Posted: 12/8/2011 2:43:51 PM EDT
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I'm in need of some advice. After graduating from college this past May with my degree in CJ(I already know...bad decision), I have had no luck finding any sort of job other than a sales/commission based job. In which I honestly have no want to be doing sales. For the last few years I have wanted to serve my country and in the last year before graduating looked into Army OCS, however now with what I have read over on OCS.gov my chances would be very slim. My GPA was not stellar and my only sort of activity outside of school was a steady job for 3 years. So my thinking is to possibly enlist, learn a skill and see what happens. Whether it be just serving my first contract or going further with a military career.
I have been doing research on the different branches and jobs, there are so many it is just kind of overwhelming. I would like a job that has some ability to translate to the civilian world and have been looking at intelligence. I am not exactly sure which one that is what I am in need of help with. I have no criminal record and no debt, so I figure a clearance should not be a problem if need be. Besides Infantry, that I know will be suggested. Does it matter much when looking at Army/Navy/AF? And what are some jobs that you all would recommend? |
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How well you do on the ASVAB dictates what jobs you qualify for. Keep in mind that you can change your job only if it has the same or higher ASVAB requirements and you meet the ASVAB score. Also, you can always retake the ASVAB.
I was greedy for the enlistment bonus and signed up for cryptology tech repairing microminiture circuit cards. I hated that, I spent 25% of my time doing productive work and 75% doing BS paperwork and inventory of gear that hasn't been touched since last time I inventoried it. I then used some battalion connections to get temporary assigned duty (TAD) for my last 3 years. On TAD I was a markmanship instructor, armorer, and went to shooting matches. The last 3 yrs on TAD was great. Mil jobs that claim to transfer over to civ jobs very rarely pan out. Your degree will offer more career options than mil experience. I won't comment on the reserves. Sgt E. USMC 2000-2005 Army reserve 2010-2011 |
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How well you do on the ASVAB dictates what jobs you qualify for. Keep in mind that you can change your job only if it has the same or higher ASVAB requirements and you meet the ASVAB score. Also, you can always retake the ASVAB. I was greedy for the enlistment bonus and signed up for cryptology tech repairing microminiture circuit cards. I hated that, I spent 25% of my time doing productive work and 75% doing BS paperwork and inventory of gear that hasn't been touched since last time I inventoried it. I then used some battalion connections to get temporary assigned duty (TAD) for my last 3 years. On TAD I was a markmanship instructor, armorer, and went to shooting matches. The last 3 yrs on TAD was great. Mil jobs that claim to transfer over to civ jobs very rarely pan out. Your degree will offer more career options than mil experience. I won't comment on the reserves. Sgt E. USMC 2000-2005 Army reserve 2010-2011 I plan on buying an ASVAB guide and taking some practice before I see the recruiter. I was also thinking that while in I could work on a Masters(time permitting), or at least use the GI bill to pay for it. Would the 35 series be a good place to start to look at? |
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35 series is a great place to look, especially if you get a slot at the language school. 21U is not bad, either.
Enlisting has the advantage that you can pick your job. Three years will get you the biggest benefits in the least amount of time. Don't count on getting to go to OCS whenever you feel like it. Your Commander and 1SG will make you prove yourself first. |
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Quoted: 35 series is a great place to look, especially if you get a slot at the language school. 21U is not bad, either. Enlisting has the advantage that you can pick your job. Three years will get you the biggest benefits in the least amount of time. Don't count on getting to go to OCS whenever you feel like it. Your Commander and 1SG will make you prove yourself first. 35F here. This is a very valid suggestion if you are interested in working for a major gov't agency. Getting a foreign language in is a definite plus. Once qualified, you'll collect extra pay as a Soldier, and you'll be a lot more marketable on the outside. The downside is that the Defense Language Institute can be tough for some people. I've never been there, but a lot of their washouts were sent to Huachuca to be trained as basic analysts. I am not entirely sure, but IIRC, you cannot get a 3yr contract as a 35 series due to the amount of training required.
