question

[xSLAYERx]

okay, ive spent endless hours working with a recruiter about joining the marine corps. im sure he is ticked off on the amount of time he has spent, but i appreciate it none the less. anyhow i wanna join the marine corps. but i want to attend college as well at uco(top criminal justice school in nation). the recruiter is pressuring me to sign before i head off to college. but i really want to get setttled with my first year in college and get all the hard shit done before i take on another task. but i am thinkin about signing for boot camp my freshman year so i can go to boot the summer before sophmore year. reserves of coarse.

the recruiter told me i could go in the electronics feild, so i could get back in time from boot to go to school. but i really want to do infantry. which i dont mind doin electronics during college and then going active infantry after college. i guess teh question is, is this a completly stupid idea, or is it easy to transfer from a reserve electronics mos, which i would have served 3 years in, then change to a active infantry mos.

the reason the recruiter suggested teh electronics feild was cause they are less likely to get called up. so i could be apart of the corps, and hopefullly not get called up during my college time. id be happy to serve, but in reality its easier if i dont have to during college.

appreciate ur time guys. really do.

james

xSLAYERx

[SunShine87]

personaly i dont think its a crazy idea.. but i would join before college because thats an extra year you can retire earlier (i belive, or so my recruiter told me). i mean if you really wanted to stay in the corps to persue a career.

Im pretty much thinking of doing the same thing your thinking, goin into electronics or communications for reserves then switching to combat engineer in active duty (if possible)

but i also would like to stay home to finish college b4 i get shipped out to iraq

[SunShine87]

but if n e one else can help him in his question or if im wrong in my answer please do so into correcting it

[Vulture6]

What is the closest reserve unit? That would carry a lot of weight. If you don't have a grunt unit within a couple of hundred miles, it would be kind of hard to get the infantry MOS. That might be why your recruiter is pushing you one way or the other.

Once the Corps trains you in an MOS, they are reluctant to allow you to switch at the drop of a hat. The "needs of the Marine Corps" will always come first in any decision to lateral move out of / into any particular MOS.

My advice - figure out why you want to join the Marine Corps and serve. Figure out what capacity you want to serve in. And do the same thing for why you want to go to college. They don't have to be mutually exclusive, just make sure you have sound reasons for your decisions. These are choices that will impact the rest of your life... know what you are getting in to, but more importantly, understand why you are getting into them.

[xSLAYERx]

i agree vulture, kinda what im doing now. the other option i have left, is simply to just serve after college, skip the hassle of what im trying to prevent and go into what i want from teh start (hopefully). but one thing is for sure, i want to serve.

appreciate ur help guys,

james

p.s. the electronics unit is in tulsa oklahoma. and the infantry is in wichita kansas. really only a 30 minute driving diffrence from oklahoma city. tulsa is about 2 hours. and wichita is 2.5 hours.

[USMCRET6391]

Originally Posted by xSLAYERx

the reason the recruiter suggested teh electronics feild was cause they are less likely to get called up. so i could be apart of the corps, and hopefullly not get called up during my college time. id be happy to serve, but in reality its easier if i dont have to during college.

appreciate ur time guys. really do.

james

xSLAYERx

If you are so concerened about being "called up" while you are in college, dont enlist. Get your education and then worry about joining the Corps, otherwise you are going to have your priorities screwed up and you will not have a good tour of duty. Regardless of what your recruiter told you about electronics fields being called, if they need you they will call you and you will feel as if you have been lied to. Not a good situation at all.

[KARL THE GRUNT]

if they need you they will call you and you will feel as if you have been lied to. Not a good situation at all.


That is true, and with the war, they need people.
The fact is that once you join the Corps..you join the Corps and you will be sent where and when the Corps needs you.

Karl

[Bunny]

It sounds to me like you are passionate about both. Now I do love the Marine Corps, but I definitely think anyone who has the idea of going to college should complete that idea before starting your Marine Corps career. First, have you been accepted to the school you want? Second, even though your recruiter will be angry with you (very angry) it’s your choice, go tell him you want to go to college. Now, education is everything, if you want to have a backup to rely on provided you somehow exit the Corps, or simply something after you retire, a degree is golden. You pick your MOS; I understand you want to join a reserve unit and Vulture6 made a good point about location, but if you don’t like your job as an electronic and every time some grunts walk by you think to yourself “man I wish I were them”, you aren’t going to be happy. Now you can’t do anything if the Corps flat out won’t let you (“needs of the Corps”) but if your recruiter is lazy and just doesn’t want to do paperwork . . . that’s a different story. Also, if you want, you might consider a Marine Corps Officer program while you attend college. Something like NROTC or PLC can sustain your need for the Corps while you are a student. Hope this helps. Good luck. Semper Fi.

[Grimmy]

yeah on what Bunny last said. IF yer gonna do all that brain hotting study and such, why not go officer? You get paid more.