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FY 19 IWC DCO BOARD

bryanteagle6

Well-Known Member
36

Ive heard of many 36-40 yr old getting picked up. If i had to guess based on my experience of what ive seen through the boards (not based on the fleet), id say 32-36 is the average age range. BUT i would also say, i don't feel they look at the age as a major component. If you are good in all the areas the board is looking, you will get picked up. If your just average and a litte young or a little old, that might be a negative tie breaker to the pro and con list
 

devilbones

Arashikage トーマス・嵐影
Thanks for the words of encouragement, I will definitely give it another go! I interviewed with an O-6 CW, and she said my credentials were a closer fit to IP than CW. So I may go for IP first choice next time around.

The only part that gives me pause, is in the paperwork, it explicitly states that they prefer candidates who are closer to 35 years old. Are there any folks in here who got selected at age 39+? Would be interesting to see the age distribution of prior year selectees.
I was selected for CW when I was 39, nobody has ever mentioned anything about age.
 

FormerRecruitingGuru

Making Recruiting Great Again
I put in a prior enlisted Intel DCO who was 43.

I can see age as a “tiebreaker” but once again your education/experience is what’s going to guide your chances for the board.
 

bubblehead

Registered Member
Contributor
39/M. Non prior service. First time DCO applicant. I'm in Northern Virginia.
BS in IT, 3.6 GPA
2 classes into my Masters in IT at Virginia Tech, 4.0 (so far)
Lots of certs: Network+, Security+, Server+, Linux+, Cloud+, CySA+, CASP, CISSP, CEH, GSLC, ITILv3, ISO9001
18 years experience in IT, mostly on fed gov contracts
Active clearance
Very fit (CrossFit junkie)
Small amount of leadership / team lead / line manager experience, but not tons.
You are very competitive for IP in my opinion. I would complete your master's and re-apply. It will boil down to your interviews. Some people look great on paper but are absolutely terrible during the interview process.

Thankfully, interviewing is one of the qualifications.
 
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Hair Warrior

Well-Known Member
Contributor
The question you may get asked -- for which there is no way to fake an answer -- is, how do you expect to complete your initial training qualifications while also completing a master’s degree? The initial training is 20 consecutive weeks at Dam Neck or P-cola. Even an online master’s degree will not be easy at the same time. This is why the board often but not always rejects applicants without a master's.
 

Radeon3030

DCO SELECT
@Radeon3030 you’d be more competitive upon finishing a master’s.
Understood. My concern is that I'm 39 now, and will likely be 41 upon completion of the master's. It sounds like completion of the master's is much more of a factor than age is. Which is a good thing, for myself anyways. Perhaps my best path forward is to follow @bubblehead 's advice and plow through the grad coursework before re-applying. Thanks everyone for the feedback - I will followup with my March '19 selection results once they are known.
 

Hair Warrior

Well-Known Member
Contributor
If you are shooting to retire with 20 years, you might want to start looking at your enlisted options soon. It can be any branch, reserve or active duty. All will stop the clock on eligibility (w/o a waiver).
Why? He still has ~3 years to earn a direct commission. I am not sure what (read: any) benefit he’d get by being a 39 year old PO3 with a master’s degree going through Great Lakes and A school. There is a very long discussion on it in this thread: https://www.airwarriors.com/communi...-masters-degree-enlist-ocs.46194/#post-929235
 

Reservist

Intelligence Officer
I was selected at 44 for 1835 - but I was prior service and re-enlisted after not getting by my first intel board. You can do it, but you really have to make yourself shine. I did not need an age waiver. I hear the age waiver is the death bell.... So long as you don't need a waiver - I think you have a chance, albeit a steep climb, - at 39 or any age. Move fast! This process moves dreadfully slow and if you get past 42 with no prior - you need a waiver in which case, it seems universally agreed you are screwed and not getting in.

I'll chime on the enlisted thing - pro enlisters and anti enlisters make good points. If you really want to do this, you buy yourself more time by enlisting. Every year enlisted adds another year beyond 42 to commission without a waiver giving you more to select. That and enlisted have a muc higher selection rate that most applicants off the street. But - enlisting can also cause you to have things that restrict you from trying again so proceed cautiously.
 
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shiner237

Member
Why? He still has ~3 years to earn a direct commission. I am not sure what (read: any) benefit he’d get by being a 39 year old PO3 with a master’s degree going through Great Lakes and A school. There is a very long discussion on it in this thread: https://www.airwarriors.com/communi...-masters-degree-enlist-ocs.46194/#post-929235
Depends on his career goals. He might want to serve in any capacity for 20 years. If he waits too long, that will not be an option for him. As for the other thread, his situation is different....
there's nothing more annoying to me than someone who bosses me around, is paid more, but cannot do my task or even advise on how to do my task more easily/efficiently
I hope he gets over his issue quoted here if he wants to be successful in the military.
 

JLew

Member
Depends on his career goals. He might want to serve in any capacity for 20 years. If he waits too long, that will not be an option for him. As for the other thread, his situation is different....

I hope he gets over his issue quoted here if he wants to be successful in the military.
I am definitely aware of this challenge ahead of me, probably not fully awre of how real this problem really exists in the Navy. The context from my civ career experience is primarily project managers, who have no concept of the complexity of "the ask" but start barking orders around the tech/development teams. Also, sales guys, making promises to prospective clients, with a non-technical understanding of the product and potential R&D involved. I currently work for financial services outsourceing/tech company and there can be a serious disconnect from the people "in charge" and the people actually tasked with the work to create a solution from nothing. For these value-added process to work efficiently, without everyone hating their job, the person who I'd prefer as my manager/boss/mentor should be able to speak the same technical language to help clarify the requirements (and maybe tell off the PM who likely is asking for something unrealistic without getting appropriate buy-in first).
 

Hail_HYDRA!

One more question...
Understood. My concern is that I'm 39 now, and will likely be 41 upon completion of the master's. It sounds like completion of the master's is much more of a factor than age is. Which is a good thing, for myself anyways. Perhaps my best path forward is to follow @bubblehead 's advice and plow through the grad coursework before re-applying. Thanks everyone for the feedback - I will followup with my March '19 selection results once they are known.
Dude, apply and keep applying until selected!
 
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