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37 with no prior service and a non-STEM masters degree...Enlist? OCS?

JLew said:
AW,

Thanks again for all the great feedback. My package is about complete and will be submitted at the end of this week. Only time will tell...

Enlisted hasn't gotten any real support, so it looks like that should only be a "nuclear" option in my case.

FS
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If you haven't figured out that you shouldn't enlist by now idk if the nukes would want you.
 
donte9235 said:
If you haven't figured out that you shouldn't enlist by now idk if the nukes would want you.
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Go Officer 1st but I wouldn't close the door on enlisting in the reserve if DCO/OCS ect... Don't work out. From what I gather - you have a desire to serve and that is why you want to do this. Obviously - we all want the highest position we can slip into but starting on the enlisted side can lead to the officer side and frankly like I've said before - if after you try the enlisted side on the reserve - if you don't dig it - there are plenty of honest ways to leave. Don't be afraid to try the reserve and don't be afraid to leave the reserve if it isn't what you want.
 
Apologies for my dry sense of humor... "Nuclear" option meaning the enlisted route should be used as a last resort (basically should never be used). I'm pretty fortunate to even have the opportunity to serve with either option available (during a relatively peaceful time). Can we focus on that?

The parallel being that a bunch of innocent people die in a war they probably didn't ask for, by a means of death they don't deserve, at the command of someone who probably does not have the appropriate conscience for making such a destructive decision...

Enlisted for me probably would mean taking a pay hit, doing some crappy jobs, taking orders from someone younger (so what), and the good possibly of not applying all the intelligence/leadership potential I've accumulated (what if I'd rather learn how to fix radar instead of lead?). I wonder if my initial enlisted contract rating, AECF, would ever put me in the seat that presses the big red button with a "DO NOT PRESS" sign on it?

I still think the point of service is putting country ahead of self, but that's another can of worms conversation. Package is away!
 
JLew said:
The parallel being that a bunch of innocent people die in a war they probably didn't ask for, by a means of death they don't deserve, at the command of someone who probably does not have the appropriate conscience for making such a destructive decision...

Enlisted for me probably would mean taking a pay hit, doing some crappy jobs, taking orders from someone younger (so what), and the good possibly of not applying all the intelligence/leadership potential I've accumulated (what if I'd rather learn how to fix radar instead of lead?). I wonder if my initial enlisted contract rating, AECF, would ever put me in the seat that presses the big red button with a "DO NOT PRESS" sign on it?
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You do understand that as an officer you may be the one GIVING those orders, right? You may very well find yourself in a situation where you either have to kill other human beings or send your Sailors to their doom (entering a burning/flooding space, going up against terrible odds at sea in order to buy time for the strike group to regroup, etc.). If you don't think you have the stomach or conscience for that, maybe you should look elsewhere. There are tons of other government jobs that need good technical management types.

Also, I don't think you truly grasp what we're telling you about being enlisted. But hey, it's your life. I just don't want to have to deal with a future burnt-out, surly ET3 JLew who's my departmental problem child because he feels like he's gotten a raw deal from Big Navy, when I'd much rather be focused on accomplishing work goals and getting the job done so we can all go home at a reasonable damn hour. The last thing I want to do is have to escort or even recommend one of my Sailors to DRB, XOI, or Captain's Mast.
 
Let’s be real.

You could find yourself in a position to tell swabbie schmuckatelli to give the power point presentation that ends the world.

You may have to order him to complete that computer based annual training even if it gives him carpal tunnel clicking to get virtual trophies.

If you’re not sharp enough and focused enough you may not approve swabbies leave request in time, and your chief would have to do it.

Can you handle that crushing responsibility?
 
drmikuls88 said:
Also, CWE (1845) is a highly technical role that you'll be actually do all of the technical work, not necessarily manage others as a JO. But that generally requires someone who is highly skilled and they're expected to hit the ground running pretty much right out of ODS. This was the first area I looked into and they wanted people with 5+ years of kernel programming, assembly, C, etc (which are immensely niche skills). None of this is applicable to the OP though, of course.
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CWE is actually a great example of an epic failure by the Navy to create "highly technical roles" for Officers. A Naval Officer is a generalist who leads enlisted technical specialists, outside of LDOs and perhaps aviators. So, without any idea how to actually employ 1840s over the course of a career, the Navy makes them "off-ramp" to 1810 after 5 years. Anecdotally, I've heard that even the first 5 are a shitshow because, even though they are selected with impressive resumes, there's no robust, standardized training pipeline after ODS, so they are all over the place in terms of what they know and are able to do.

We'll see how bringing back W-1 for cyber warrants works. The fact is that the Navy can't pay CTNs enough to keep them from getting out and tripling their salary.
 
drmikuls88 said:
Apologies, I was given some bad intel then. I was attempting to go for 1840 when I first started looking into the Navy and my OR told me 1845 was also an option.
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I was also told, not only by recruiters but also officer friends who have no reason to be misleading, that CWE O-1 pay is "competitive" with software/hardware engineers at the big names in the tech industry (because Hanlon's Razor is a thing). Both you and I know that's immeasurably false. Bad gouge abounds. Be careful.
 
I was just selected as an INTEL officer for Navy. I am 29 years old with a BA(GPA 3.7) & Masters(3.9) in Education. I had letters of recommendations from my college teachers, my building principal, and superintendent. I have been teaching and coaching at the junior high level for the past three years. I can't recall my OAR score. I think that should give you some hope. :)
 
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