J2Pharren1

iTrader: (1)

The biggest mistake you can make is picking a branch before you pick a job.

Figure out what you want to do, then pick which branch has the best opportunities.

cookba

iTrader: (10)

yup you need to think about what you want to do in the Military. I have 5 years in as a Marine (E-5) and reenlisted last year. I am a COMM Marine and enjoy it everyday, and like other posts said, one day you could be doing your job and the next you could be kicking down doors, leading a convoy through Iraq, or just chillin playing xbox. The Marines will keep ya busy with your job and with the "basic" Marine things as well.

Urban Legend

iTrader: (5)

Join the Guard.

Duffster

iTrader: (103)

This is a misstatement. You can't pick a job without picking the branch first and processing. NO ONE without lying to you can tell you what job you can do without the paperwork, physical, bloodwork, color-blind test, hearing tests, background/police record checks.

I'm retiring from the Navy TOMORROW after 20 years and have absolutely ZERO to gain from this.

What you can do is talk w/all the recruiters and see if their service interests you. The Marines and Army will be pushy as hell to get you to sign anything. NEVER leave your birth cert or SSN card or personal docs. Hell, don't even take them until you decide what branch you're joining.

Good luck

NebWS6

iTrader: (4)

since you have been in 20 years things have changed....you can pick your job and have it on your paperwork before you go to MEPS. The tests they run at MEPS(color-blind,hearing) ultimately decide what you can qualify for and you can always opt to change your choice of MOS after before you sign on the dotted line and take the red pill....

98Camarod

iTrader: (43)

No you can't. You can have an idea of what you want to do, but there is no guarantee, they tell you that before you even go to meps.

camaroguy_02

if you go to MEPS and go through all the testing (color-vision, physical, strength, hearing, etc.) then you're probably more than just "looking around" at that point. in the 2 days that i spent at MEPS, the first day consisted of ASVAB testing, then the following day was all the health testing. after everything was said and done, i was presented with the job list from the Air Force personnel in their office based on the results from all the testing. when you sign the paperwork at that time, make sure it reads that you are guarunteed a JOB in one of the 5 career fields that you list. my recruiter told me that the Army guaruntees TRAINING in one of those fields, but doesn't necessarily promise a JOB in that career field (not sure if this is true or not, but at the time i didnt care, since i was set on going AF).

with that being said, i can't remember if you still have time to opt-out later on if you get cold feet. i remember being sworn in at MEPS, but i dont know if it was my first trip up there (for the 2 days of testing) or if it was the 2nd time. i believe you can cut out at any time as long as you havent been sworn in.

at any rate, you can look up all the jobs in the military at military.com they have the same description of every AFSC/MOS that you read at MEPS. if you look up those jobs and find what sounds interesting to you, then just come back here and post a thread about it and im sure someone can tell you something about it.

johnLs1camaro

iTrader: (28)

ok well i talked to the airforce today, there was a lot of interesting things that i liked... i did leave personal info with them , is that ok???? i have a meeting set monday to talk to a marines recruiter, and then from there on ill try and get more dates set with navy and army... i kinda would like to travel the world, but i think i would also be very interested in being a aircraft pilot. im very hands on and i love working on my cars and other cars, so that might be something that will also interest me..

98Camarod

iTrader: (43)

In order to be a pilot you have to be an officer.

johnLs1camaro

iTrader: (28)

^^ but i wanna be a mechanic(maybe)

98Camarod

iTrader: (43)

right now i'm going to school for the nuclear machinist mate, nuke mechanic. It's not really that hard, just alot of studying. I really haven't had to study like most of these guys here with no real experience in the real world. If you get your degree while you are in for the 6 years, you are lookin at 80k easy when you get out. I probably won't like what I'm doing, but I do like money It's all about letting your kids have a better life than you, and thats done with the greenbacks.

NebWS6

iTrader: (4)

your correct there is no signed set in stone guarantee, but you can choose your top three and you will get one of them. I have never once ran into another marine or had one of my marines not get one of the MOS that they picked unless they were a turd and failed at some point along the way...I'm not saying it's the same for everyone but most likely it won't happen.





What kind?

johnLs1camaro

iTrader: (28)

im looking at aircraft mechanic....

Duffster

iTrader: (103)

Only if you believe the lies. I'm on RECRUITING duty right now, so I have an idea how it works.

