Dilemna

[becks104]

Hey guys,
I got within one week of sending my package in for intel last year but it never got sent in because there was litigation ongoing (I was the one who initiated the suit). Since then I was accepted into graduate school to pursue a Masters in Health Administration. I started the semester off 4 weeks late because I had to transfer from Tulane to UAB because Hurricane Katrina decided to destroy New Orleans and my appartment. As you can imagine it was not one of my better semesters with all that was going on. I still want to pursue a career in the Navy and I am being fairly heavily recruited to join the Health Services Collegiate Program. The program would pay me a little over 0-1 salary for the two years while I am getting my degree and I would enter the Navy upon graduation as LTJG with a 3 year active duty commitment. I've got to say that is kind of a sweet deal, but I still wonder if I should go intel. Some people have told me I am crazy not to get the Masters Degree if the Navy wants to pay for it and I have heard others say my background screams OCS INTEL. I have two questions....A: am I competitive for INTEL and B: all things being equal should I stay and get the Masters, money, and higher rank...or go for INTEL???? Any comments or thoughts would be awesome. Thanks!!

Here are my stats as best as I can recall:
BA Political Science (Concentration in Middle Eastern Studies)
BA History
GPA: 3.64
4 semesters of Arabic
OAR: somewhere between 56-62....can't remember but the recruiter at the time said it was competitive
Grad GPA: 2.8 (one semester)

 

[Gatordev]

The first question to answer is: What do YOU want to do? The military needs Arabic speakers, but if it's not the job you're interested in, then that's important. I don't know what Health Services is in the Navy. Can you expound a bit? What would be your job, according to your recruiter?

 

[becks104]

I think I am probably more intellectually attracted to INTEL but alot of people have suggested the smart move is to go with Health Services. Health Services would mean I would be a senior level officer in a hopsital or hospital system. The corresponding civillian roles would be the department heads, VPs, and Senior Execs of Hospitals. A masters in Health Administration is pretty much a MBA for healthcare. Any advice at all is awesome.

 

[Gatordev]

Well, let me put it this way... Way back in Primary (pre-9/11), I could have selected Jets. Jets were at the tip of what was considered the spear at the time. If I got out, I was set for the airlines. Chicks dig jets. But... I just loved the little flying I had done in helos. The whole concept attracted me. So I went with them, and I have no regrets.

I'd say do what interests you, not what is going to set you up with the most cash (and I don't mean your motivations are strictly monetary). You'll probably see A LOT more of the world in intel than you will from a hospital, both on deployments as well as what you get to read. But again, do what interests YOU.

EDIT:

I see Retread and I are saying the opposite. How's that for help?

 

[becks104]

You guys are great for responding, thank you sincerely. What is the likelihood of getting a lateral transfer??? Does it happen frequently? I have wondered about that possibility for a long time but I just assumed it was very hard to pull off. Thanks again guys!

 

[Thisguy]

You guys are great for responding, thank you sincerely. What is the likelihood of getting a lateral transfer??? Does it happen frequently? I have wondered about that possibility for a long time but I just assumed it was very hard to pull off. Thanks again guys!

Lateral transfers are a crap shoot. If intel isn't looking to fill a quota when you want to apply, you're SOL. Another thing is that the board meets only twice a year, so if you don't get picked up, you have to wait awhile for another board. It's probably easier to get Intel straight out of OCS than it is to lat xfer.

Also, restricted line and staff corps communites desire warfare qualified lat transfers, so any SWO who wants intel will have a serious leg up.

To give you an idea, this past November board 16 people were selected for intel:
7 Warfare Qualified SWOs
2 Pilots
1 1615 (whatever that is)
6 Flight attrites (1305)

 

[feddoc]

Health Services would mean I would be a senior level officer in a hopsital or hospital system.

