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Hello, I am a Marine recruiter. If you join the reserves (as a matter of fact even if you join active duty, up to 5 years) your employment is protected under the USERRA Act. The company you work for, if they are Gov't contractor or Gov't friendly, may even continue to pay the difference between your military pay and civilian pay (or continue to pay in addition to your military pay) while you are in recruit training and any time you are activated.
As far as loan repayment, typically this open only to people enlisting (vs getting commisioned as an officer). As far as I know only the Army , USAF, and Navy have active loan repayment programs. With the Army and Navy doing up to 65K and USAF 10K. I don't think the USAF reserve has a loan payment for reservist, but the Air National guard and National Guard does, up to 20K.There are requirements for these programs and are not automatic but are available if you qualify. The Marine Corps and Coast Guard do not have one (which is funny b/c we are both part of the Navy that does). Check with a recruiter from each service to verify this information.
Also, there is a separate recruiter for Officers in most, if not all, the services. Make sure you talk to them as well. Marine Recruiters are required to refer anyone with a college degree or who is enrolled in a university to the Officer Selection Office. Not sure if this is true for the other services and a recruiter may steer you toward enlisted or just not be as well versed on the Officer programs as an officer recruiter would be.
Also, do you have any visible tattoos? Depending on where and what they are, that is one of the biggest disqualifiers I see now-a-days.
Hello, I am a Marine recruiter. If you join the reserves (as a matter of fact even if you join active duty, up to 5 years) your employment is protected under the USERRA Act. The company you work for, if they are Gov't contractor or Gov't friendly, may even continue to pay the difference between your military pay and civilian pay (or continue to pay in addition to your military pay) while you are in recruit training and any time you are activated.
As far as loan repayment, typically this open only to people enlisting (vs getting commisioned as an officer). As far as I know only the Army , USAF, and Navy have active loan repayment programs. With the Army and Navy doing up to 65K and USAF 10K. I don't think the USAF reserve has a loan payment for reservist, but the Air National guard and National Guard does, up to 20K.There are requirements for these programs and are not automatic but are available if you qualify. The Marine Corps and Coast Guard do not have one (which is funny b/c we are both part of the Navy that does). Check with a recruiter from each service to verify this information.
Also, there is a separate recruiter for Officers in most, if not all, the services. Make sure you talk to them as well. Marine Recruiters are required to refer anyone with a college degree or who is enrolled in a university to the Officer Selection Office. Not sure if this is true for the other services and a recruiter may steer you toward enlisted or just not be as well versed on the Officer programs as an officer recruiter would be.
Also, do you have any visible tattoos? Depending on where and what they are, that is one of the biggest disqualifiers I see now-a-days.
There's also this to consider: Though most people seem to have forgotten it, we are STILL a nation at war and that war draws heavily upon the reserve components. While it's certainly possible to avoid a long-term deployment during this war, it's still a real possibility which the OP needs to consider.
In any case, if a person wants to come into the Armed Forces but doesn't relish the idea of actually having fight, I'd just as soon they stay out altogether. The services have enough ticket-puncher's already.
The OP didn't mention how she feels about that and I, for one, like to hear it.
I can't rememebr who it was that posted it or where the link was to, but there is a break down of all the services activated members for any given month. Someone should queue that up.
Thanks for all of the responses thus far. Responses to a few questions:
1. I have 3 tattoos but they can all be covered up by pants and a short-sleeved shirt.
2. I do realize that reservists have a real possibility of answering the call of duty. If I am called upon, I would serve. Question of my own though - as a woman I am interested to know if we are thrown into the same positions as men during war times or are we still kept away from the battle lines? (I honestly have no idea.)
3. As a general rule of thumb, officers are no qualified for tuition repayment programs? I don't think I would enlist, especially after receiving 2 degrees.
2. I do realize that reservists have a real possibility of answering the call of duty. If I am called upon, I would serve. Question of my own though - as a woman I am interested to know if we are thrown into the same positions as men during war times or are we still kept away from the battle lines? (I honestly have no idea.)
No lines - female soldiers are in the mix, officially and unofficially.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pequeño_Bonsai
3. As a general rule of thumb, officers are no qualified for tuition repayment programs? I don't think I would enlist, especially after receiving 2 degrees.