Duffster

iTrader: (103)

It's worth it! I'm also an EMC(SW/AW) and did USS Texas (CGN-39), USS Holland (AS-32), USS California (CGN-36) and USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) with a few shore tours in between. Starting my new job on Monday as the Chief Electrician for an oil drilling company at 3X what I'm earning in the Navy (and it's pretty good already). NNPS is the toughest. NPTU will seem easy comparatively.

kidreno_21

I'll have been in the Army ten years this Jan. I enlisted in the Guard as a 92A, supply clerk. I worked as a mechanic (63B) most of the time. I then changed my MOS to 54B (now 74D) to be in a chemical recon platoon. 9/11 hit and I got out of the Guard and into ROTC. I comissioned as a Chemical Officer.

I am now a Ranger qualified captain in an infantry battalion working in my field as a chemical officer (night battle cpt). Not a real 'sexy' job, but I enjoy it. Plus I get to go out on missions about once a week and work with the local nationals (I am in Iraq) and go to different Iraqi gov't meetings. I have had such a great learning experiance since I have been here.

If you want to work on vehicles, 63B (light wheel mechanic, humvee's and such) might be a good choice for you.

If I had to do my enlisted career over again, I would choose to be a Blackhawk crew chief. Crew chiefs assist in mission planning along with thier pilots (officers), man the machine gun during flights, assist with cargo loads/ sling loading/ air assults, among many other very cool (to me) missions. After you have gotten your feet wet, you can apply to go work within the special operations community. I have been on a few missions with 160th SOAR and they are some of the coolest guys I have ever worked with. Very professional and great to work with.

My second choice would be an 11B, infantry. After going through Ranger School and going on patrols here in Iraq, I am jealous of the opportunities they get. Mind you that I am in a very quiet neighborhood in Baghdad, but I have enjoyed every combat patrol I have been on. 11B's have trucks also. These trucks break down and need to get fixed. If your truck should break down, you or someone from that truck will stay with it until the mechanic (63B) figures out what is wrong. A good 11B knows his truck and gets it fixed and back on the line to go back out the next day.

The Army does have alot of aircraft. You may want to look into being an aircraft mechanic in the Army.

There is also ROTC in college. When you graduate college you will also earn a commission through ROTC as an officer. You would then be the guy that people salute, they call you Sir, and are generally nice to you. It is a pretty good life. You can join ROTC at a college, earn a full scholarship, take your time to learn about different jobs in the Army, and go from there. Your instructors are all active duty officers and senior NCO's (sergeants). They are there to help develop you into an officer and mentor you to become a better leader. You may not get a full scholarship right away, so student loans may be necessary. Not a big deal. Pay those off after you get on active duty. I had two car payments, a massive credit card bill (damn mods), AND a few student loans. I paid them all off in the first 10 months I was here. I have NO debt. Plus, I'll have enough in the bank when I get back to pay for my wedding, a honeymoon, and a new LS2 for the SS.

I could keep going, but if you have any questions, PM me.

FrankSS

iTrader: (18)

I am currently in the army too. I am an elisted helicopter mechanic in MOS 15J (OH-58D Armament/electrical/avionics system repairer). I love my job... I couldnt have been happier. the only down side to it is that the helicopter i work on is only a 2 seater, so we do not fly with our aircraft. if you want to fly as a mechanic, be a blackhawk or chinook crew cheif.

the army also has a program called high school to flight school to be a warrant officer (pilot) without having a college degree. as long as you havent been arrested for anything or have any alcohol or drug convictions, you can apply to do this and have a decent chance of getting it as long as you score well on the flight aptitude test.

when you sign up for the army, you are guranteed the job you sign for. you pic the job you want at the meps station and you have that job as part of your contract. some jobs have sign on bonuses. those depend on how high demand the jobs are and how short they are on personnel.

FrankSS

iTrader: (18)

and if you want to talk more about it, feel free to give me a call. send me a pm and ill give you my phone number. ill tell you everything strait without all of the b/s the recruiter will tell you. and some of the other perks there is in the army. and if you call me in the afternoon, you will probably hear the helicopters flying around our flightline out here in Hawaii ...

NebWS6

iTrader: (4)

depending what branch you choose you can either be on the mechanical or electrical side....take your pick.

98Camarod

iTrader: (43)

You were never an instructor? I start week 4 on Monday in NNPS. Its going to be fun since we have all the holidays in our schedule, very condensed.