Posted: 11/22/2004 1:12:09 PM EDT
| What's the best enlisted MOS for USMC? By best I mean what will achieve the best mix of high speed bang for buck AND marketability after my service? If I were single and no kids the second part wouldn't be a concern, but I gotta take care of the family when I get out if medical school falls thru. ASVAB cleared me for anything I'm wanting to do. Can you Marines offer some guidance? Thanks! |
If your talking about medical school then you have probably gone to college. If you have a degree stop by an OSO (Officer Selection Office) and tell them you want to fly. It's an eight year contract but you will have a smooth transition into civilian life. |
| I won't go comm, it is always a high turn over MOS on the officer side of the house and because of the way their monitor treat them it is hard for the enlisted Marines to get to B-Billets, so they get kind of screwed when it comes time for senior level SNCO promotions. |
What do you mean working an ANGLICO billet? ANGLICO selects entry level Marines depending on PFT score, when your a Ft Sill or 29 Palms for either MASOC or Radiomen school, they will issue orders to either unit depending on your PFT score. They won't send a low PFT score Marine to a unit that will work with Army and SOCOM units. |
Comm worked for me, I was wire/switching and it has plenty of civ side work. If I were going to do it again I would go for satcom. I never had much of the turnover in the O ranks as someone else mentioned. I was in 6 units in 8 years with 2 MOS's though. From 88-96, I was with MWCS-28 -air wing 3/12 artillery 9th Comm/1st SRIG (If I had been a radio operator, could have gone a jumping) 1st Marines SOI MCTSSA (Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity) R&D stuff |
Comm is always a MOS in which Officers don't stay in, they do there 3-4 year stint and get out. Ever year non-Comm guys were augmented as Comm Officers because the guys who started as Com-Os got out. The only MOS's, in at least the Marine Corps, that don't have this problem for officers are pilots and combat arms (03, 08,13, 18) all the other support MOSs have a large number of their officers get out every year, It just gets back to the fact very few people join to be Log-Os or Sup-Os, but they join to pull triggers. |
| I'm in comm, if you want something that will be good on the outside, look at 0618, compact digital switch/REDCOMM operator. If you're not comming in for a while, there is a new MOS opening in October, will be entry level Technical Controller. Right now the MOS starts at Sgt. If it is comm, we play with it. We have a lot of turner over, are always undermanned, and always deployed. Right now there are only about 150 of us in the Corps. The powers that be want to make 180 more of us. Hence the opening to entry level. There is money on the outside for the same job. |
Has Comm renumbered from the historical 2500's? I was 2512 and 2515(ULCS) |
| I'm more familiar with the Army side of the house, but comms is a safe bet. There are low-level guys in radio/commo platoons in line battalions and there are signal/radio battalions that are working in the rear on more complex/marketable systems. Since so much of the military uses email and computers and so forth you can work a lot on computers and less on radios at those levels. |
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Even if it is 0621....my daughter just got out as a SSgt 0621. There are VERY FEW billet vacancies for ANGLICO, Recon, or Force Recon for anybody, much less radiomen. You will be VERY lucky to be assigned a unit where you might even have the possiblity of volunteering for one of those outfits and secondly, you will have to be EXTREMELY fit, be able to use your head, and have superior tactical/professional knowledge/experience. Most 0621's wind up in combat support or combat service support type units. You want to be ANGLICO/RECON, I would say either 0300 or 0800 (for ANGLICO). Any body else have any ideas? Semper Gumby.....hug.gif |
| The majority of the junior Marines in ANGLICO are 0861s. If you get a 08xx occ field contract your MOS will be determined at Fort Sill based on 1) when you arrive at the school and what the next MOS school date is 2) Your GT score. Higher GTs are sent to school to be 084x (FDC, Radar, Met, Survey) and guys with average scores are sent to be 0811s or 0861s (cannoneers or scout observers). |
| Good luck with the satcom idea. I was 2nd in my class, even requested satcom from the very beginning, back in the recruiters office. Completed 4 years as a 2531 and 0621 (got caught in the middle of the switch) requested satcom and got the finger..so, they got the finger. Even had smaj try to beat some sense into the monitor, but he said if the shit ain't open, it ain't open. Pretty low turnover field. |
I take that to mean that the USMC still enlists folks into a career field, but not a specific MOS? Hpw does that work when filling USMCR units? I will +1 for the mechanic reccomendation, assuming that the USMC does its mechanics like the Army and allows the higher speed ones to attend civilian certification classes from Catterpillar, Frieghtliner, Oshkosh etc. It is not a get rich quick job when you get out, but it is a steady and constant job field, unlike many of the telecm related jobs. After a couple years take as many ASE certification tests as you can and start buying tools. If you were considering the Army I would say go 52D, power generation repairer. Installing and maintaining backup generators is a HUGE growth area that shows no sign of slowing down, and it is really not taught in any schools in the civilian side.... companies like Kohler, Cat, Generac ETC are snapping up good 52D's as fast as they can! I know a guy who just got out after 6 years as a 52D and walked right into a job making about 40K doing this, and in the area he is in 40K is excellent money. I have no clue what the equvelent USMC MOS is or if you can specificly enlist into it however. |
| SMCR Marines are enlisted into MOSs, the I&I staff produces a MOS density list every year, that contains all the MOSs and their population density within the unit, this will list current needs and project what will need in the coming years. Since the projection is 5 years out it is a bit of a SWAG. Those numbers are used by MFR and HQMC to come up with what the prior service and standard recruiters have as goals to recruit for the next FY. The non prior service recruiter attempts to match the recruit to something he wants, what his GT allows him to have and what is still available for the FY. The prior service recruiter does similar, but will normally contact the I&I staff to see if when the RQSN says they need an MOS, does the I&I actually want a Marine in that MOS or does he (they) have more of a need for another MOS. The prior service Marines are enlisted into units and often require MOS training, depending on MOS they may do either OJT or may have to go to the MOS school. Some MOSs only require 1 year in that MOS, proficiency testing and an AT to be MOS qualified for reservists who have had another MOS, other MOS require either the full MOS school or in a few rare cases a truncated reserve version of the school. |