Is Marine Corps Infantry Right For Me?

[M16A1]

Hello, my name is Braden and I am currently a 17 year old senior in HS.
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I have decided that I do not wish to continue onto college, at least not yet anyway, and I have decided that I'm going to pursue a career in the military and do so on the enlisted side. I have weighed the pro's and con's of each branch and have narrowed it down to the Marine Corps & the Army. I have also done a lot of research on different MOS's and decided that infantry is probably the best fit for me. Now, what is the point in my question you are probably asking? Well, what I'm asking is for some input on:
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1. Is Infantry a good path?
2. How long could I feasibly sustain a career on the enlisted side, especially infantry?
3. If I do decide that a college degree is something that I want, what would my chances of getting accepted into OCS be?
4. What are the promotion possibilities past E-3 when it gets highly competitive?
5. I'm sure you hear day in and day out about these wanna be MARSOC/Ranger/PJ/Navy SEALs, but if after a few years I decided that Force Recon is something that I wish to pursue, what are my chances of even getting a chance to try out?
6. I live in Kansas and fall to the left of the Mississippi, so I would be sent to San Diego for Boot Camp correct?
7. What would be some incentives to not just go Army Infantry w/ Airborne School in my contract, than to go the Marine Corps route?
8. For whatever reason I am pretty set on Marine Corps, but I think that there may be better opportunities available to me in the Army path.
9. I scored an 87 on my ASVAB, and after some quick calculating I think I'm above a 110 GT Score, so that opens up basically every MOS I could want correct?
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I apologize if these are just regurgitated questions that have been answered before, and I know for a fact that pretty much every single one of these questions is available online as I have looked them up. But I also would like to hear some of your answers, as every time I look up these questions I find something that contradicts the information I just read.
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Thank You In Advance.

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[Tennessee Top]

Won't be much help to you. Did not have an infantry MOS, and never served in the Army (can't compare opportunities in the Army with the USMC). Can't comment on your chances to try out for Force Recon at some point. I do know infantry Marines can try out for Recon (you can also get Recon in your contract).

Opportunities for acceptance to OCS later will be highly competitive and extremely limited. There are possibilities with the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Program (MECEP). There also is the Warrant Officer Program for enlisted Marines.

Promotions are different for each MOS field. So, your promotion potential after E3 will depend on what MOS you have. Some fields historically promote faster than others. Infantry has a reputation for slow promotion. There are things one can do to add to their promotion potential (raise their rifle score, physical/combat fitness score, off duty education, etc). Embassy Marines automatically have points added to their composite score for promotion (as an incentive).

Yes. You would be sent to MCRD San Diego for bootcamp. This policy is to cut down on transportation costs.

Yes. GT above 110 is a high score. Officer programs require a minimum GT of 110 to be eligible. Your recruiter can tell you what MOS's you qualify for. Besides the ASVAB score, some MOS's require a higher security clearance.

[03GyRene]

I decided inHigh School that I wanted to be a Marine, but was thinking about becoming anofficer. I had a full ride NROTC scholarship (which I passed up because I wasyoung and really dumb). So I enlisted, thinking I would eventually get into the MECEPprogram. I just didn’t feel ready for college yet. Well, to make a long storyshort, I enlisted for infantry, got my MOS (0311), and loved my job as arifleman (and grenadier, and AR man, and fire-team leader, squad leader etc.)so much I didn’t want to leave, so the officer thing never happened. I likedthe infantry. My only regret is not staying in for 20. My advice is, if youhave any intention of going to college, do it FIRST…it gets a lot morecomplicated after you enlist. As far as whether to go into the Marines or intothe Army? That’s a no-brainer!
Semper Fi.

[M16A1]

Thank You both for the information. Regarding the straight into Recon training after basic, I dont know if it something I want to do yet and don't think I'll know until I've been in for a while and done some growing up. So I dont think I'm going to try and get it into my contract.

[M16A1]

Also have no desire to go, fail, and then get cast into the "needs of the force" and be stuck in an MOS I hate...

[Tennessee Top]

FYI. Marines don't go to basic training - they go to bootcamp. Soldiers (Army) go to basic training.

[Erich08]

Don't they offer Marines at SOI the chance to go recon when they have spots they need to fill? I know a couple of Marines in the air wing that shipped with recon contracts and were dropped for various reasons and then ended up with Ordnance contracts.

[Tennessee Top]

Don't know about SOI. Once one is dropped from Recon training, they are automatically classified as open contract and will be reclassified based on the needs of the Marine Corps. Don't know if their enlistment contract states that, but their recruiter should make sure they understand that and are good with it before signing on the dotted line. As we all know, Recon training has a high attrition rate for myriad reasons.

[M16A1]

Apologizes on the Boot Camp/Basic Training slip up. And yes, that is why I don't want to get it in my contract and end up with an open contract if I was to fail.

[03Mike]

For what it's worth - whenever I talk with someone who is interested in Recon/MARSOC/etc, my advice is always: Get your MOS training and experience first - then seek to get into Recon or whatever once you've proven yourself in your MOS.

This also allows you to determine I you're really interested in recon/MARSOC once you get a taste of the real Marine Corps and not just he appearance that you get from the outside

[crazymjb]

I never was highspeed, but I loved my time as a grunt. Also, stereotypes about grunts being dumb are incorrect... just in case you catch flak from people for that based on your ASVAB score and so fourth. Some of the most motivated dudes in the military, both army and Marines, are going in with the exclusive goal of being infantrymen.

As far as recon, I'd encourage you to wait until you've been in at least a little while and then try to make an indoc work. You also may decide you want to do something else, whether it is just stay with your company or try for STA (scout snipers), etc.

Mike

[03GyRene]

As far as recon, I'd encourage you to wait until you've been in at least a little while and then try to make an indoc work. You also may decide you want to do something else, whether it is just stay with your company or try for STA (scout snipers), etc.

Mike

I agree. I ended up in STA platoon but had never heard of them when I first enlisted. I'm not sure why everyone these days wants to be special ops, but 0311 infantry is the best job you'll ever have.

[madinfidel]

I started 0311 and loved it, and had no idea how bad I would miss it once I became 2336. Now I loved EOD and all the guys I was with but nothing is better than being a young 0311. I was able to work with a lot of guys through deployments and some were MARSOC from time to time. Great group of guys, but you give me a bunch of doors to go through with standard issue 0311s and you're in for a good time. The bottom line with all Marines whether MARSOC or not is that we NEVER quit. MARSOC prides themselves in this but I never served with any Marines that laid down. EVER

[crazymjb]

I'm partial to being an 0331 in a weapons company. Why walk when you can ride?

Mike

[Mongoose]

I was an 0331 walking gunner. The only time we ever rode was into combat.