is necessary in that field in the civilian sector.
They are much more interested in gauging your actual knowledge within their field, and your personal traits that make you the kind of self-starter they would want to work with.

The point is, your marketability in the civilian job market when you EAS has much more to do with the opportunities you create for yourself, than the opportunities you expect your MOS to create for you.

[FattyTheFerret]

Just saying you've been a Marine is enough too land you a job.LOL no. Not even close. Not in any job where the guy hiring you isn't actually a Marine or any job where any kind of specific technical training or education is required. Basically, if the assistant manager at McDonald's was a Marine, he might be more inclined to hire you unless of course he was green weenie'd multiple times and refuses to give special preference because he knows just being a Marine doesn't make you better at anything in the civilian world.

Hell, most civilians are going to be far more impressed with someone's service in the Air Force than the Corps. Don't ever, EVER count on your DD-214 to land you a job by itself.

[FattyTheFerret]

As an addendum to the above, for any technical MOS, be it Air Traffic Control, or Data Networking, one of the most important things you can do to set yourself up for success in the civilian market is to focus energy into getting your official certifications.

This a thousand times over. If you're going into data and want it to help you in the civilian world then you need to spend at least some of your free time ensuring you get your A+, Net+, Security+, CCNT/CCNA/CCNP, MCSE on top of learning the essence of networking beyond your job. And those are just the basic certs if you want a career in the IT world without having grown up inside a router like some of us.

But "the Title" isn't worth much to the outside world. It'll get you a nod and an "oh cool", maybe a couple questions but most civilians - especially in the tech industry where there is a much greater concentration of left-leaning individuals with higher education - will not give any more weight to time spent in the military than time spent in the boy scouts.

The one thing that will help you more than almost anything else, though, is the security clearance.

[madman1042002]

Thanks a lot for the last couple post, These will help me out a lot you could say i am a techie but i talk to a Marine who has the MOS who has also deployed and said just do everything you all said gain skills needed for civilian life and security clearance is worth its weight in gold in the outside world. Also if i want to see a little action while deployed volunteer for everything.

[madman1042002]

and also lat move into a higher 06 MOS if i want. The Corps gives a great head start on the people in college because i will have experience over the years of working in the Corps i just have to work at what i want and the Corps will help me along the way

[Sgt Leprechaun]

Fatty and Beltayn, you nailed it. Let me say it again....just because you are/were a Marine is NO assurance you'll get hired. The title might open the door, but you still have to EARN the job you want, be it through certifications, school, etc.

If you are an 06 Data geek, the only "action" you'll see is fighting virus's. Do you REALLY believe a Platoon Commander or section leader is going to send a Data guy outside the wire on patrols, etc? Only in the most dire of circumstance is THAT going to happen.

Don't kid yourself.

[Backhaus 1103]

As data, the only time your ever going to leave the wire is when you fly in or out of the main FOB that you're going to be calling home for seven months. That home will be either Camp Leatherneck or Dwyer. You're never going to patrol as data in Afghanistan...unless the Talibs get nukes and kill every other mos.

[Sgt Leprechaun]

Exactly. Well said.