I’ve thought about both - but it was an active duty recruiter that I spoke to yesterday. Really I’m interested in what would benefit me the most financially. As I understand it, there isn’t much incentive in the reserves other than medical insurance. Thanks for your reply by the way.
The Reserves are likely the only way in for you at this point. The military is largely a young man's game for many reasons. You will likely have more options as a DCO Reservist. I've got some friends who joined up that way in their late 30s and early 40s.
If you are in it for the money, there are a lot of options once you're in for active duty orders to fill billets that need filling for months or years (usually anywhere from 4 to 24 months). Those orders would get you activated and serving full time. That being said, you would be spending that time in some less than ideal locations like Bahrain and Djibouti.
This is a great suggestion. But would I talk to a Reserve Recruiter or a Reserve Officer Recruiter (if there is such a thing)? Thanks for your help.
You need to find a Reserve Officer recruiter. They will have the information. These are often officers themselves (sometimes are senior enlisted) and are going to have the answers and connections to community managers.
No I was only talking to a regular recruiter (Navy). Not interested in JAG, too old to be a pilot, but I have all these graduate credits that I’d hate to go to waste if I was told that enlisting was my only option. Thanks for your help.
Sadly, I'm not sure where you fit into the Navy or Reserve DCO programs. If you were under 30, there would be opportunity to take on jobs that don't care about your degree. Since you are older, you need to appeal to the communities that are recruiting DCO Reservists. These are often very specialized fields like JAG, medical, dental, Intel, and I think the IP/IW community as well. Your degree is likely to hold you back unless you have special skills that you bring to the table such as language, cultural experience, and technical knowledge.
That said, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. If you really want it, make Big Navy tell you "No!" I would also recommend looking into the National Guard and Air Guard. The Guard tends to be more lax with age restrictions and might have more opportunities for you. Again, speak to an officer recruiter.
EDIT: I tried to find some links to specific links to Reserve recruiters, but couldn't find any. Also, the Navy's recruiting website is pure garbage.
Go here (https://www.navy.com/local) and find the officer recruiter nearest you. They are not as common as enlisted recruiters. The option is to reach out to your local NOSC/Reserve Center (Map is here:
https://www.public.navy.mil/nrh/Pages/nosc-locator-map.aspx) and see if they can set you up with a specific Reserve recruiter.