Which one would you have done if you had a choice or which one do you prefer?
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Which program do you prefer/if you had a choice...
- Thread starter whitesoxnation
- Start date
I did PLC combined in the summer. Having done TBS in the winter, I would much rather do OCS in the summer. At TBS you are given more cold weather gear, and although you spend a lot more time outside in it, I couldn't imagine some of the OCS events in the cold. Thats my two cents ...
Also, go for 10 weeks, get it out of the way, then go back to college and enjoy one more year of the college life before real life start ... like waiting around in Pcola for 6 months to start API ...
Also, go for 10 weeks, get it out of the way, then go back to college and enjoy one more year of the college life before real life start ... like waiting around in Pcola for 6 months to start API ...
I definately would not want to jump in the Quigley in 18 degrees. I did 10 weeks in the summer with -192. I much prefer the heat than the cold. All you gotta do it drink water like you're supposed to. And as soon as you're done with the PT or event, its a lot easier to cool down than it is to warm up - in my opinion.
I didnt start to get involved in the USMC program until my junior year in college. I would imagine you may want to get involved your freshman year because you will get paid more money. For me, I'm glad I didnt go when I was 18. I dont think I would have been ready. So it worked out for me.
I didnt start to get involved in the USMC program until my junior year in college. I would imagine you may want to get involved your freshman year because you will get paid more money. For me, I'm glad I didnt go when I was 18. I dont think I would have been ready. So it worked out for me.
Second
I too would agree that the 10 week way is the way to go provided you dont end up like me and break with 2 weeks to go. :icon_rage
Also it was kinda wierd going as a 5th Senior in College and still being a couple years older then most of your platoon. I mean hell I was only 23 at the time and I was like the 8th oldest guy in the Platoon by the count. One of our guys celebrated his 21st birthday while he was there, talk about suck. I think if I had gone when I was 21 or younger given what I know about myself then and what I hadnt experiance till later Id have done much much worse. A lot of the leadership and test scores I got were directly influenced by my experiances especially the LEO stuff. Plus I like to think I got a lot more philisophical with age.
Plus I like to think I got a lot more philisophical with age.
I've learned to shut the fvck up more often over the last few years and I think that fact alone saved my ass at OCS :icon_tong
Hand warmers and dip ... that was my cure :icon_wink
I understand the merits of getting it over with all at once but if you go PLC JR after your freshman year and PLC SR after your junior year you will be making significantly more money for the rest of your career. Having an extra 3 years time in service throughout you career makes a big difference paywise:
Your first year of the PLC JR/SR 2ndLt will make $7646.4 more than a PLC combined 2ndLt. When both are promoted to 1stLt the PLC JR/SR 1stLt will make $7412.4 more than the PLC combined 1stLt. These differences in pay narrow slightly as careers progress but the difference is always at least a couple hundred bucks a month. My 2 cents.
Semper Fi,
usmcecho4
Your first year of the PLC JR/SR 2ndLt will make $7646.4 more than a PLC combined 2ndLt. When both are promoted to 1stLt the PLC JR/SR 1stLt will make $7412.4 more than the PLC combined 1stLt. These differences in pay narrow slightly as careers progress but the difference is always at least a couple hundred bucks a month. My 2 cents.
Semper Fi,
usmcecho4
Come on, you are looking way too far into the future! We are talking about short term satisfaction here!!
All joking aside, you make a great point. I am jealous of my buddies who are pulling in that extra dough. Thats an angle I did not think about.
All joking aside, you make a great point. I am jealous of my buddies who are pulling in that extra dough. Thats an angle I did not think about.
MasterHaynes86
Registered User
PLC JR/SR 1st incremement is the way I'm going and I am very glad I get to take this route.
1. Any probations you manage to gain are reset upon returning. Of course there is, i would think, considerably less time to absorb the material. I cannot verify this. But the probation reset is nice. I had just been put on company probation prior to leaving Jrs because I am was an idiot.
2. You get 20% more OCS than OCC and PLC-C.
3. I'm not sure how prepared I was mentally for OCS. I gotta say, I didn't know when to shut up (as someone mentioned earlier about age and shutting up). Frustration ran deep and patience ran shallow with fellow candidates. Perhaps if I was 22 and in the OCC it would be different. Increase in age = Increase in wisdom
4. School is soooo much easier after OCS. Long nights, little sleep, and such are nothing. Also essays aren't as bad. haha
5. Sure you get the pay, but what I like is the fact that school is financially easier due to the FAP.
6. All my shortcomings from Jrs wont be held against me in Srs. My main one was a slip of tactfulness toward the end that rendered a conversation with the platoon commander.
I could go on and on about the nifty benefits of PLC Jr/Sr. But that is because I am in the program, lol... I can definitely see the benefits of the other courses, as well as their shortcomings. PLC Jr/Sr does have its downsides as well (the 2 year wait in between).
Jr's taught me alot. And since then I've ran into countless USMC Officers in my area that each give me a bit of wisdom pertaining to leadership, OCS, TBS, and life in the fleet.
1. Any probations you manage to gain are reset upon returning. Of course there is, i would think, considerably less time to absorb the material. I cannot verify this. But the probation reset is nice. I had just been put on company probation prior to leaving Jrs because I am was an idiot.
2. You get 20% more OCS than OCC and PLC-C.
3. I'm not sure how prepared I was mentally for OCS. I gotta say, I didn't know when to shut up (as someone mentioned earlier about age and shutting up). Frustration ran deep and patience ran shallow with fellow candidates. Perhaps if I was 22 and in the OCC it would be different. Increase in age = Increase in wisdom
4. School is soooo much easier after OCS. Long nights, little sleep, and such are nothing. Also essays aren't as bad. haha
5. Sure you get the pay, but what I like is the fact that school is financially easier due to the FAP.
6. All my shortcomings from Jrs wont be held against me in Srs. My main one was a slip of tactfulness toward the end that rendered a conversation with the platoon commander.
I could go on and on about the nifty benefits of PLC Jr/Sr. But that is because I am in the program, lol... I can definitely see the benefits of the other courses, as well as their shortcomings. PLC Jr/Sr does have its downsides as well (the 2 year wait in between).
Jr's taught me alot. And since then I've ran into countless USMC Officers in my area that each give me a bit of wisdom pertaining to leadership, OCS, TBS, and life in the fleet.
is probably one of the most crucial things I will take back to Srs... well that and erasable pens, lol.
The fact that OCS it is 20% longer is a joke. You have 2 graduation weeks and pick-up weeks, the training is all the same. So don't go saying that plc jr/sr is any better because you get more training, because you don't. You just spend more time getting yelled at for no reason. Why unnecessarily torturer yourself?
MasterHaynes86
Registered User
I just stated a simple fact due to time... Personally I enjoyed pickup. Graduation, eh, not so much. I enjoyed how the staff let us know more about themselves (where they come from, their experience, why they are SIs). But I ddn't enjoy hours of standing and doing nothing and hooch games for "getting lazy."
PLC Jr/Sr boys get to redo all those nice little humps again... which is a benefit AND downfall to the program.
10 weeker and PLC-C candidates get major props from me. I'm not sure I would have made it 4 more weeks eating those OtisSpunkmeyer Muffins. I got sick of them by week 6. I dont eat many of them now because I know I will have ample chance while at Srs. lol. Anyone else have a similar reaction? Dont get me wrong, they are superb, they just got old.
I think usmcecho4 asks the correct question, lol.