Advantages for Enlisted vs officer?

[HeroShawn]

Hey guys, I've been browsing for about a week and figured it's time to ask some questions.

Since I was about 15 (much older now) I always wanted to join the Armed Forces. I thought about Army or Marines but I heard their living conditions are pretty sub par compared to some of the other branches.

So I started talking to a Navy recruiter yesterday and he was saying that I could go enlisted or maybe go in as an officer if I meet all the requirements. I know there's a major pay difference but I'm more interested in serving for the honor/prestige so I wanted to make sure that the decision that I make is the right path. I know for sure I want to do aviation without a doubt.

Will I get more respect as an senior officer if I started out as enlisted first? Are the living quarters of enlisted pretty crummy compared to officers? When not on duty how do civillians treat you as enlisted/officers in aviation? Do girls give you more attention with the rank?

Hoping to make a decision before the middle of next month so any help would be great!

 

[GreenLantern330]

If you for sure want to fly, I'm positive you have to be an officer.

 

[HeroShawn]

If you for sure want to fly, I'm positive you have to be an officer.

That's what I thought too, but I was wondering about starting off as enlisted and then eventually changing to officer so that I could do it

 

[GreenLantern330]

I'm still just a civvy, so I'll let someone else answer those questions for you. The only question I can answer is that from the research I've done, officers have better (at least more room/privacy) berthing than enlisted.

 

[HeroShawn]

Thanks.

*Bump* for anyone who can help me out.

 

[revan1013]

You don't have to bump, we see ya.

This has been answered a few times on here, but here's the short and sweet.

"Will I get more respect as an senior officer if I started out as enlisted first?"
- Depends. In general, an officer is an officer. You earn respect through example. Some priors have an advantage in having been-there-done-that and know how the enlisted folks do things. Some priors aren't as good officers as they think they are. Your mileage may vary.

"Are the living quarters of enlisted pretty crummy compared to officers?"
- Depends on the base. In general, officers quarters are better. But why live on base if you can get a sweet apartment or house offbase and split the rent with some friends?

"When not on duty how do civillians treat you as enlisted/officers in aviation?"
- They don't know since you're normally not in uniform.

"Do girls give you more attention with the rank?"
- Maybe gold-diggers. That shouldn't really be a factor in your decision.


And it's cool you want to be in aviation. But "what" do you want to do? Fly? Do maintenance? Be a flight officer? Aircrew? Rescue Swimmer? Only officers can be pilots and flight officers, and a few officers are AMDOs (Aviation Maintenance Duty Officers), but the rest are enlisted.

Yes, officer pay is better. There's more to the military than honor and prestige. Make sure you do your research and prepare to go through years of training and preparation to get to where you want to be. It's a very serious decision that takes serious thought.

 

[81montedriver]

Will I get more respect as an senior officer if I started out as enlisted first? Not at all and revan answered it pretty well but I'll add one more thing. Alot of people think they should enlist first before becoming an officer to pick up some experience. In theory this sounds like a great idea but on paper it's never that easy. When you enlist, you sign a committment just like everybody else. If you already have a college degree, you are ahead of the game.

The problem is the process takes a few years. You can't just finished boot camp, work in your job for 6 months and then say Hey I want to put in for an officer package! I can't speak for Navy, but for Marines, there is a minimum rank you have to reach before you can apply for one of the officer programs.

There are plenty of good non-prior enlisted officers out there and there are also plenty of shitty prior-enlisted officers out there. If you end up going straight to the officer path, you will learn eventually. I didn't know shit as a 2ndLt and you typically won't until a few months into your fleet tour but all of your knowledge will come in time.

So to sum up all the shit I said, DON'T ENLIST FIRST IF ALL YOU WANT TO REALLY DO IS BECOME AN OFFICER AND FLY.

 

[m26]

I'm more interested in serving for the honor/prestige.

Will I get more respect?

How do civillians treat you?

Do girls give you more attention?

I chose "HeroShawn" as a username.

This is worrying. Why do you want to do this?

 

[A4sForever]

Hey guys ... time to ask some questions. (What are) ... Advantages for Elisted (sic) vs officer?

HEY THERE !!! Score yet ANOTHER advantage for O's ...

Officers eat "food as good as it looks ... " as the picture sez.

Enlisted (sic) men ... "eat the same food in less style ... " as their faces sez.

Don't know 'bout "Elisted" (sic) men ... you'll have to Google that one ...

 

[helolumpy]

HEY THERE !!! Score yet ANOTHER advantage for O's ...

Officers eat "food as good as it looks ... " as the picture sez.

Enlisted (sic) men ... "eat the same food in less style ... " as their faces sez.

Don't know 'bout "Elisted" (sic) men ... you'll have to Google that one ...

While my esteem colleague is correct regarding the dining conditions, most carriers wardrooms serve the same chow as the mess decks now. The quality is no different between the Officers and Sailors now.

The enlisted do have some chow advantages such as a 24/7 chilli bar or the grill being open 23 hours a day (1 hour for cleaning). While the wardroom may have peanut butter and jelly with stale bread left out for meals outside of the normal mealtimes. (NOTE: Every ship is different, so your experience will differ from mine.) And God forbid you go looking for food after hours on a small boy, they keep everything locked up tight!!!

That being said, the pay, living conditions and overall quality of life is better for Officers than enlisted.

My advice is to consider what you really want to do. If it's flying, then you want to talk to an officer recruiter. If you speak to an enlisted recruiter (who has quotas to make) guess what he going to try to sell you on?

Good luck.

 

[Floppy_D]

Biography:
I consider myself a real hero

Off to a great start.

Do girls give you more attention with the rank?

If you can't get girls now, it's not going to get any better.

I was wondering about starting off as enlisted and then eventually changing to officer

A cursory search of the enlisted commissioning threads would have answered this, but what the hell. Don't enlist unless you want to be enlisted. Don't. The opportunities are there to commission; but the quantity is finite, on a decreasing trend, and it takes a lot of work to get there. If you show up and realize it's more work than you bargained for and start bitching, you have no chance. The only guys that get a shot are top performers who compete with other top performers. It'll take several years for you to earn the evals to get a shot. I was at my five year mark when I got picked up for STA-21, and that's pretty fast.

Lastly, I'd forget all about that "respect and prestige," and worry about how I was going to earn it. Good luck.

 

[OscarMyers]

I am currently enlisted and am in an officer accession program. I don't regret enlisting one bit, if you have the means to go officer then do it. Your only getting older and the job doesn't get any less competitive. Like MonteDriver said you have a contract to fulfill for the navy, most commands will want multiple above average evaluations and sustained superior performance before they will endorse you Also just because you have a degree and are enlisted doesn't mean you will get selected for OCS. I have seen sailors turned down when applying. Go for what you really want to do.

 

[Thisguy]

"Are the living quarters of enlisted pretty crummy compared to officers?"
- Depends on the base. In general, officers quarters are better. But why live on base if you can get a sweet apartment or house offbase and split the rent with some friends?

On a carrier, the shittiest officer stateroom is better than the enlisted berthing.

 

[Ducky]

If you want to fly and you can go officer now why take the long way with no guarantee. You will not get any more respect or prestige among officers for going enlisted first. The big difference is that my prior E buddies can get retirement upon completion of their aviation commitment because they had close to 10 years as enlisted so they hit 20 when the commitment is up.

If the job you want is only offered to enlisted, that limits your options.

$$$ while you may not care about it now, you will later so think of that as well.

 

[BigIron]

Do girls give you more attention with the rank?

This is probably one of the best questions ever asked on this board.