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35 series is a great place to look, especially if you get a slot at the language school. 21U is not bad, either. Enlisting has the advantage that you can pick your job. Three years will get you the biggest benefits in the least amount of time. Don't count on getting to go to OCS whenever you feel like it. Your Commander and 1SG will make you prove yourself first. 35F here. This is a very valid suggestion if you are interested in working for a major gov't agency. Getting a foreign language in is a definite plus. Once qualified, you'll collect extra pay as a Soldier, and you'll be a lot more marketable on the outside. The downside is that the Defense Language Institute can be tough for some people. I've never been there, but a lot of their washouts were sent to Huachuca to be trained as basic analysts. I am not entirely sure, but IIRC, you cannot get a 3yr contract as a 35 series due to the amount of training required. So if a 35P washes out of DLI they become a 35F still? Any other MOS's you would recommend I read up on? Also I know it depends on what the Army needs, but assuming I have my part in order how difficult is it to get into 35 series for example. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: 35 series is a great place to look, especially if you get a slot at the language school. 21U is not bad, either. Enlisting has the advantage that you can pick your job. Three years will get you the biggest benefits in the least amount of time. Don't count on getting to go to OCS whenever you feel like it. Your Commander and 1SG will make you prove yourself first. 35F here. This is a very valid suggestion if you are interested in working for a major gov't agency. Getting a foreign language in is a definite plus. Once qualified, you'll collect extra pay as a Soldier, and you'll be a lot more marketable on the outside. The downside is that the Defense Language Institute can be tough for some people. I've never been there, but a lot of their washouts were sent to Huachuca to be trained as basic analysts. I am not entirely sure, but IIRC, you cannot get a 3yr contract as a 35 series due to the amount of training required. So if a 35P washes out of DLI they become a 35F still? Any other MOS's you would recommend I read up on? Also I know it depends on what the Army needs, but assuming I have my part in order how difficult is it to get into 35 series for example. The short answer is yes, at least that was the case in 2006. It is all contingent upon needs of the Army + whatever criteria you still meet. At that time, our "platoons" had well over a hundred Soldiers in them. It seemed like at least 5-10 Soldiers per platoon were DLI washouts. In comparison, I only saw 1 or 2 Soldiers wash out of the 35F school. They made that pretty damn difficult to do. The saying at the time was "half a 96B is better than no 96B."  (96B was the old designation for 35F)We lost several classmates to clearance issues, mostly due to conduct in training. The CoC down there was pulling clearances for all kinds of offenses. Most of those guys became 68Ws or 88Ms. If you don't score well on the DLAB or if you are not comfortable with the idea of learning being force fed a language, the next best thing for a career leading to a gov't agency would be to pick 35F or 35M (HUMINT) and eventually re-class to 35L (Counter-Intel) or 31D (CID) which are non-entry level MOSs. You may find 38B (Civil Affairs) interesting. |
| Once in you can consider reclassing if you want to stay enlisted to my MOS, 35L. We do a myriad of things from investigations, intelligence operations/collections, and analysis. Criminal Justice isn't a wasted degree either if you want to eventually get into law enforcement leadership. |
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So if a 35P washes out of DLI they become a 35F still? Any other MOS's you would recommend I read up on? Also I know it depends on what the Army needs, but assuming I have my part in order how difficult is it to get into 35 series for example. [/div] Do some research on what exactly you want to do. I recommend doing something that is fun and exciting to you and then after your first enlistment reclass to a MOS that has a civilian counterpart. Don't do reserves, they are like fat chics, there not real people.  If you intend to work on a degree while your in, it is possible, but difficult, So consider how much down time you will have to work on schooling. I am Infantry and was not able to work on my schooling until I got volun-choosen for recruiting duty. If you find a MOS that your dead set on, then don't enlist until a slot is availible. If you decide to join the Army, our current ship dates are pushed out to May/June/July time-frame for basic training. When you talk to the recruiter, take the practice test in the office and then tell him what job your looking for and that your dead set on it. We can call and ask for MOS's if they are not on our system, but that is not a guarentee by anymeans. They load new jobs daily so dont give up. it could take a week or two, just be ready to go to MEPs when needed.
