enlisting, joining at 25

Anyone enlist after college? It seems as if most enlist straight out of highschoool. I have been putting some serious thought into coast guard or Marine corp. I am 25 and finished college. I know i did it backwards and should have served first, but thats neither here nor there. What are your thoughts from the guys with experience? Anyone do this?

 

Joined at 24 (i'm now 37). The gained maturity helped me a lot. Pretty sure I would have screwed up big time at 18. Congrats on getting a degree. IMO don't take what the recruiters say as gospel. They are trying to get a quota. Are you wanting to enlist OR get a commission?

 

thanks, yeah college was great, not sure i would do it differently if i could, but i think the military is just something i really want to do with my life. I dont know much about it, havnet researched enough but please explain to me the difference.....

 

enlisting is typically what people straight out of high school(or those without a degree) do although not all the time. Typically, those with a degree get commissioned as an officer. Once again not all the time. There are people with degrees that go in as enlisted, but this is something I would not recommend. Officers get mo $$$, and (typically) don't do the grunt work. There are exceptions to EVERYTHING.

 

What is your degree in? I would determinately look into a commission rather than enlisting if you have a degree already. I did just the opposite. I enlisted for six years in advanced electronics, then got out and worked my way through college as a millwright to get a degree in electrical engineering. Any way you go, there is a lot to be gained from serving.

 

Here is my two cents.

There is NOTHING wrong with enlisted after having a degree. Your options to commission AFTER you spend some time as E are good. You get a feel for the way military life is and then can decide to become a 0, get out, or stay an E. Personally, 90% of the officers that I know who were former enlisted are much better officers. Officers straight of college are usually in over there heads..and do not realize it.

I personally think you get more out of a 20 career as enlisted as you will as an officer. Now, if you want to fly airplanes or command a boat, gotta be a 0.

 

USMC infantry, there's nothing else like it in this world.

 

You have your degree, use it wisely. Absolutely no reason to go enlisted. There are a ton of jobs in the military think big.

 

Good luck with your choice of branch you decide to serve in. Remember that a degree does not mean automatic commission like most think. That is a big myth! You need a high GPA (3.5-4.0) in a degree the military branch you chose can use. Also the Navy and Air Force are already down sizing so it makes it very competitive to join. Also the USMC and Army are also about to start down sizing. All branches are going back to pre 9/11 numbers. Just to qualify for service in the Navy, USMC, and Air Force you need to score a 50 out of 99 on the ASVAB. The Army still takes a 31 yet they are in the process of changing their standards also. Being a Navy recruiter I can tell you out of 20 people a day I talk to 5 might qualify. Just have an open mind about what you are looking for with each branch. Shopping each branch is always the best idea. Once again good luck on your career choice. Also the Military now longer is looking for just pulse to join.

 

I think if you are ready to do it, you should do it. I joined at 24 and I'm 35 now, best decision I ever made. I totally agree with the fact that most officers that have served as enlisted prior are WAY better due to the knowledge they gain & seeing both sides of the spectrum. It all depends on what you want to do, and what's available to you for either. Yes, officers make better money but if your not doing what you want & your miserable, then what's the point? The benefits are second to NONE! Be ready to make sacrifices but that's what serving your country is all about & you should be proud to do so. Good luck with your choice!

 

What do you want to do?

 

I joined at 27, and now am 34. It helps to have some life experience before enlisting.

 

I enlisted after High School, but if you went to college why not go to OCS and become an officer? Especially at 25

 

I did. I didn't finish college though..entered at almost ...22...you should be better off than 99% of the 18 year old kids as long as you had a little physical activity in College.

 

Keep in mind if you want to become an officer, it is better to do so when you first join. It is increasingly harder to go the officer route once you go Enlisted. Overall it is harder to join the military these days than it was 4 years ago. If you havea degree, go officer and make that degree payoff...Good luck

 

I enlisted at 21 went to boot camp at 22. You could and still can go enlisted at 25 but remember that you might be as old as some of your drill instructors as a recruit. And then once you hit the fleet you are going to be older than a lot of Cpl's and some Sgt's. So you will have way more life experiences and be doing for lack of a better word "b!tch" work. In my experience you might not get treated as bad as other nuggets but your still on the bottom of the rank structure. Also FYI if you chose the Marine Corps and didnt know, the Marine Corps is downsizing and this could slow your promotion depending on MOS. If you have a degree Officer might be the route to go.

 

To OP, I was in same boat as you, I went the Army OCS (Officer candidate school)route. Definitely some trying times. I was pretty surprised, physically, basic training wasnt too tough. OCS was definitely a big challenge. Your Basic Officer leadership course still challenging, but not a smoke fest. I branched Engineers, and am currently serving as a platoon leader for a sapper (combat engineers) platoon in Iraq. As a Platoon Leader, you are overall in charge and responsible for your platoon, sounds pretty challenging running a platoon by yourself doesnt it? Well, you will have great NCO's that have been around for years as your squad leaders, team leaders, and your platoon sergeant. They will not let you fail! Let me know if you have any questions, I was in the same boat as you were and I was 28 at the time LOL!!!

 

I enlisted at 25 and I am now 26. I have a good amount of college done but not quite enough for my bachelors degree. I debated enlisting a long time, my ex being the biggest determining factor. Age, and the wisdom gained through life experiences (hopefully this is the case for you as well!) definitely reflects in a very positive manner with your leaders.

I wish I had gone in maybe a year earlier, but that one year will not change the outcome of my career.

Ft. Riley, hooah!!

 

What unit you with Sir (jped1981)? Feel free to disregard the question if you so decide.

 

Sorry I missed this at the beginning of the month. I take exception with two parts of your post.
1) I've seen some HORRIBLE officers-and they come from ALL walks. What you as a subordinate think of a person and their value to the organization are two very different things. Just like what a peer or supervisor thinks. I know guys who's COs hated them and gave them crappy fitreps non-stop but they were real assets. Some of them- Their guys loved working for them...Some were hated by their shops and everyone else. Common denominator was attitude-not experience or background.

2) If you've never been an O how can you POSSIBLY form a good opinion about getting "more out of" a career one way or the other. If you want to be a good technician or project manager for a specialty- E side will certainly help that. If you want general managerial acumen- O side leans more that way. I'm not an expert at doing anything (cept flying) but I can support and assist the folks who are without any issues.

Everyone has their place-So trying to say that one is better than the other is pointless and misleading. Same goes for backgrounds...There are shitbags from all sides...and there are rockstars too. Trying to paint one way as better than the rest is just silly.

OP- There are a lot of options- Make sure you shop all the possibilities before you commit. You've paid for your degree already, so that open OCS up to you as an option-Might as well make a few more bucks unless there is a specific MOS/Rate you want to get into on the enlisted side.