seeking some good advice to a few Q's

[bubblehead]

Head over to the military.com Intel forums:

http://forums.military.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/514195148

There are several posts about CTI.. XSquidling (a forum regular) should be able to answer your questions. I suggest you read each an every post with CTI in the subject. Lot's of useful information in there.

 

[Godspeed]

Also I encourage you to look into Cryptology... It sounded to me like the cryptos did more of the exciting, deep, intelligence type of work. I have no experience with this whatsoever, but from talking to a couple crypto/intel people, crypto sounded like the most fun to me... Just check it out at least.

Also, the application process CAN be faster that 6-10 months.... A lot of it depends on you. The application process (for any community) is long and tedious, but a huge deciding factor on how long it takes is the applicant himself.

I have a friend that graduated college and applied for a supply slot. She went from talking to the recruiter, to showing up at OCS in less than 3 months.

Granted, anything the recruiter needed, she had gotten him that day... She FLEW through the application stuff. Some things are out of your control... The boards can take a month or two to review your package after it is submitted, again, that stuff is out of your hands... But if you hit the application hard, it will cut down on your waiting time.

Stay away from enlisted recruiters. Many of them are used car salesmen with a rank. They will do/say anything to fill their quota. As far as enlisting with the goal of becoming an officer, definitely counterproductive. This is the toughest, most indirect route you can take if that is your end goal.

You sound qualified and reasonably motivated. If you are sure the NAVY is for you, i'd recommend contacting an officer recruiter, starting the application process, and asking to shadow a few officers for a day (just to make sure it's for you)... Most recruiters are happy to set this up for you, although i'm not sure how that'd work with an intel o, with the sensitive information, etc. This is the best way to get direct answers to your questions.

 

[P3 F0]

Also keep in mind that being 27 with some decent life experience under your belt, you may have a hard time fitting in with your peers, should you elect to enlist. Your quality of life in the military, much more so than in civvie life, is heavily influenced by the peers you serve with. So along with everything else, think hard about the environment you want to be in.

 

[S.O.B.]

Also keep in mind that being 27 with some decent life experience under your belt, you may have a hard time fitting in with your peers, should you elect to enlist. Your quality of life in the military, much more so than in civvie life, is heavily influenced by the peers you serve with. So along with everything else, think hard about the environment you want to be in.

That's a good call. 27 is an old SR.

 

[SandSailor]

If it is your last resort, please look else where.
Honestly...dont do it...UNLESS

IT is your first choice
You are looking you better the lives of the people you work for (your enlisted)
and
You have a strong desire to serve this great nation then pony up!

Become an officer if and only if you have that great love of country and your fellow American... if that is your reasoning.... welcome aboard shipmate!

You mentioned enlisting first... if you do you will have more knowledge and respect than many other officers once you make it. I honestly believe it is best to be a part of something before you ever consider trying to lead it. Because of your age though...time is an issue so if it is in your heart go for Officer now.

 

[SixBeersIn]

I know I'm jumping in on this a little late; I hadn't been reading the forum when you originally posted.

CTI training is long:

If you get one of the more difficult languages (which is pretty likely), you'll be looking at a 63-week course where not all your classmates will make it. Most washouts will drop early, but some will get all the way through, fail their DLPT (Defense Language Proficiency Test) twice and be reclassed. Expect to study your butt off; it is a grueling program. You can apply for OCS while in class, but it's very rare for an E-3 to get picked up straight out of DLI.

After you pass your DLPT and leave DLI, you're still not done training. Nothing taught in the Monterey classrooms is classified, so the Navy still has to teach you all the secret (not as sexy as it sounds) stuff about your job. Depending on the pipeline backup, that can take you another 9 months.

Most enlisted applicants have some accomplishments to show for their time in, so you'll probably want to actually do the job for a while and build your resume. The skipper may still endorse your package right out of training, but your evals are probably lackluster because you haven't had a chance to earn top marks yet.

Basically, you're looking at a good 3-year commitment before you can start putting together a competitive package...and it will take several more months to get that package polished and off to Millington.

It is probably easier to get picked up as a civilian than from the enlisted ranks.

Now, all that said, your language and your clearance will be an asset in your package and it is very possible to go from CTI to Officer. Unless you have a crappy chain of command (which isn't likely) or are a crappy Sailor (which I hope isn't likely), you will get the needed support to put on bars.

The CTI job is one of the few rates that don't typically get attached to ships. They still go to sea, but they only go when needed and they come home when their part of the mission is done. They typically have incredibly high promotion rates and they get some extra cash in the way of Foreign Language Proficiency Pay. It's really one of the nicer enlisted jobs to have.

I know that's a lot to chew, but seriously evaluate what it is you want, set your goals and do what you need to do to achieve them. The opportunity is there, either way, if you want it bad enough. Good luck in your decision.