• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

Online Masters

DanMa1156

Is it baseball season yet?
pilot
Contributor
In all seriousness, if you think you're wasting your time, look at a Master's Certificate. YMMV, but it can at least be interested. I actually didn't enjoy most of my program, but would be open to doing a different one; I think I just thought I'd be more interested in the subject than I was.
 

AllYourBass

I'm okay with the events unfolding currently
pilot
There are some outstanding education opportunities around the shore/disassociated tour period of time, to include FSEP, PolMil, LGEP, and a couple other fringe ones. All these acronyms amount to, "Navy pays for your degree, and they may even give you orders to just be a civilian for a year or two to earn it."

I am a terrible steward of my own idle time and one of my worst character traits is obsessively filling idle time with (seemingly) productive pursuits. That being said -- I'd highly, highly recommend against using this period of your career for schooling.

EDIT: Also, the Navy seems to be taking a higher interest in education lately (you include a bullet on your FITREP and whatnot). General chatter is that maybe the Navy is realizing people want to get an education around the typical JO career points and are finding ways to keep people satisfied and commissioned. I wouldn't be surprised if the education opportunities I listed above have expanded by the time you reach those points.
 

Bergers2short

Well-Known Member
None
If you think you'll want to get your MA from a civilian school, you could use this time to knock out a quality GRE prep course and set yourself up for success when application time comes around. However, do some research into whether your score would expire after a certain point so you don't waster your time on it. You can also touch base with any undergrad professors you think you might need recommendations from down the line and write an application essay (depending on whether your degree tends to have a non-specific essay requirement from year to year).
 

BleedGreen

Well-Known Member
pilot
@AllYourBass do you know when in a JO's career FSEP is authorized? Can it be in place of a dissociated tour?

Also what makes someone competitive for the program?
 

AllYourBass

I'm okay with the events unfolding currently
pilot
@AllYourBass do you know when in a JO's career FSEP is authorized? Can it be in place of a dissociated tour?

Also what makes someone competitive for the program?

Here's the latest NAVADMIN, I'm less spun up on FSEP than I am on LGEP: https://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/messages/Documents/NAVADMINS/NAV2020/NAV20260.txt

But yes, everyone I know who is taking FSEP is doing it in lieu of a disassociated tour. I've seen some people pick up O-4 while they're at Yale/Harvard/whatever, so they'll get their degrees and then roll back through the FRS to become DHs, presumably.

From the year or so I've watched FRS dudes apply for FSEP, it looks like people are most likely to get picked if they 1.) Did well enough at their shore tour that the front office felt generous, 2.) Turned in the package on time, and, most importantly, 3.) Had timing that supported the FSEP tour without removing the person from the community at an inconvenient phase (as forecasted by XO).

I haven't really cracked the code on how to read career timing tea leaves, but that's mostly a function of me not caring up to this point.

Just my squadron's perspective.
 

BleedGreen

Well-Known Member
pilot
Overall that's good news. None of the traditional helo disassociated tours sound appealing so this might be worth the pursuit!
 

DanMa1156

Is it baseball season yet?
pilot
Contributor
What @AllYourBass said...

I know two guys, helo guys, left their JO tours 1&2. 1 went to FRS, 2 went to VTs. I assume 1's performance was good at the FRS; 2 was a double-tap EP at the VTs. Both went to MIT, both made O-4, both picked up for DH. The only difference is one guy got 2 year orders to MIT and the other got 1 year orders (for the same program!). When asked, they were told it was an "administrative error," but wouldn't be changed for either of them.
 

JBM

Gainfully Employeed
None
If you think you'll want to get your MA from a civilian school, you could use this time to knock out a quality GRE prep course and set yourself up for success when application time comes around. However, do some research into whether your score would expire after a certain point so you don't waster your time on it. You can also touch base with any undergrad professors you think you might need recommendations from down the line and write an application essay (depending on whether your degree tends to have a non-specific essay requirement from year to year).

I would second this, or GMAT if you have MBA aspirations. These courses are typically under a grand and each of the tests are good for five years. The Navy will also pay for your first attempt at either test.

I also 100% also recommend having the Navy pay for your degree and keep that GI bill for future use/dependents. I had good enough timing to pull off an in-resident MBA via the FSEP program. It was a great time and the connections there will greatly help when my time playing around in the Navy is finally over. Another positive I got to grow a great beard as well.
 

JBM

Gainfully Employeed
None
What are the FSEP schools? I followed the link to look, but no joy.

Specifically it says on the NPS site, "For a current list of schools with existing ESAs click the map to the right." but of course there is no map to the right.

ALL US schools are FSEP schools. At least when I was in the program. FSEP would let you get any masters at an US school and study for 24 months. The only exception was legal or medical programs (which take longer than 24 months anyway)
 

JBM

Gainfully Employeed
None
Here's the latest NAVADMIN, I'm less spun up on FSEP than I am on LGEP: https://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/reference/messages/Documents/NAVADMINS/NAV2020/NAV20260.txt

But yes, everyone I know who is taking FSEP is doing it in lieu of a disassociated tour. I've seen some people pick up O-4 while they're at Yale/Harvard/whatever, so they'll get their degrees and then roll back through the FRS to become DHs, presumably.

From the year or so I've watched FRS dudes apply for FSEP, it looks like people are most likely to get picked if they 1.) Did well enough at their shore tour that the front office felt generous, 2.) Turned in the package on time, and, most importantly, 3.) Had timing that supported the FSEP tour without removing the person from the community at an inconvenient phase (as forecasted by XO).

I haven't really cracked the code on how to read career timing tea leaves, but that's mostly a function of me not caring up to this point.

Just my squadron's perspective.

Also FWIW both my Academy roommate and I did FSEP after our disassociated tour. We were both pretty poor students at USNA so we had timing on ours side. I left my boat as an LT still awaiting O-4 results.
 
Top