Has anyone quit a job for OCS?

[sonicboom]

Hi All,

I'm a May '08 college grad going for OCT 08 SNA board but I'm applying for jobs in the civilian sector as a backup just in case I'm rejected. There's a good chance I'll get hired before I hear back from the board and will be faced with an uncomfortable situation where I'll have to quit my new job after only a few months to go to OCS.

Has anyone else been in a similar limbo situation? I'm wondering if it's even worth applying for jobs since the board is so close (6 weeks away). I really don't want to do anything except Navy but I also need $$$ to pay back those school loans. What have you guys done? Just sit around, PT and wait for word from the Gods or work on a back up?

Thanks,

C

 

[Uncle Fester]

Mrs Fester did just this. She quit a good job in NYC with an accounting firm and joined up after 9/11. Took a 50% pay cut in doing it, too.

Do you really want to be a Naval officer? Yes? Then quit your civvie job and go for the gusto.

Qui audet adipiscitur, as the SAS lads say.

 

[sonicboom]

Absolutely want to be a Naval officer more than anything in the world. That's not a question. I don't have a job in civvie world yet, but I wanna know what most guys/gals do while they're waiting for word from the board. Should I bother to apply for jobs only to have to quit 3 months in to the job? Or should I just make my package strong and prepare for OCS?

 

[Swanee]

I am in a similar situation and I am looking for jobs. There are too many "what if's" to dump all the eggs in one basket. Better to have to choose between 2 then be stuck without either one.

 

[m3urthy]

Yup! Just left my consulting job at a startup in SF. Left after I exercised my right to buy 5k shares and used up my PPO to help with my PRK.

Even if I don't get selected for USMC OCS Air, I'd be psyched about going ground so its a win-win for me.


If you feel comfortable leaving your job, do it.

 

[Renegade One]

I think the only "style point" I would recommend is that IF you are offered some sort of "signing bonus" for taking the offer of employment (this is a lump sum just for taking the job...not part of your salary), you might just squirrel that away and not spend it for the first year. You may ease ruffled feathers inside that first year if you offer to return the bonus. Probably not required...just a thought. I'm sure many others would say "Screw 'em...take the money and run". But...you may want to go back there someday. But you're not really going to anger your employer, I don't think, by leaving to serve your country in war time. If you do, however, you probably didn't want to work there very long anyway. My $.02.
V/R, Spike

 

[FLY_USMC]

I was out of work and homeless living in a box in an alley before I joined the Marine Corps, so all this "did you leave a job to join the miltary" talk is completely foreign to me?

 

[skim]

I was working in a warehouse. I got accepted and quit.

 

[mic]

I am actually in the same exact boat you are in, right down to the grad date and board. I've been applying to career jobs as well as hourly paying jobs. I think having a job will not only give a little extra jingle in the pocket but also keep my mind off of the waiting. Not sure as to how I will break the news to the employer yet (about me leaving soon), but I'm sure the way I will do it depends on the job title I hold, whether it be a server at a restaurant or a consultant for some firm. Hope that helps, Cheers!

 

[jorgelito]

This is a tough question. It really depends on your situation. I quit my job to concentrate on my app full time. I quit at the end of March, made contact with my recruiter end of April. We were supposed to submit for the June boards but kept running into problems. I had originally wanted to get some sort of job but it was impossible considering the amount of work I was doing on my application and all the traveling. One example would be my recruiter calling me at 10am to report for the PT test on base at 11am. I live half an hour away or so. Another time he called me at 1am to come to base at 8am. I have been bounced around between LA and San Diego all on short notice. No way I could have done this if I had been working. If I was working, then this process would have taken much longer and I am up against the clock. So really, it all depends on your situation.

Good luck.

 

[BACONATOR]

This is a tough question. It really depends on your situation. I quit my job to concentrate on my app full time. I quit at the end of March, made contact with my recruiter end of April. We were supposed to submit for the June boards but kept running into problems. I had originally wanted to get some sort of job but it was impossible considering the amount of work I was doing on my application and all the traveling. One example would be my recruiter calling me at 10am to report for the PT test on base at 11am. I live half an hour away or so. Another time he called me at 1am to come to base at 8am. I have been bounced around between LA and San Diego all on short notice. No way I could have done this if I had been working. If I was working, then this process would have taken much longer and I am up against the clock. So really, it all depends on your situation.

Good luck.

Sure you can. Plenty others have done it, and I applied when I was a full-time engineering student.

It just would have taken longer. ANYthing is possible if you want it badly enough.

 

[FSF17]

I was jobless for 9 months before OCS, and it was fantastic.

 

[sonicboom]

I was jobless for 9 months before OCS, and it was fantastic.

unemployment does have its perks...like not having to work

 

[fc2spyguy]

unemployment does have its perks...like not having to work

Only thing better than being jobless is being in the pool

 

[Morgan81]

I had a normal job nine-to-five before going to OCS. It was tough finding time to train so if you can afford not to work, I'd pass and just PT your brains out.