Certainly not right away. You would come in as a JG, maybe do a SH job as a 'more' senior guy at a clinic then do the lateral transfer. If you go directly to a hospital as a JG, you will be tossed into the mix where you will stay....UNLESS you do something either very good or very bad.

 

[becks104]

Could you elaborate a little? What is SH job? I wasn't trying to say I would go straight in to a hospital but what are the alternatives...can medical service staff officers go to sea?

 

[feddoc]

SH = Sh!t hot

If you do this, you will be a Medical Service Corps Officer....they are either HCA...admin pukes...or HCS (health care scientists)...physiologists, physical therapists, and, I think, Physicians Assistants....dunno about the last one.

MSC officers do go to sea and -most likely- work for the Senior Medical Officer (SMO). Their duties tend to be limited to crunching numbers and data and managing a few Corpsmen.

 

[Logico]

I wouldn't count on a transfer particularly since medical designators are in big demand right now (hence the strong incentive package you were offered). You might be stuck there once you are qualified.

The education is nice but you will get that later on the Navy's dime in Intel too. Also, starting off as a JG isn't that big of an incentive (unless $$ now matters to you more than it probably should) since you would make JG in 2 years from commissioning anyway in Intel.

If your heart is leaning toward intel then you should go intel. If you don't care then take the benefits. But since these are very different career paths I would weigh my options carefully and then follow what my heart says.

 

[becks104]

thank you

Wow, this community never ceases to amaze me with its generosity and honesty. Thanks again. It is a pretty tough choice but your comments have put it in alot better perspective than I had before. I get the impression the HCA guys/ admin pukes don't get too much respect and that does concern me a little, it's certainly not as flashy or sexy as INTEL which was obvious from day one, but hopefully they are not universally hated.

 

[Gatordev]

Gator.. I don't think we are saying the opposite...I am saying he should go intel, just suggesting a different route: his choices are not as clear cut as Do it or don't do it, I think that he has other options...

Yeah, I gotcha. I was just joking at how on the surface it seemed like two contradictory posts. And so goes the internet.

 

[Thisguy]

Wow, this community never ceases to amaze me with its generosity and honesty. Thanks again. It is a pretty tough choice but your comments have put it in alot better perspective than I had before. I get the impression the HCA guys/ admin pukes don't get too much respect and that does concern me a little, it's certainly not as flashy or sexy as INTEL which was obvious from day one, but hopefully they are not universally hated.

If you go intel, you could very well end up as a squardron's spy, and from rooming with our spy my first cruise, it's not a sexy job at all.

Do what you think you'll enjoy more. Not which is "cooler" or what will get you more respect. Because whatever you choose, you'll be locked in at least 2 years. The min to apply for a lat xfer is 24 months, but again, timing is key. I was commissioned in Dec 2002, so I was not eligible for Nov 2004, had to wait what seemed like an eternity for June 2005.

 

[FlyinSpy]

1 1615 (whatever that is)

1615s are Cryppies. Which is a useful segue....

If you have any kind of language talent, it's the Cryppy side of the house you should be considering, not Intel.

I think the original questioner needs to be more specific when he says "Intel is more attractive". What about intel is more attractive? Or more precisely, what do you *think* intel does that is more attractive? It's important to distinguish what most people think "intelligence" is all about from The Way the Navy Does Intelligence - two separate concepts with some (but not a lot) of overlap. Kind of like chicken and Chicken McNuggets. Based on the original background, the poster would likely be a lot more aligned with the Navy's new Foreign Area Officer program than with intel, although intel could be a useful stepping stone in that direction as the FAO program gets its legs underneath it.

 

[Logico]

I get the impression the HCA guys/ admin pukes don't get too much respect and that does concern me a little, it's certainly not as flashy or sexy as INTEL which was obvious from day one, but hopefully they are not universally hated.

Agree with FlyinSpy...if you are looking for a "sexy" job then you should go Pilot or SEAL or something like that. An intel guy is a support person who can only be, at best, "helpful" but never "sexy".