enlisting first then applying to be an officer

[flyingmaniac]

Well I was planning on doing NROTC in College but I've thought about it and I don't think it is the right thing for me. So I've decided to Enlist right out of High School but I still want to be a Pilot in the Navy so I have some questions about Officer Candidate School.

I read about OCS on Navy.com and it said I need a Bachelors degree to attend. If I enlist will I be able to get my Bachelors degree in 4 years while active duty and will I be able to get the Navy to pay for my college?

Any replies are appreciated.

When I was active duty enlisted I was stationed onboard a "Forward Deployed" aircraft carrier. It was pretty hard to take classes onboard a ship having certain rates or jobs.

Once I worked 16-20 hours a day, while afterwards I got a job working 12 hours a day. I also know people who work only 6 hours a day.

So it can be reasonable for some people but very unreasonable for others. Another thing that irritated me was the internet connection for some of my distance learning classes. It only worked half of the time.

But for those professors who come aboard to teach, it was a little easier.

So the biggest thing is if you are shore duty or ship. Although while in-port I took classes at the local university and it wasn't that hard.

Just my two pennies.

 

[SteveG75]

The Navy can help pay for college via TA (Tuition Assistance) but you won't be able to go to school full time and it will take a lot longer than 4 years to get a degree.

There are programs for enlisted sailors to go to college and then get commissioned but there are lots of applications for very few slots and it is very competitive. In addition, you need to be able to perform in your rate as an enlisted sailor and get good evaluations before even being considered. Figure a full tour of 3-4 years before being competitive enough to apply.

If you really want to fly, go to school and do NROTC or OCS after getting your degree. But remember, you will be a Naval Officer first and an aviator second, so make sure you are joining for the right reasons.

 

[Ken_gone_flying]

The Navy can help pay for college via TA (Tuition Assistance) but you won't be able to go to school full time and it will take a lot longer than 4 years to get a degree.

Not necessarily. I was enlisted for 5 years. The first year was navy schools, the second year I got drunk all the time in Japan, and the 3,4,and 5th years I took college classes and knocked out 3 years of college. I got out and had a year left to go. So, I finished my degree in 4 years, three of which were active duty. Now I was a C-2 crewman, which allowed me to live on the beach during deployments (at hotels, with internet access). I don't know what your access to college courses would be like on a boat.

However, if NROTC is an option for you, take it!!! It is a lot harder to go through the enlisted ranks and earn your degree on your own than through a direct program. I promise.

 

[jl08]

I know that I am beating a dead horse here, but I would definitely not go the enlisted route if you can avoid it. Depending on where you are stationed, you may or may not be able to take classes. My first orders were to the USS Nimitz and during that time we were working "Tropical Hours" (6 hour work days) and I was able to take a full load of college courses, but then a year and a half later I got orders to school and then a squadron where I worked 12-16 hour days and was not able to take any. It is definitely possible to get a degree as an enlisted Sailor but it would more than likely take longer than four years and it would be much more difficult than just going straight to school. You should look into the BDCP program (use the search function), it is about the best way to get a degree on the Navy's dime.

 

[Dirty]

FWIW, don't add another roadblock just to force yourself to overcome it later. If your goal was to be MCPON then you're on the right track, but if your goal is to be an Officer then an Aviator, I would put what your thinking into the "last resort" bag... Your just going to make a difficult pipeline more difficult on yourself because you're nowhere out if the weeds when you have that 4 year degree and OCS... I know several folks how are enjoying Intel, IW HR and PAO these days who at one time were in flight school. But the good side is that you get to learn the 'E' side of the house, build some solid technical foundations and hopefully get a chance to work in Aviation. Plus, if you get a commission down the road you get a bit more loot and retirement creeps up a little faster (If you still love yer job that is)... Good luck kiddo. Like others said, look into BDCP, hell go to college have fun then do OCS.

 

[Mmlz]

Well if I did NROTC I would feel like I skipped and cheated my way to becoming an officer. I want to earn it. I don't want to do NROTC and get into the Navy and automatically be above the people who worked hard to get through Boot camp and their training. It just doesn't seem fair to me. This is a personal thing. I'm not saying that every person who has done NROTC cheated their way into the Navy.

