make sure you get to captain (if not navy, i think lieutenant is their equiv.) highlight your money management as an xo, and leadership as a captain. from what i understand, bschools love that. but the most important thing is finding an mos you are at least a little passionate about

 

Air Force has the reputation of attracting the most cerebral crowd out of all the services. If you're 20/20, being a fighter pilot is certainly a resume gem. An MD at CS who did the on campus presentation at my school was a fighter pilot for 9 years before going into IB.

Conversely, the Marine Corps has the most elite all-around reputation in terms of rigor and the candidates they attract. I'd do USMC for sure, but that's just me.

 

Do whatever you are interested in. I'm sure they'll all offer exceptional experience. And you are serving for the country, you really think bschool will be impressed by those former officers who know their shit but aren't passionate about what they do.... But Marine Corps all the way..OoRah!

 

lol, ok like i said before if you are going to stay in about five years youll be a 2nd lieutenant than 1st lieutenant then a captain. if you go combat arms your first gig will be mostly learning, then youll manage the money and logistics of a company (about 150 ppl) then finally youll be commanding. this will give you the best all around experience, and you wont feel like a douche 20 years from now. as far as branch goes, try to figure out what culture is best for you. many people like the marines because of the reputation, for me it was the army. i am sure the navy and air force will look great to bschools too, but you have to decide what your made of, and how you can best serve your country.

 

ps, as sexy as a fighter pilot is, make sure you find out what the regs are. i know sometimes you have to do 2 yrs of training, then commit to 6-8 years additional, which puts you at 33-35ish by the time your ready to go to bschool. not the end of the world but its something to think about.

 

Just to let ya know, I'm a finance officer in the Air Force and its called your AFSC in the AF.

I'm basically the equivalent of a divisional corporate controller. If you have questions I'm happy to help.

And the commitment for pilot is 10 years for USAF, but I think for USN it may be 6... Nav is 7, and Air Battle Manager is 6

 

I was told that a maintenance officer in the air force has command of ~60 men and is the closest the air force has to a platoon leader. would that count as good leadership experience?

 

As far as being in charge of #s of people, maintenance and logistics readiness are prob great for right off the bat. Airfield ops too.

But for the closest you're going to get to a platoon leader, you'd have to go to Security Forces or Spec Ops (Combat Control/Pararescue - both of which incur at least 7 year commitments/major lifestyle changes)

 

Go Navy and go fighter pilot for a very competitive and enlightening experience. For more of a quant/math experience, go nuclear navy. Look into the veteran's clubs at the business schools you'd like to attend and do your research but I believe you'll see many of the same types...Navy and Marine Corps aviators, at a place like MIT you'll see nukes. The navy commitment is 8 years and if you want to stay longer and if you have a good performance record, they'll pay for your MBA/PHD etc. FYI, in terms of quality of life, in the navy you'll live in SoCal, Hawaii, Jacksonville or Key West FL. Go Air Force and you could possibly be living in Oklahoma or Alaska.

I'm a Navy Supply Corps officer and have had a great time. Of my SC buddies who have gotten out in the past year, several are in top 5 MBA programs in Mass and NY. You can't swing a dead cat in Cambridge these days without hitting someone with military ties.

MOS is a term for enlisted job types such as a mail clerk or truck driver.

 
Best Response

Why or why are you even thinking about going into the military if you are leaving a top 3 Ivy? Not to mention you seem to have not the slightest idea of whats going on?

You are obviously an intelligent person, so why not get into banking out of undergrad?

Don't get me wrong, being in the military is an honorable thing and will offer some experiences that can't be match by any other profession, but if you aren't dead set on fulfilling some dream of patriotism or commitment to God and country then steer clear of the military all together.

I've been there and done that, and believe me, there is really nothing glamorous about it and other then your parents, few people care that you were in.

You will most definitely gain some good skills from any branch you might join, but if you don't plan on working for the military, government, or DOD contractor for the rest of your life, most of the skills gained don't specifically translate to the civilian world. Sure, there are broad correlations between managing troops and managing civilians, but they are extremely different.

I think you would better serve yourself by starting down the path you hope to be a part of in the near future, i.e. banking, etc. Additionally, it appears that you have done little-to-no research on actually joining the military.

One thing you MUST remember is this isn't your typical 4 year college commitment...you can't take a semester off, you can't quit or drop a class if you don't like it...once you sign, there is virtually no way of getting out of it...so be absolutely certain that you want to spend the next 4 (or more) years of your life waking-up early, running, staying late, working weekends, sleeping in sub-par conditions and NOT getting a bonus check for the additional hours put in.

Good luck with your decision. Do research and don't whole heartedly believe what a recruiter tells you...they are worse then a used car salesman.

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that isn't so." - Ronald Reagan
 

If you're going to listen to anybody listen to me as I have personal experience with this. Here are some points to consider: 1. Going from an ivy to the military will be a bit of a culture shock at first. The standardization and remoteness by which all things military are done will perplex you at at first. After you've been living the process you will understand it and love it. You're love of the process will be derived from the enlisted personnel, many of whom will tie your dick in a knot by their sheer stupidity.

  1. Early on, if you are deemed intelligence and reasonable by your commanding officers you will be on the fast track.

  2. Entertain this notion: military to high level govt job is like IB analyst to C-level exec.

  3. If you're not doing it for God and country than steer clear of the Army and Marine Corps. Air Force or Navy are you're best bets. Intel officer, foreign services officer...would be great options.

 
Dave baby:
You're love of the process will be derived from the enlisted personnel, many of whom will tie your dick in a knot by their sheer stupidity.
  1. Early on, if you are deemed intelligence and reasonable

  2. If you're not doing it for God and country than steer clear of the Army and Marine Corps. Air Force or Navy are you're best bets. Intel officer, foreign services officer...would be great options.

Former Sir,

I understand this post is a couple years old. Not to tie your dick in a knot by any means, but there are quite a few grammatical mistakes in your post. I'd look in the mirror before talking about the enlisted side's stupidity. Is that how a former military officer should be talking about his prior troops?

 

Yep, as a USMC Major, aviator-type, I had great respect for my my enlisted Marines, and enjoyed the same from them.

There are certainly a few idiots out there, but there are idiot officers, too. I agree, denigrating enlisted personnel like that, especially in such a blanket manner, is poor form, wildly inaccurate, and counterproductive.

(oh man, new to the forum and didn't realize this post was a decade old. I learned today...but I'll leave my comment all the same.)

 

Apparently my replying to this post is spam, so I'm going to PM you my response EM.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

OP I just graduated with my BS in Accounting about 5 months ago and I will be going into Navy OCS as a Supply Officer. It isn't easy to get into OCS, make sure you apply early and are willing to wait up to a year to go. I think it is a great route though, and I am looking forward to doing something in the military for the beginning part of my 20s.

 

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