DCO or enlist?

[dennis10093]

Hi all,

I have been thinking of joining the Navy for over a year now. I applied for active-duty OCS in my senior year in college, went through MEPS, but did not get selected. Now that I graduated from a 4 year university and have a steady full-time banking job, I have to take care of my family. But my dream of being part of the Navy, and my country, was never gone. With my situation, I think the reserve would be a better option for me.

My question is: should I apply for DCO or enlist? I mean I know obviously it's better to apply for officer if there is a college degree, but I have also noticed that the acceptance rate for DCO is extremely low. I would prefer being an officer with the Navy, but I would also be ok if I enlist.

I don't have a lot of family or friends that are in the military (ok none), so I really need someone to weight out the pros and cons for me(rank I will be in, lifestyle, jobs available for me, where I will be stationed, pay difference, advancement timeline and opportunities, etc, please share any other insight). The recruiter I worked with in the past was not very knowledgeable on the officer side (I doubled check with the facts he gave me, even with the online chat services on Navy.com, and they did not match). I have reached out to different recruiters recently but nobody has gotten back to me.

My main interests are on Supply and Intel, but I am also open to other fields. Please feel free to share if you have any recommendations on this. If I have to choose between joining the Navy or getting a job field that I don't like, I would choose the Navy.

I appreciate all your help on this and your service to our country!

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Hi all,

I have been thinking of joining the Navy for over a year now. I applied for active-duty OCS in my senior year in college, went through MEPS, but did not get selected. Now that I graduated from a 4 year university and have a steady full-time banking job, I have to take care of my family. But my dream of being part of the Navy, and my country, was never gone. With my situation, I think the reserve would be a better option for me.

My question is: should I apply for DCO or enlist? I mean I know obviously it's better to apply for officer if there is a college degree, but I have also noticed that the acceptance rate for DCO is extremely low. I would prefer being an officer with the Navy, but I would also be ok if I enlist.

I don't have a lot of family or friends that are in the military (ok none), so I really need someone to weight out the pros and cons for me(rank I will be in, lifestyle, jobs available for me, where I will be stationed, pay difference, advancement timeline and opportunities, etc, please share any other insight). The recruiter I worked with in the past was not very knowledgeable on the officer side (I doubled check with the facts he gave me, even with the online chat services on Navy.com, and they did not match). I have reached out to different recruiters recently but nobody has gotten back to me.

My main interests are on Supply and Intel, but I am also open to other fields. Please feel free to share if you have any recommendations on this. If I have to choose between joining the Navy or getting a job field that I don't like, I would choose the Navy.

I appreciate all your help on this and your service to our country!

Go to the Navy website, put down your zip code a for finding a recruiter and contact the one provided for officer recruiting. Ask to get a POC who you can contact and set up a meeting.

There's a ton of variables and questions you're asking that your OR would know and respond to best. We don't know who you are, what your stats are, and what you want in the Navy.

 

[MGoBrew11]

Unless they've done some significant improvements, that feature of the Navy website is hot garbage. When I was trying to find a recruiter it always told me there were no officer recruiters in my area. At a later stage in the application process I learned there were at least three officer recruiter offices within 1.5 hours of where I lived. The irony is that I was working with the one 1.5 hours away and there were two that were closer, one just down the road from my house.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Unless they've done some significant improvements, that feature of the Navy website is hot garbage. When I was trying to find a recruiter it always told me there were no officer recruiters in my area. At a later stage in the application process I learned there were at least three officer recruiter offices within 1.5 hours of where I lived. The irony is that I was working with the one 1.5 hours away and there were two that were closer, one just down the road from my house.

The officer recruiting numbers are usually the NRD HQ. So for Berkeley (where the OP lives) it will take him to the NRD SF HQ down in Mountain View. From there they'll direct him to the closest and/or active or reserve OR (depending on what program he wants to pursue).

