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Joining the military at my age/education... sorta lost here. reserves, ng, cg?

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Sean Dempsey

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I am considering joining up with something. I don't know what. I don't know when. But I know I like the idea.

Here's some facts:
1 - 25 years old
2 - Bachelors degree is psychology, hundreds of clinical internship hours with a practicing psychologist.
3 - Good GRE scores (1150), high IQ score (140), haven't taken the ASVAB but
4 - Married with a 10 month old.

Since my degree and training is in psychology and related fields, I have had hairbrain ideas about FBI or CIA, but also psyops with the different branches. I am not real athletic or strong, and I'd never pass the tests for physical posts (bad scoliosis, flat feet, horrible vision, among other things).

I live in utah, so I'm nowhere near a coast. What I am looking for is either a job that can keep me local, or a part time deal (2 weekends a month, 2 weeks a year?) where I can still work my dayjob. But, I know alot of the "part time" reserves are now doing full time tours in Iraq and such. Also, I am doing this for the training and tactical experience. I'd like to be a part of something that helps reduce the number of BG's in the world. I have pretty strong feelings about drug crime, violent crime, rape and sexual assault. Working as a traditional cop isn't really what I am interested in, though.

I am not real familiar with the situation, so I'd like to know what some of you think, given my position in life and such. I don't want it as a career exactly, but I would like to have the experience and be a part of something.
 
I just read the other day the Army took a 41 year old mother. Your age is fine. Go for being an officer. Go for an Intel position. That should lead in to a position in CIA or FBI. Do you have an additional language.If not get one. It will really help.l
 
I enlisted in the Marines at 23 with a double BA in History and Sociology. Went infantry (to the dismay of every recruiter at the station.) After my 2nd year they were offering me a chance to go to OCS but at that point I was ready to get out.
 
Are you sure your GRE score is right? I think when I took I got close to 2000 and I missed alot of math questions. Or maybe they changed the scoring recently?? :confused:
 
they changed the GRE scoring

it used to be 3 tests of 800 each, 2400 total

now its 2 tests of 800, and 1 test that goes from 0-6 in .5 intervals. so its a score out of 1600 and then another score out of 6

My quantitative (math) was 640 (of 800)
my english was 510 (of 800)
my analytic (essay writing) was 5.5 (out of 6)

1100 is what most masters programs want. 1200+ is considered a "shoe in" nowdays, and above 1300+ are pretty rare.


As far as a language, I have a few years of german =/ but nothing major.
 
BA/BS in psych isn't marketable. Esp for the armed forces. You'll be starting at ground level like everyone else.

A weekend a month?

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I did my time in the military active and reserve. At one point in my life I believed that every adult man in the US should be subject to the loving care as a sadistic DI from that hot place:evil: . I think the Swiss had it right. I still believe that military experience is an asset. I am also 100% behind President Bush and his efforts to combat the Wahabists and erradicate that blight from the face of our planet. However we are fighting a politically correct, world opinion driven conflict. and we have more fifth columnist bad mouthing our troops, and president [what would Joe Stalin Do?] We also have a bunch of lard asses sitting in DC who probably couldn't lug their ruck much less the fifty or so pounds of body armor , and haven't the foggiest notion of which end of the M-4 the bullets come out of. And these are the guys second guessing the actions of our troops actually in harms way.:fire:
Getting shoot at by the bad guys is one thing, it's in their job description, but getting the shaft from a bunch of pencil pushers......
You would probably be better off in the CIA....Langely is so compartmentalized, you'll be insulated from our bad guys.
 
Sean, I commend you for considering serving our country. You are never too old. My 18 yr old cousin just got done with USMC boot camp and there was a 30 yr old there.

One thing you have to consider is you have a wife and child. Obviously keep in mind she is going to endure her own sacrifice as you are away for long periods of time. It can be a tremendous strain on your marriage. Before someone misunderstands me and flames me- I'm not trying to discourage you, but just make sure she understands the full extent of the time commitment you'll be giving. (even in the reserves you'll probably go overseas)


You sound fairly educated, you might want to seriously consider helping us fight the war on terrorism through the CIA. You said you thought your vision wasn't good enough, but you never know. You would most likely have to get your master's first, and have to relocate from Utah to D.C.

https://www.cia.gov/careers/jobs/Psychological_Analyst.html
 
With a wife and infant, I would not even consider the military.
Of the things you mentioned, I'd choose either FBI or Coast Guard. Your chances of staying Stateside will be better. Of course, there's not much for a Coastie to do in Utah. When CA falls into the ocean, you'll be a little closer.

Military (even NG) may get you sent across the pond. Same with CIA.
 
I joined the US Navy at 28 years of age with a bachelor's degree. The only promise they kept was that I would travel the world. Every other promise and guarantee, written or verbal was tossed aside in the interests of the Navy. Joining the US Navy was the single most significant thing I ever did to improve my life.

I was, however, single.

