Out of college - thinking of joining the Navy

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Permalink Reply by MeganCR on June 23, 2009 at 9:36pm

Wow thank you for sharing ! I can't believe it happened that fast for her ! She sounds very similar to me with the whole job thing and reasons for wanting to join the navy ! I'm glad she is happy with her decision ! Let me know how she is doing at boot camp !

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Permalink Reply by MeganCR on June 23, 2009 at 9:38pm

Wow thank you for sharing ! I can't believe it happened that fast for her ! She sounds very similar to me with the whole job thing and reasons for wanting to join the navy ! I'm glad she is happy with her decision ! Let me know how she is doing at boot camp !

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Permalink Reply by brooksa28 on June 24, 2009 at 1:36pm

I might get blasted for this but---just the truth and my opinion mixed. If you have a degree, be an officer UNLESS you don't care to be a leader in the military or you know the specific job you want and its only offered as an enlisted person (but remember there's always an officer in charge of that enlisted person and the field they are in). As an officer pay is better, you can influence the enlisted sailors underneath you---hopefully in a positive way, the opportunities are endless as an officer and much more abundant. My mom was a Lt. Cmdr. in the Navy and now I have one brother who is a Captain in the Marines stationed in Okinawa, JP and another brother who is a Cpl in the Marines in Jacksonville, NC. SO I do know a bit about what each of them go through. Let me break it down into their "experiences", the cooler ones anyways. When my mom was stationed in Guam they offered to fly her out to the carrier that was coming in just to check out the facilities....total fluff trip--because she was an officer. She has others but they are more specific to the medical field. My brother the Capt (in the navy he'd be a Lt) in the past two years while stationed in Oki has been flown and stayed in NICE hotels like the Intercontinental, etc in Thailand, Philipines, South Korea, Hong Kong...and others, for planning conferences. My brother who is a Cpl...honorably has been to Iraq twice and thats about the only cool thing hes done...if thats even cool. Once his time is up he already plans to finish his degree and go back in as an officer. There is nothing wrong or bad about being enlisted but dont let a recruiter sucker you into thinking that enlisted is somehow better than being an officer. Chief's in the military are held in high respect but it takes time to get there. Plus I'm not sure how the Navy enlisted is but I know some of my enlisted brothers friends cant make big purchases without consulting the higher ups and unless your married have to live in the barracks till a certain rank. Might just be a Marine thing. But going into the military you already lose a lot of freedoms because you belong to the military.... as an officer it just seems like you don't lose as many. But there is a lot of responsibility in being an officer. My brother told me that his OCS was a lot more physically hard than boot camp would be because if your in command and the people your in charge of are all out running you and beating you physically.....what kind of example are you setting for leadership----so keep that in mind as something you might have to hold yourself to as a role model....and that example doesn't just apply to physical fitness. Oh---and one last thing---trivial but important if you plan on making the military a career. Officer housing 98% of the time is nicer than enlisted (example: At Mayport NS which is located on the ocean...officer housing is against the ocean--civillian market would price the homes at 900K plus due to the pretty private beach--though that is senior officer housing which for mayport is Lt Cmdr and up---and Jr Officer housing is within....3 blocks while enlisted....a bit further) Maybe I've pointed out materialistic things but they are important when your committing so much time. Hope this helped.

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Permalink Reply by Achseh on June 26, 2009 at 5:26pm

This is a very short sighted, misinformed post. Take it with a grain of salt, do your homework, explore your options and decide what's best for YOU.

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Permalink Reply by Guilderland on June 24, 2009 at 7:13pm

First of all, congratulations for graduating from college. Don't wait for a recruiter to come to you, go to him/her and show them your credentials. You want travel, you'll get travel. High school students will go thru all the steps from boot camp, A school to duty station. You have the advantage- you're a college grad! You'll be going to OCS (Officer's Candidate School), learn everything you need to about the Navy and use your God-given talent to be the woman and officer you can be. As the French would say, Bon Chance!

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Permalink Reply by Navy Dad Mark on June 24, 2009 at 9:58pm

I don't believe you would start immediately as an officer. My son had his BS degree when he enlisted. If he wanted to be an officer the Navy he'd have to commit longer than the normal time.

That being said...your specialty with languages is definitely a plus and skill that the Navy would value. My son moved into the medical area in the Navy and is now a hospital corpsman serving as an optician technician at a medical facility in Japan. The skills and training he received in the Navy were tremendous and he made a great move. Many of his friends who he graduated with in college are still looking for a job! It has really made a difference in his career...he is serving his country and seeing the world...and now he's looking into online graduate school and also thinking about becoming an eye doctor thanks to his training in the Navy.

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Permalink Reply by MeganCR on June 24, 2009 at 10:03pm

Thank you - that is very encouraging that he is so happy with his decision ! I feel like if I can make the decision and just do it I would have so many opportunities. It's just getting the strength for the decision it would be a huge change!!

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Permalink Reply by MariaD on June 25, 2009 at 3:03pm

Hi there. I'm just starting the Navy process myself (should be at OCS in a couple months), so I don't have the wisdom of years of Naval experience to offer. However, I hope what I have recently experienced will be of use to you. I originally wanted to go in for public relations because it was very close to what my undergrad degree was in, but due to the competativeness of the position and the lateness of my application (fiscal year for the navy starts after Sept. 30 and my application board was in March) my recruiter suggested going for a Surface Warfare Officer postion. Initially hesitant, I found that the more I looked into the position the more I found that it was a more holistic fit than being a PRO. I've lived abroad before and was interested in traveling again as well as putting my liberal arts degree to work. I know that the jack of all trades aspect of being a SWO will make me a better sailor and will enrich my Naval experience. So my two cents is to research any position with the Navy that you are remotely interested in (SWO was my first choice, but I also put in for Intel and Supply), go in as an officer candidate (on a Destroyer it's a difference of being 1 of 23 officers versus 1 of 300 enlisted), and double and triple check any information that you recieve. We all want to think the best of our recruiters but information just gets lost in the shuffle sometimes. I hope this helped you out and I definitely encourage you to seriously consider the Navy as a viable career choice.

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Permalink Reply by MeganCR on June 25, 2009 at 6:09pm

Hi Maria thank you, your comment is very helpful !! Best of luck to you in your upcoming journey!

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Permalink Reply by Tami A. on June 25, 2009 at 7:20pm

Go for it!!!

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Permalink Reply by Rick West on June 25, 2009 at 9:17pm

First off. Congratulations on your graduation from college. Well done. I'm the MCPON (Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy) and the approach you are taking is the right one. Contact a recruiter or visit your local recruiting office and they will provide you a wealth of knowledge and information on our great Navy. Also I recommend you visit the Navy website and that as well can put you on course for a Navy career. The Navy is challenging but after 28 years in the Navy I would do it again in a heart beat.

I wish you luck in your journey as there are many opportunities in the Navy and like any job....you get back what you put into it.

I hope this helps.

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Permalink Reply by Abigail (Jacob's Mom) on June 26, 2009 at 2:08pm

I have a couple of issues to address. First off i want to wish you luck Megan. And then to SailorAtSea...that was a stupid remark you made about people right out of high school. Just because someone joins the Navy right out of high school doesn't make them stupid. Don't put everyone in the same category. I'm sure some have very good reasons for not going straight to college. They are the heart and soul of the Navy, besides...who else would you give orders to. I know plenty of enlisted personnel who are leaders, take orders with dignity and step up to the plate when needed.

Second...why is the advise given to never volunteer for anything? I thought taking the initiative was a good thing.

Megan, i appologize for using your discussion for this but i didn't know where else to reply and i couldn't let it go without comment.

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