Also, there are a lot of things you can't learn from a book or in school about being in the Navy and being around fellow ship mates and how they might react to a scary situation. If I have experience as an enlistee and also as an officer I think it would help me make better decisions that are good for everyone and that help improve moral. I would know how they felt and be there for them.

Sorry if this sounds retarded it is just how I feel.

Another question about doing college while Active duty: Are you allowed to bring your own Laptop onto a Carrier or Ship?

 

[Spekkio]

Well if I did NROTC I would feel like I skipped and cheated my way to becoming an officer. I want to earn it. I don't want to do NROTC and get into the Navy and automatically be above the people who worked hard to get through Boot camp and their training. It just doesn't seem fair to me. This is a personal thing. I'm not saying that every person who has done NROTC cheated their way into the Navy.

It's a very stupid personal thing, though.

The military structure is set up with two different pipelines -- enlisted and officer. It traditionally was not designed for crossover from one to the other, although that aspect has changed a lot. Go look up any number of historically lauded Generals and see if they enlisted first. If you do well in college as a civilian, have extra-curriculars and all that jazz, it will be easier for you to get accepted into a commissioning program than if you enlist. And if you do get turned down, you're not stuck doing a job you never wanted to do in the first place. If the higher ups thought that enlistment was a pre-requisite to becoming a good officer, they would make it mandatory. Like it was said before -- if you want to become a MCPON, then enlist. If you want to become an officer, then enlisting is only going to make that goal more difficult to obtain.

You also have to realize that the majority of people you will work with as an officer will not have prior enlisted service. Are you going to be "that guy" to judge them as unworthy of their commission because they didn't enlist? If so, you're going to have a tough time.

 

[wlawr005]

Well if I did NROTC I would feel like I skipped and cheated my way to becoming an officer. I want to earn it. I don't want to do NROTC and get into the Navy and automatically be above the people who worked hard to get through Boot camp and their training. It just doesn't seem fair to me. This is a personal thing. I'm not saying that every person who has done NROTC cheated their way into the Navy.

Also, there are a lot of things you can't learn from a book or in school about being in the Navy and being around fellow ship mates and how they might react to a scary situation. If I have experience as an enlistee and also as an officer I think it would help me make better decisions that are good for everyone and that help improve moral. I would know how they felt and be there for them.

Sorry if this sounds retarded it is just how I feel.

Another question about doing college while Active duty: Are you allowed to bring your own Laptop onto a Carrier or Ship?

Heed the advice of previous posters, if you want to be an Officer, look into the NROTC program. As an Officer Candidate at Old Dominion, I can assure you that it is not an undesirable or paltry way to enter the Navy. Be careful about which commissioning sources you admonish, there are some admirals out there who came from ROTC who might thump you for being a 'tard.

Being a prior enlisted officer has its advantages. Usually you have a bigger wealth of experience to draw from in your early years as a JO and you get paid a little more money. What you don't know is that the enlisted community and the officer community are very different. Even as a prior, you are going to have a lot of things to learn. You may be ahead of your peers when it comes to wearing a uniform, showing up at work on time, and checking your LES, but you are still going to be a Ensign with a lot of quals to earn.

I am prior enlisted, and loved my enlisted job, but if I could do it again I would have just gone to college out of high school. Education is the most important thing in your life, in and out of the military. If you enlist, you JOB will be to devote your time to learning your rate and advancing through the ranks. College will be a secondary objective for you. I strongly encourage you to think about this when prioritizing your goals. Transitioning from an enlisted member is very competitive, and those of us who have been given the chance had to do a lot of extra work.

Go to school, and if you feel really strongly about it, enlist with a college degree. It's been done before.

Good luck...

 

[nikiterp86]

Well if I did NROTC I would feel like I skipped and cheated my way to becoming an officer. I want to earn it. I don't want to do NROTC and get into the Navy and automatically be above the people who worked hard to get through Boot camp and their training. It just doesn't seem fair to me. This is a personal thing. I'm not saying that every person who has done NROTC cheated their way into the Navy.