If you want to talk to an Army recruiter you can IM me and I will give you my number. All I will do is tell you about the Army and answer any questions you have, I promise I will not put you in the Army, if you do call and decide you want to join, i will tell you to contact a local recruiting office. |
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I'm in need of some advice. After graduating from college this past May with my degree in CJ(I already know...bad decision), I have had no luck finding any sort of job other than a sales/commission based job. In which I honestly have no want to be doing sales. For the last few years I have wanted to serve my country and in the last year before graduating looked into Army OCS, however now with what I have read over on OCS.gov my chances would be very slim. My GPA was not stellar and my only sort of activity outside of school was a steady job for 3 years. So my thinking is to possibly enlist, learn a skill and see what happens. Whether it be just serving my first contract or going further with a military career. I have been doing research on the different branches and jobs, there are so many it is just kind of overwhelming. I would like a job that has some ability to translate to the civilian world and have been looking at intelligence. I am not exactly sure which one that is what I am in need of help with. I have no criminal record and no debt, so I figure a clearance should not be a problem if need be. Besides Infantry, that I know will be suggested. Does it matter much when looking at Army/Navy/AF? And what are some jobs that you all would recommend? Holy shit, dude, are you my clone? 
Indeed. I've been looking at enlisting too. I dunno what I want to do yet because there's a lot of options. I can't decide between doing something that would useful out of the military like 68W, or something cool like blowing shit up. 
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Pick the blowing up shit job. Life is too short to sit behind a desk and watch the world pass by outside your window. If you have a college degree, use it to find employment after the military. If you don't have one, use tuition assistance and get your degree while serving. Even if deployments only allow online classes.
Be honest with yourself. You're thinking of joining because life is just too boring for you. The vast majority of us joined for the adventure whether we admit it or not. |
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Intel is great for skills and clearances. Light infantry will get you out of the country the most, for training and deployments. You could easily go a year without anything exciting or interesting in some MOS'. That is part of why I am leaning Intel, however blowing shit up does sound like a lot of fun. Is the 11 series the light infantry? |
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Infantry is Infantry as far as MOS goes. 11B is direct infantry (riflemen) and 11C is indirect infantry (mortars)
Heres the fun part, if you sign up as Infantry you will be signing an 11X contract, it is needs of the Army if you become a B or C I got hosed and they made me a 11C to begin with, but I reclassed when I reenlisted. It is the same training, the only difference is an extra week for the mortar training. Light versus heavy Infantry is dependant on what unit you get assigned to after initial training |
| Dont sweat it bro. Everybody in the Army talks shit on the Infantry and then they say that they do pretty much the same thing as the Infantry, But they ain't Infantry. Its a proud brotherhood that you will be apart of once you graduate boot. Congrats on enlisting, which branch did you go with? |
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Quoted: Dont sweat it bro. Everybody in the Army talks shit on the Infantry and then they say that they do pretty much the same thing as the Infantry, But they ain't Infantry. Its a proud brotherhood that you will be apart of once you graduate boot. Congrats on enlisting, which branch did you go with? USMC |
| I was a Tanker and I loved it. You are combat arms, but you don't walk. In fact you learn to hate the ground. Tankers prefer to stay on the tank. We eat on them, we sleep on them, we piss and shit off them, who needs the ground? I knew i would go combat arms when I joined the Army and I am eternally grateful I chose tanks. |
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Don't want to side track your post, but you need to link up with a recruiter ASAP. Due to the "drawdown" and depending where you are located, you may not be enlisting for awhile( or at least shipping).
Case in point, I was assisting a family friend of a GO, and he had serious delays; knee consultation, 1st recruiter was a dumbass, had to switch recruiting stations, AIT backlog......the guy hated to do it, but he had to name drop who he knew to the station commander to get squared away. He finally got the MOS he wanted, MP, but it took 4 trips to MEPS and doesn't ship until the spring. BTW, he was a recent college grad with a 3 ... something GPA and a 99 ASVAB score You need to get test and physical qualified then you can seriously talk MOS's , righ now it's all conjecture. As far as going off the street OCS, good luck. Anything is possible, but it's not as easy to join right now as you think. Good luck! |
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I'm sorry to sidetrack, but why is a CJ degree a bad decision? It's a bullshit degree, for one. They market it for kids who want to be cops or what not... but no department is looking for a kid with a CJ degree, any more than any other degree. It's like the "Homeland Security" degrees that sprung up everywhere this past decade - also bullshit. You want to be of real value to a government agency in the homeland security" realm? Study accounting, a foreign language, even chemistry. Have something to offer besides stuff everyone already knows. |