 

[unbroken]

Another option is to contact the NROTC staff at your alma mater. They should be able to answer basic questions for you and / or put you in touch with a recruiter. The NROTC instructors at my undergrad were invaluable resources for me throughout the DCO process, even though I was never a midshipman.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Another option is to contact the NROTC staff at your alma mater. They should be able to answer basic questions for you and / or put you in touch with a recruiter. The NROTC instructors at my undergrad were invaluable resources for me throughout the DCO process, even though I was never a midshipman.

That would be a rarity, in nearly all cases NROTC instructors or NROTC grads will have little if any valuable information dealing with OCS, if anything I have found they often provide incorrect information as they give info based on their NROTC experience.

I am sure they could provide great info about what it is like in the fleet, just not how to get there.

 

[unbroken]

That would be a rarity, in nearly all cases NROTC instructors or NROTC grads will have little if any valuable information dealing with OCS, if anything I have found they often provide incorrect information as they give info based on their NROTC experience.

I am sure they could provide great info about what it is like in the fleet, just not how to get there.

Just my experience. Many NROTC instructors themselves went through OCS. And it never hurts to ask, the worst they can do is say they can't help you.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Another option is to contact the NROTC staff at your alma mater. They should be able to answer basic questions for you and / or put you in touch with a recruiter. The NROTC instructors at my undergrad were invaluable resources for me throughout the DCO process, even though I was never a midshipman.

Bad gouge. Unless the instructors were OCS grads themselves rarely do they provide valuable advice.

 

[unbroken]

Bad gouge. Unless the instructors were OCS grads themselves rarely do they provide valuable advice.

Respectfully, rarely is not the same as never: My undergrad NROTC CO facilitated an interview with an 0-8. At the school down the road, the NROTC CO was formerly CO of Officer Training Command.

Never hurts to ask.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Just my experience. Many NROTC instructors themselves went through OCS. And it never hurts to ask, the worst they can do is say they can't help you.

nearly every officer I worked with that went to be an NROTC instructor or who I met during my OR tour was themselves either NROTC or USNA.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Respectfully, rarely is not the same as never: My undergrad NROTC CO facilitated an interview with an 0-8. At the school down the road, the NROTC CO was formerly CO of Officer Training Command.

Never hurts to ask.

most designators don't care about senior officer interviews, they want to see a LOR from someone that has seen you perform over a specific period of time, if you are going for SNA or SNFO you may as well round file that interview.

 

[unbroken]

nearly every officer I worked with that went to be an NROTC instructor or who I met during my OR tour was themselves either NROTC or USNA.

It sounds like we've had different experiences, which only lends further credence to the notion that good officers and helpful mentors come from all paths of the officer corps. Very fortunate that there are many ways for those looking to serve to seek counsel.

most designators don't care about senior officer interviews, they want to see a LOR from someone that has seen you perform over a specific period of time, if you are going for SNA or SNFO you may as well round file that interview.

I was neither (and was given very different advice from my OR and his chain of command in my designator. Worked for me, so I won't complain!)

 

[exNavyOffRec]

It sounds like we've had different experiences, which only lends further credence to the notion that good officers and helpful mentors come from all paths of the officer corps. Very fortunate that there are many ways for those looking to serve to seek counsel.



I was neither (and was given very different advice from my OR and his chain of command in my designator. Worked for me, so I won't complain!)

I just noticed you went DCO, the DCO application process is NOTHING like the OCS process, in the DCO process you MUST have an interview. You CANNOT compare the DCO process to the OCS process, it is like trying to compare the engine room startup of a nuclear ship to the engine room startup of a gas turbine ship.

 

[subreservist]

I just noticed you went DCO, the DCO application process is NOTHING like the OCS process, in the DCO process you MUST have an interview. You CANNOT compare the DCO process to the OCS process, it is like trying to compare the engine room startup of a nuclear ship to the engine room startup of a gas turbine ship.

Isn't the OP asking about DCO? Not sure how we switched into OCS...

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Isn't the OP asking about DCO? Not sure how we switched into OCS...

my apologies, I looked at his profile and he had just graduated from college so I read DCO and started thinking OCS, mainly because a new college grad has a better shot at winning mega millions lottery than getting a DCO spot.