Officer or Enlisted??? (Pre-Basic Training) 112 Days until Basic

After going to MEPS and talking with the recruiter on the long drive back I found out that it is possible for me to join as an officer. Previously I thought I was too old, but evidently since I have an associate’s degree I can join as an officer, I just have to get my bachelor’s degree before I become an O3. This brought up another dilemma. I did as much research as I could and found that if you go in as an officer, you do not get to choose the field that you will end up in. There is a dream sheet that you can choose 10 of your top fields. This seems a little silly because there are only 18 fields to choose from. I also found out that it is all based on how you do in the Officer Candidate School (OCS). From what I can tell, all the available jobs are posted and whomever does best in OCS gets to choose first and then the rest of the jobs get chosen down the line. I know joining as an officer has many benefits, but I didn’t want to end up doing something I have no interest in. The whole reason I decided to join was to get more experience working in the Information Technology field.

After much discussion with my wife, I ended up deciding to join as an enlisted soldier. Of course my wife was pushing towards being an officer, but I just kept having visions of me being an officer in charge of a bunch of cooks...not really what I have in mind for my time in the army! So we finally both agreed on going the enlisted route. Since I have an associate’s degree I will join as an E3. I still plan on getting my bachelor’s degree (one of the other reasons I am joining) and I will have my job guaranteed.

I have to say that if you are married, be sure to communicate effectively with your spouse. The decision to join the military doesn't affect just you, it is going to change everything in your life and family. You really have to be on the same page when joining or else your life is going to be filled with a lot of unneeded drama later on.