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I'm sorry to sidetrack, but why is a CJ degree a bad decision? It's a bullshit degree, for one. They market it for kids who want to be cops or what not... but no department is looking for a kid with a CJ degree, any more than any other degree. It's like the "Homeland Security" degrees that sprung up everywhere this past decade - also bullshit. You want to be of real value to a government agency in the homeland security" realm? Study accounting, a foreign language, even chemistry. Have something to offer besides stuff everyone already knows. It also gives you nothing that you won't have after two years on the street, and the inability to apply it practically for the first two years will make the knowledge worthless anyway. What could you offer to other members of your department with your degree? Also, what will you fall back on if you get hurt? |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'm sorry to sidetrack, but why is a CJ degree a bad decision? It's a bullshit degree, for one. They market it for kids who want to be cops or what not... but no department is looking for a kid with a CJ degree, any more than any other degree. It's like the "Homeland Security" degrees that sprung up everywhere this past decade - also bullshit. You want to be of real value to a government agency in the homeland security" realm? Study accounting, a foreign language, even chemistry. Have something to offer besides stuff everyone already knows. It also gives you nothing that you won't have after two years on the street, and the inability to apply it practically for the first two years will make the knowledge worthless anyway. What could you offer to other members of your department with your degree? Also, what will you fall back on if you get hurt? Good point pervs. But, if it is a bullshit degree, why would the DEA, FBI, SS, US Marshals etc., list it as one of the degrees they prefer when picking candidates? |
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I'm sorry to sidetrack, but why is a CJ degree a bad decision? It's a bullshit degree, for one. They market it for kids who want to be cops or what not... but no department is looking for a kid with a CJ degree, any more than any other degree. It's like the "Homeland Security" degrees that sprung up everywhere this past decade - also bullshit. You want to be of real value to a government agency in the homeland security" realm? Study accounting, a foreign language, even chemistry. Have something to offer besides stuff everyone already knows. It also gives you nothing that you won't have after two years on the street, and the inability to apply it practically for the first two years will make the knowledge worthless anyway. What could you offer to other members of your department with your degree? Also, what will you fall back on if you get hurt? Good point pervs. But, if it is a bullshit degree, why would the DEA, FBI, SS, US Marshals etc., list it as one of the degrees they prefer when picking candidates? Believe what you will. Obviously we won't stop you. |
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Quoted: I'm not trying to shrug you off in any way Bohr, I've spoken to plenty that have said going the accounting or business way will lead you into a job with a fed. agency. I just wanted to know why people think it is a BS degree and that it won't lead you into a job.Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'm sorry to sidetrack, but why is a CJ degree a bad decision? It's a bullshit degree, for one. They market it for kids who want to be cops or what not... but no department is looking for a kid with a CJ degree, any more than any other degree. It's like the "Homeland Security" degrees that sprung up everywhere this past decade - also bullshit. You want to be of real value to a government agency in the homeland security" realm? Study accounting, a foreign language, even chemistry. Have something to offer besides stuff everyone already knows. It also gives you nothing that you won't have after two years on the street, and the inability to apply it practically for the first two years will make the knowledge worthless anyway. What could you offer to other members of your department with your degree? Also, what will you fall back on if you get hurt? Good point pervs. But, if it is a bullshit degree, why would the DEA, FBI, SS, US Marshals etc., list it as one of the degrees they prefer when picking candidates? Believe what you will. Obviously we won't stop you. A lot of my fellow CJ majors do not take it seriously and I think that is the problem. I know plenty of classmates who are just doing the coursework and not applying themselves in the field. Be that internships, ride alongs, reserve police work, martial arts, weight lifting, shooting etc.
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I'm not trying to shrug you off in any way Bohr, I've spoken to plenty that have said going the accounting or business way will lead you into a job with a fed. agency. I just wanted to know why people think it is a BS degree and that it won't lead you into a job.Quoted:
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I'm sorry to sidetrack, but why is a CJ degree a bad decision? It's a bullshit degree, for one. They market it for kids who want to be cops or what not... but no department is looking for a kid with a CJ degree, any more than any other degree. It's like the "Homeland Security" degrees that sprung up everywhere this past decade - also bullshit. You want to be of real value to a government agency in the homeland security" realm? Study accounting, a foreign language, even chemistry. Have something to offer besides stuff everyone already knows. It also gives you nothing that you won't have after two years on the street, and the inability to apply it practically for the first two years will make the knowledge worthless anyway. What could you offer to other members of your department with your degree? Also, what will you fall back on if you get hurt? Good point pervs. But, if it is a bullshit degree, why would the DEA, FBI, SS, US Marshals etc., list it as one of the degrees they prefer when picking candidates? Believe what you will. Obviously we won't stop you. A lot of my fellow CJ majors do not take it seriously and I think that is the problem. I know plenty of classmates who are just doing the coursework and not applying themselves in the field. Be that internships, ride alongs, reserve police work, martial arts, weight lifting, shooting etc.
