For those that know

[Quickdraw559]

What are some of the MOS that are in demand or on the rise right now? Opportunity for advancement, transferability into civilian life, signing bonuses, etc. Anything interesting I should know.

I've never been so "successful" yet restless and unfulfilled in my entire life. I remember gramps said go AF like him, rest of my family was Marines. Dad never joined. I regret not joining years ago when I was a kid. Haven't gone to work in a week because I'm just looking around at my opportunities. Just exploring my options while I'm half way to 50 and my kid is knee high.

[Cpl. Haas]

Look at the state of modern warfare we engage in and use that to help guide you: we're politically terrified of "boots on ground" warfare these days, and instead try to dominate the rhelm of C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance), cyber warfare, and aviation (Both manned and unmanned).

When you talk about transferability into civilian life... do you mean to defense contracting, or true civilian jobs? Anything that will give you a security clearance and C4ISR/airborne sensor experience can be very valuable to government agencies and defense contractors; likewise with intel and linguist MOS'/Rates. Alternatively, construction, IT, medical jobs translate better to the general workforce if you don't want to remain inside the government/defense workforce after you get out.

What's not marketable right now are the "door kicker" jobs... my friends in infantry and combat arms fields are spending more time in garrison/training than doing real-world stuff... and the civilian resume market is still saturated with combat veterans who have multiple tours under their belt from the conflicts last decade. The obvious exception to this is... as always... special operations forces.

[BoogNasty]

6174, Huey Crewchief. They are in high demand, you get all the mechanical knowledge in addition to gaining aircrew (flying) expierence that could be transferred over to any sort of life flight EMS jobs. Or any sort of cyber warfare, good luck.

[kevman0154]

Well there is Intel. Depending what you do and what you make of it with your time in and any degree you acquire while in you could leave the service and try for a good federal job. There is Cyber too which probably with the skills you learn in the service could have HUGE payoffs outside of the military. That being said. It is HARD...HARD..to just jump right into Cyber without any experience in the subject matter.

[Hairball]

Depending upon what service you select will play a large role in many of these questions. I am retired Navy so I can't answer for the other services; however, your best bet would be to call a local recruiter and ask them what the current critical and undermanned NEC's/MOS's are and see if you may be interested in any of them. For quick advancement and large reenlistment bonuses, you can't go wrong with nukes but seeing as you have a little one at home, you won't see much of them. If I had to do it all over again, I would have finished college before I joined and went the commission route.

[Milsurp1]

I concur with Col Haas. Cyber, electronic warfare, unmanned aerial, medical, space, etc.

[Milsurp1]

You can call recruiters and ask which career fields have bonuses this quarter. That will give you the best idea of a promising career.

[kenl]

For Army Reserve, 88K (watercraft operator) and 88L (watercraft engineer) are begging for people. For civi jobs, 88k is limited to boat and ship work, not bad paying, but usually away from home a lot. 88L can branch out to marine engineer, diesel mechanic, industrial electrician, HVAC, etc. There is also a need for Maritime Warrants, 880a for deck and 881a for engine. Last I heard, there's a $20000 signing bonus for them.

Cross levels from the Navy and CG usually have no problems getting into these MOS'es.

Downfall is a lot of schooling, and it's a high tempo MOS. There's a heavy boat unit in Port Hueneme, other units in Vallejo, Tacoma WA and Hawaii

If your getting out of active Navy, CG, or AF, and are thinking about going into the reserves, you might want to look at the army's warrant officer program. Most MOS'es have a significant signing bonus, as long as you do things correctly. Google WOCC, and under the "warrant officer program" link you'll find a link to the recruiting page

[Desertdoc]

...

[7.92 NorCal]

What are some of the MOS that are in demand or on the rise right now? Opportunity for advancement, transferability into civilian life, signing bonuses, etc. Anything interesting I should know.

I've never been so "successful" yet restless and unfulfilled in my entire life. I remember gramps said go AF like him, rest of my family was Marines. Dad never joined. I regret not joining years ago when I was a kid. Haven't gone to work in a week because I'm just looking around at my opportunities. Just exploring my options while I'm half way to 50 and my kid is knee high.

Speaking for the Navy you can google the rating community manager stats, gives things like advancement rates and planned growth/current manning. Master-at-Arms is being grown to a massive extent, advancement is through the roof.

That being said, I wouldn't recommend military service to very many people. Shoot me a PM and i'll answer as much as I can, and hopefully give you some insight so you make the best possible choice for your situation.

[Quickdraw559]

After doing some much needed research into officer paths and asking around, I've come to learn that online degrees from many colleges are accepted by all branches. So long as they are accredited by approved accreditation agencies, they will fulfill the degree requirement. Various online colleges such as Brandman, Western Governors University, Thomas Edison State, APU are on that approved list, which I did not know.

I currently have some credits built up from community college years ago. Let's say 25 credits. At this point, I'm in a race against time. Does anyone have experience in this particular area? Any advice on colleges, waivers or programs, etc.? I have heard that they will accept you a year off from graduation.

On a related note, what is the commissioning process for an enlisted serviceman that has received his degree? Let's say I enlist and finish my degree in 2 years. Then what?

I know, I know, I should be talking to a recruiter about this. I want to be armed with as much knowledge as possible before I even talk to any recruiters. I don't want to hear their stories and yak-yak. I want to gather my own info, plan my own path, and approach a recruiter with this plan.

As for the branch, I would like to commission in the Marines. Their cut age is 29 so I don't have much time. If not, I will probably go Army because AFAIK the Air Force is full up and it's slim pickins. Maybe my info is outdated. I don't want to get stuck out in the ocean though, so I don't think I'll be going navy. The absolute last thing I would want is to be stuck on a carrier or sub, but I don't know chit about the navy, so my fears could be unfounded.


Thanks to everyone, all advice and knowledge is welcome.

[rero360]

Can't speak for AD, but the CA Guard has a huge demand for 13F, Forward Observer, no real civilian equivalent but you could likely make it up to E7 in the shortest time possible provided that you do all your NCOESs (inperson leadership courses) and SSDs (online leadership courses) as soon as you can.

The 79th Brigade right now has one E8 open slot, a bunch of E6 slots, a few E5, and a bunch of lower enlisted slots. Even though I constantly push my soldiers to go to school and get their SSDs done, people choose not to.

[Quickdraw559]

After talking to a recruiter, I was told about "testing out" for a degree. Seems like a strange process, but accepted.

Anywho, I took one of the exams last week and passed, earning "3 credits." Depending on how the next few tests go, I may stop at 48 credits and enquire about current needs.

Cardio is still weak, working on my 3 mile time. Everything else is GTG.

[downdiver2]

If you finish your degree go OCS and become an officer. If you have credits or an Associates Degree, look into warrant officer programs. Being enlisted compared to an officer is night and day.

[kenl]

If you finish your degree go OCS and become an officer. If you have credits or an Associates Degree, look into warrant officer programs. Being enlisted compared to an officer is night and day.

+++1 on downdiver2's recommendation. But you also may want to enlist for one hitch, to see if you like it. Apply to ocs or wocs if you want to stick around.