Not sure what your reasoning is behind that unless it's misplaced elitism? Depending on branch and MOS, officer and enlisted positions/responsibilities/training can be very different. My husband was both enlisted and an officer. We have a friend who is a lawyer but chose to enlist and loves his job as an Army Sergeant. If being an officer has that much appeal/importance to you, based on the fact that you have a degree, you might want to check out AF Reserves. That might sound snarky but I'm serious.
I'm a female in my early 20s and have a great job as a full-time tech consultant, making pretty good money, and am about to graduate with a master's degree. I have been brainstorming ideas as to how to reduce my college loan debt (about 17k) and have been looking into part-time military opportunities.
After working in the private sector for about 2 years (possess a clearance), I've come into contact with a number of military folks who have sparked an interest in me and the idea has popped into my head of killing two birds with one stone. Do any of you have experience and/or knowledge in how one might go about maintaining their full-time job with my consulting firm and also join a service part-time? (I've read there are many reservists, for example, that work one weekend a month and devote a little extra time on the side during weekdays annually.) The Coast Guard has definitely intrigued me and coming in as an officer, do they offer a program to repay your student loans?
I wanted to see if folks had some ideas, suggestions, etc. prior to me contracting a recruiter. Any information you can provide on this topic is most appreciated. Thanks for your help!
Reserve pay will barely put a dent in that debt. There's other ways to pick up another $300/month.
In regards to enlisted folks vs. officers, no sense of elitism from me. Actually, I've read that the officers receive higher pay, other types of training opportunities, and have different leadership responsibilities. Now, I may be completely off base here as I'm the first one to admit that I don't know a significant amount about the military but I'd rather enter with higher pay and responsibilities if I am able to.
Apologies if my earlier response came off wrong, absolutely no offense to any service member. You all are important!
Last edited by Pequeño_Bonsai; 10-06-2010 at 01:45 PM..
In regards to enlisted folks vs. officers, no sense of elitism from me. Actually, I've read that the officers receive higher pay, other types of training opportunities, and have different leadership responsibilities. Now, I may be completely off base here as I'm the first one to admit that I don't know a significant amount about the military but I'd rather enter with higher pay and responsibilities if I am able to.
Apologies if my earlier response came off wrong, absolutely no offense to any service member. You all are important!
In the first place, I appreciate your answer to my question about your willingness to serve in combat. Good for you! The Armed Forces may very well be the place for you.
Secondly, having been both enlisted and an officer, I can tell you there really is a world of difference between the opportunities and responsibilities. Unfortunately, though you or I may not think like an elite, too many of your brother officers certainly do and that's the basis for the difference in opportunity. Some things are reserved for that "better" class of people whose pay grade begins with O.
Having said that, though, the differences in responsibilities are quite substantial and naturally require a different training regime not only to advance, but to be prepared to take on increasingly important positions.
The services can be a lot of fun, at times terrifying, but ultimately fulfilling for most people. Additionally, there is just something to be learned and incorporated into later life which you really can't learn anywhere else. It's got to do with voluntarily putting aside your own wants and needs in favor of the larger group in an enviornment where mistakes and poor judgment can lead to the loss of someone's life. The business world talks about teamwork, but if the team is poorly led or if it breaks down, the only thing lost is money and maybe a job. In the Armed Forces, the stakes are exponentially higher and that's what makes it such a valuable experience.
Good luck with your decision and I hope to hear back that you've gone down and signed on the dotted line. If you do that, you'll find yourself part of a pretty exclusive brotherhood of citizens who take their responsibilities to their country, their families and their neighbors much more seriously than to the majority of your peers.
In regards to enlisted folks vs. officers, no sense of elitism from me. Actually, I've read that the officers receive higher pay, other types of training opportunities, and have different leadership responsibilities. Now, I may be completely off base here as I'm the first one to admit that I don't know a significant amount about the military but I'd rather enter with higher pay and responsibilities if I am able to.
Apologies if my earlier response came off wrong, absolutely no offense to any service member. You all are important!
Ok, thanks for clarifying. It's not that I thought your response was offensive - just wanted to understand your motivation better. It could well be that the type of leadership opportunities available to officers will be more attractive to you, but I wouldn't rule out enlisted 'leadership' either. With your degrees you might be able to go straight into an enlisted leadership position. Stillkit also gave you some good feedback. Good luck to you!
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