Maybe enough graduates have gone into these fields where it doesn't have the rep it used to have. Generally, though, the attitudes I have heard expressed is that those agencies have education programs to teach you that stuff. They want applicants that have something to offer - not something most of the given agency's brass could have taught. We have plenty of feds on this board - maybe someone can chime will chime in with more current impressions. |
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Intel is great for skills and clearances. Light infantry will get you out of the country the most, for training and deployments. You could easily go a year without anything exciting or interesting in some MOS'. That is part of why I am leaning Intel, however blowing shit up does sound like a lot of fun. Is the 11 series the light infantry? Combat Engineer with an assignment to a light infantry unit is what you want. It's not hard (or wasn't) to get an Airborne contract as a combat engineer with Ft. Bragg as a guaranteed duty station. Jump out of planes, blow shit up, and get paid  .
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This is not advice on what mos to go for, but advice on what Mos not to go to.
What ever you do, do not be a cook, no matter if you love cooking, or if the bonus is really high. You will work way to damn much, you will probably be the most hated person on the base short of the mp that just pulled someone over. |
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USMC...Combat Engineer, nuff said MOTIVATE!!!! This...but I am biased and not everyone is blessed to play with explosives!
In all seriousness, see what your asvab says. There are plenty of MP jobs and that might be a way to apply your CJ degree and get some experience attached to it. My only recommendation is don't take your time. The push to get folks out has them taking fewer and fewer folks, so recruiters can be MUCH more picky than in years past. If you want to do it, jump right in! If you have a degree don't count out OCS. Most of the best Officers out there had less than perfect GPA's...its a people business and its people skills that they want. |
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USMC...Combat Engineer, nuff said MOTIVATE!!!! This...but I am biased and not everyone is blessed to play with explosives!
In all seriousness, see what your asvab says. There are plenty of MP jobs and that might be a way to apply your CJ degree and get some experience attached to it. My only recommendation is don't take your time. The push to get folks out has them taking fewer and fewer folks, so recruiters can be MUCH more picky than in years past. If you want to do it, jump right in! If you have a degree don't count out OCS. Most of the best Officers out there had less than perfect GPA's...its a people business and its people skills that they want. I would second the 35M/L track. If you come in with airborne in your contract your likely to end up in either group support or 82nd. You can stay with whom ever until you get tired of it, then find something sexier to do until eventually switching to 35L so you can be part of the mysep/contractor mafia when you get out. Also, the push to get people out doesn't mean they're going to be hiring less, they will be hiring more selectively. Army will always need fresh blood, especially as the current 16-25 yr force goes home. |
| How old are you ? What was or is your gpa? I'm jus home on PTAD for the Marines and it isnt easy to enlist and isnt getting easier no matter the branch especially the USMC we are full as it is. How physically fit are you do you pt well? No matter the service all this plays a factor max age for USMC is 28 29 if you're a reservist and OCS isnt a cake walk any service you join. Also with respect to MOS if you want to go officer at least in the Corps the mos isnt guaranteed it's needs of the Corps so you go where they need you. |
| I just enlisted as a 35P and ship out on May 6th. My brother in law is also a 35P and finishing up his stint in Goodfellow. Based on his experience from the DLI, it is very challenging (he is now qualified for Modern Standard Arabic and Mandarin). You also have to be eligible for a Top Secrey clearance, which is a very thorough process involving a lot of paperwork (my hand still aches!). But, you also have the opportunity to work for the NSA or CIA after your time, also knowing a language opens up many opportunities for you in the civilian job market. The Army is requiring a 110 on the DLAB to qualify for 35P and that was the hardest test I have taken to date. If you are interested in going this route I can give you a few helpful links that I used to study for the DLAB, but be warned it's not one you can traditionally study for as it tests your ability to learn. The majority of the test is all audio and at times you find yourself trying to remember the first couple of answer choices. Also any questions you have about enlisting let me know as I just went through it all. |
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USMC...Combat Engineer, nuff said I chose Infantry over Combat Engineering yesterday. The recruiter said that with my asvab, I could do anything. I'm kind of regretting my choice.  Light combat engineers are not much different than infantry to be honest. 12B 96-04. |