Does going Reserve limit MOS opportunities?

[Lindsey24]

Good Evening,
I am looking in to Reserves because I want to attend school while serving. Would I be able to request 02XX, 61XX, 58XX as my top three preferred MOS? From what I've been told Reserves only offer Admin & Supply. Is this true? Also, if I was to do active duty, am I limited to only online schooling? Thank you for your time.

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[Tennessee Top]

Generally speaking. Your MOS opportunities will be limited to the needs of the reserve units within driving distance to your home.

For instance. The reserve unit here in Knoxville is a combat engineer company. Obviously, majority of the reservists here are combat engineers. But, the company also has admin clerks, supply clerks, etc. Your recruiter will be able to tell you what MOS's the reserve unit's in your area need. Out of those MOS's, you'll have to see which ones you qualify for, based on your ASVAB score, security clearance, etc. Majority of the reservists here are full time students at the University of Tennessee.

The next nearest reserve unit to here is a reconnaissance company about 3 hours away. Majority of those reservists will be recon but also have clerks, etc. Some of their reservists live here, attend the university here, but stay there for drill weekends. So, you're not automatically tied to the reserve unit nearest you but, if you join another unit, you'd be obligated to drill there (one weekend every month plus two weeks each summer).

There are reserve military police (58XX) and aviation (61XX) units but you'd need to find out where they are. There are no 02XX units I know of.

No. Active duty Marines are not only limited to online schooling. When I was at Camp Pendleton CA, I attended classes on the campus of Saddleback Community College (about 30 minutes away). In Okinawa Japan, I attended classes from the University of Maryland (overseas branch campus). I did take online classes from Penn State University while living in Brazil. I was able to finish both my AA and BS degrees while on active duty (but it took many years) through a combination of both classroom and online courses. What you must remember is, pursuing your civilian education on active duty may be available to you, but it can never be guaranteed. One is a Marine 24 hours a day and duty/mission come first. If your unit deploys at any time, nobody will care what semester you're in at the local community college, and you won't be taking your laptop to do course work online. If going to school is your priority, find a reserve unit to join. If being a Marine is your priority then go active duty.

Good luck.

[Lindsey24]

Besides speaking with my recruiter to find the needs of near by units, is calling recruiting stations across the state a good plan of attack? I would not go reserve if 02, 61, and 58 weren't in my favor. Thank you Top.

[Lindsey24]

x

[Tennessee Top]

Recruiters are salesmen selling a product, the Marine Corps in this case. They require a face-to-face meeting to establish a relationship before going forward. They need to see you're not in a wheelchair, morbidly obese, have tattoos/piercings on your face, etc. You can call anybody you want but they will insist on a meeting in their office, or at your house, before talking about available MOS's - that conversation will be later. Certainly, your initial contact with a recruiter can be by phone just don't expect anything to come of it other than an appointment to meet one-on-one. They want to make their sales pitch to you on their home turf.

[USMC 2571]

Outstanding posts by Tennessee Top, as always----but also, PM madsox, a squad leader here who served in the Reserves. He may or may not have some specific insights also. Good luck to you.

[crazymjb]

As has been said, entirely depends on what reserve unit is nearby. There are almost always Admin and Supply jobs because pretty much every unit has Admin and Supply personnel... But there should be other MOS's. People come and go every year, so just because a job isn't immediately available, doesn't mean it won't become available.

Mike