Granted, I haven't BTDT yet, so take what I have to say with a grain of salt... but... just because someone didn't go to boot camp, doesn't mean they didn't work hard to earn the privilege of being an officer. NROTC is a long-term commitment when most people in college are sitting on their asses and/or getting drunk 99% of the time. And I'm pretty sure 3 months at OCS isn't exactly a cakewalk. I went to college and now I'm going to OCS, and there is no one in the world who can tell me that I'm not working my ass off to get where I'm going. Just my relatively worthless $.02.

 

[jitiola]

"Well if I did NROTC I would feel like I skipped and cheated my way to becoming an officer. I want to earn it. I don't want to do NROTC and get into the Navy and automatically be above the people who worked hard to get through Boot camp and their training. It just doesn't seem fair to me. This is a personal thing. I'm not saying that every person who has done NROTC cheated their way into the Navy."


That's really how you feel

Mmlz, I don't know how you reached the conclusion that you "earn" your commission by making things harder for yourself rather then taking the logical route, but I think you need to re-evaluate your logic. Please, seriously consider the NROTC program. I was in the same boat as you two years ago, but ultimately decided on going the ROTC way. Now lets look at it this way, if there was another guy that wanted to be an officer, and aviator as I did/do, and he enlisted in the Navy the same day I joined ROTC as a college programmer, tell me; who is closer to achieving their goal of being an aviator right now? Just think of it kinda as "what is the shortest distance between two points?" And although the enlisted guys that go through boot and hell as jr enlisted have been through a lot more, it doesn't mean any ROTC/OCS grad didn't have to go through and over obstacles to EARN their commission. Please understand I'm not barking at you; I'm just a beggar trying to help another beggar find bread.

 

[FMRAM]

Well if I did NROTC I would feel like I skipped and cheated my way to becoming an officer. I want to earn it. I don't want to do NROTC and get into the Navy and automatically be above the people who worked hard to get through Boot camp and their training. It just doesn't seem fair to me. This is a personal thing. I'm not saying that every person who has done NROTC cheated their way into the Navy.

Also, there are a lot of things you can't learn from a book or in school about being in the Navy and being around fellow ship mates and how they might react to a scary situation. If I have experience as an enlistee and also as an officer I think it would help me make better decisions that are good for everyone and that help improve moral. I would know how they felt and be there for them.

Sorry if this sounds retarded it is just how I feel.

Another question about doing college while Active duty: Are you allowed to bring your own Laptop onto a Carrier or Ship?

Well it looks like you have made up your mind. If you want to enlist, than by all means enlist.

 

[smonahan]

Hey man,

It couldn't hurt to have another person say it but unless there is a job you really want from the enlisted community, go to college bust your ass, take summer courses and finish in three years with a good degree and be ready to offer the best you can to your country and your chosen branch of service. Don't choose the enlisted community just because you believe it to be some sort of right of passage. Also, there is an age limit on the aviator community so don't let too much time slip through your hands. Good luck.

 

[sickboy]

Hey man,

It couldn't hurt to have another person say it but unless there is a job you really want from the enlisted community, go to college bust your ass, take summer courses and finish in three years with a good degree and be ready to offer the best you can to your country and your chosen branch of service. Don't choose the enlisted community just because you believe it to be some sort of right of passage. Also, there is an age limit on the aviator community so don't let too much time slip through your hands. Good luck.

There's always the Reserves if you want to enlist and do college at the same time. Four years as a reservist and then OCS wouldn't be too bad.

 

[smonahan]

Good Call mikwat,

I had several friends do the same thing as marines, they are all accountants, go figure.

 

[Ken_gone_flying]

There's always the Reserves if you want to enlist and do college at the same time. Four years as a reservist and then OCS wouldn't be too bad.

Keep in mind that reservists do not get the same college benefits as active duty. At least as of a couple of years ago when my brother was using reserve TA. It was considerably less.