Serious question

jeaton01 wrote:

...In a helicopter unit, if you do well there is always the chance getting hired as civil service at the same time you have a reserve commitment...

Getting that civil service job can literally take years depending on the market.  I came into the system at a good time in my area and only applied four times in 6 months before I got hired.  Not having active duty time can also hurt chances for a job, depends on the facility/unit though.  I have known good mechanics that applied for two years before actually getting one of these jobs, so it pays to do a little research on the place first.

Thanks jeaton, back when I was in college and went to the OSO I thought about the reserves, talked to the recruiter, talked to my dad, did a bit of research and decided not to. Now that I'm not going back to college I want to be enlisted, I may not know exactly what I want to do MOS-wise, but I KNOW that I want to enlist and be active duty and I do realize that I may not get the job I want in the Marine Corps but every Marine is a rifleman first and I'm fine with that. I hope I don't sound like I'm pushing all this advice away without thinking, I've just thought a lot about this over the past 1-2 years.

Josiah

supercobra wrote:

Feel free to PM me.  I've been in for 27 years and around helos for most of that time.  One thing to consider is the reserve route.  That's how I started.  That way if you don't like it you aren't stuck full time and if you do like it there is probably no problem going active from there.  Plus with the reserves it should be easier to get the MOS you want since you are signing up for a particular unit/geographic area.  I believe there is still a reserve CH-46 squadron down in Norfolk - not too far to drive for a weekend.  If that sound like it is for you, enlist in that, get the MOS you want, and then go full time if you think that's for you.

That's a good idea, plus the extra pay is nice

Hey, I took six years to het my bachelor's degree and I am now an E-5 crewchief.  I have worked in retail manufacturing since then and the life of an enlisted guy is the life for me.  Even if you do enlist before finishing school, be sure to finish school, the military may be a big help for the cash to do so.  For many, the military experience gives them the tools and focus that they need to finish school.  If you decide to make a career out of the military and stay enlisted your whole career, school will be a huge help.  It is not unusual to find seinor NCOs with master's degrees these days.  I know a Navy Master chief who was posted to Kennesaw State to get his master's.

Tango Juliet wrote:

Might I suggest going to college and getting your diploma first.  Then if you still want to join, by all means do so, but I think you'll have more options available to you in any brach of service by then.  Enlisted pay vs. Officers pay... Just something to consider.  I was enlisted USAF for 9 years before being medically seperated and I'm not knocking being an enlisted grunt, it was good to me, but if I had to do things over, I would have gone to school first.

THanks for the advice guys, my dad was enlisted for 22 1/2 years and wanted me to go to college first as well. So I did for two semesters and it's not for me at this point in my life.

If you do enlist, make sure they put it in writing. I  was a crew chief in the Army, enlisted for aviation maintence, the Army picked the A/C for me (Huey's), but ended up working on other helo's also

I have not, thanks for the link!

Josiah

Have you looked at the discussion boards at http://forums.military.com/eve/forums ?  The two boards you should check there are: Joining the Military; and Marine Corps Discussions. 

It's sort of a complicated question, or rather more of a conversation? I'm seriously thinking about enlisting in the Marine Corps but I don't know exactly what I want to do so I want know more about different MOS's to see which ones I should choose. I'm interested in helo's or a/c so I thought listening to people who work with them would better help me figure out if it's something I really want to go into. If this doesn't make sense, I'll try and clear it up any way I can.

Josiah

Howdy,

I would like to ask You to post Your question public. That way You are more likely to get an answer and other people like me can maybe even learn something. So please, don't be shy. Good luck with the answers and have a nice day

Pawel