I advise every young single man to join the military and learn what selfless service is all about. Nothing you do afterwards will ever be as difficult. You will become a man that you otherwise would not become. You will never see the world, or your place in it in the same light again.

I would love to say go join right now. You, however, are married with a child. I cannot advise you to join the military. The military is not a social service for people who chose the wrong college major. The military is an instrument of national policy abroad. In the interest of your family, consider other options before the military. Consider relocating if necessary. Consider re-educating if necessary.

If there are truly no other options, get yourself in shape and go in. Do not expect any promise or guarantee to be kept. Expect to carry a rifle, and expect to go to war. Then, you will not be surprised.
 
If you can't pass the physical then you can't enlist in the military, including the reserves and national guard. If you do pass the physical and get in the Res or NG then expect to be sent across the pond to some hot sandy area a couple of times during your 6 yr enlistment for a year at a time. That's what the military does so just expect it. There are some of my guys from my old NG squadron who were activated on 09/11/01 and are still activated, having spent several tours overseas in various places.
BA degrees are pretty common in the Res and NG. Most of my squadron had BAs and those who didn't were going to school to get them. I had several guys with MAs, 1 guy with 2 MAs, a family ped doctor, and an attorney. They were all enlisted. The attorney probably could have gotten a direct commission to be a JAG but he had been enlisted with the 173rd in VN and he didn't want to be a JAG. The female who was a doc had worked for me while she was getting her BA and while in med school. She could have gone over to the Medics with a commission but she liked the career field she was in and stayed enlisted. The guys with the MAs and BAs were never offerred commissions even tho several of them took the test and applied for positions.
 
I've never been in the military, so I shouldn't comment on what you can expect to find there. I am, however, a loyal, conservative American citizen; as such I can tell you that this country needs good people in the right jobs.

We need strong, capable and dedicated people in the military and reserves.

We also need dedicated and level-headed men to be in positions of leadership- as fathers.

Stay home and raise you children right! There is no better service to America than that. We have enough wimpy, immoral creeps here now. We need a new generation of good people. Be a father first.
Mauserguy
 
The Navy Reserve has a program where you do basic on drill weekends and then only do something like 17 days at boot camp..I forget the exact deal, but its generally geared towards adults with careers that can be useful to the military.
 
"You are never too old."

I wish that were true. I tried to join up last year, but was shot down as too old (yeah, 50, but I am quite sure I could have passed the physical). I understand the reasoning, but you would think I could fill a desk somewhere that could help the effort.:mad:
Munitions research even.
 
Yes, but I suspect that she had prior military experience.
From what the recuriter told me, he could push it to 35 at the absolute most, and then he could deduct one year for each prior year of experience.
Since I turned 18 the last year or the Vietnam draft (although they took no one that year), I never did military service--they were in the process of massive downsizing. So, now 51, it would likely take a nuclear strike for them to reach this deep. Shame, I suspect there are many like me that understand the danger our country (and culture) face, and would be willing to do what we can (I do what little I can as a civy). Even the National Guard goes to 40 at the top end (I tried that as well).
 
I'd love to join myself. Pretty much every male in my family older than me has been in the military. Only problem is, I don't think I could handle the physical part as I'm a pretty small, and unfortunately weak, guy. Last I heard, tattoos below the elbows and they'd refuse you. And after I turned 18...the tattoos were something I had wanted for a while, so I got them. If only I knew that the military turned you away for them then. Now I'm 25 and not sure if I could handle basic training :( I'm sure they'd let the tattoos slide now, with the wars going on and such.
 
I think they upped the army enlistment age to 42 recently. Correct me if I'm wrong on that. In my discussions with recruiters, you only get offered a commision(O-1) if you have an MOS that they want, such as nursing. Otherwise it's an E-5 for a BS/BA.
I think the physical will be a serious hurdle for you(no pun intended), and with a new baby I think your son's need of a father would be greater than our country's need of another soldier in your case.
If you still have a desire for some sort of service, see if Utah has a state guard.
 
bad scoliosis, flat feet, horrible vision, among other things
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Well, scoliosis and flat feet are deal breakers with the armed forces. Unfortunately these conditions will exclude you from all branches and the coast guard NG and reserve as well.


What I am looking for is either a job that can keep me local, or a part time deal (2 weekends a month, 2 weeks a year?) where I can still work my dayjob.
Click to expand...

That also cancels out the military including the Nasty Girls. The NG unit in my state has been deployed to Iraq twice, Afghanastan once, New Orlean, and also to several different forest fires and flood situations. I have a friend that was deployed for 3 years and 3 months out of the last 5 years. He volunteered for everything that came down the pipe, however, but the rest of the guardsman were heavily deployed as well.

With a wife and infant, I would not even consider the military.
Of the things you mentioned, I'd choose either FBI or Coast Guard
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Strike out the Coast Guard as well. They have the same physical requirements to join. I was also surprised to learn that they are as heavily deployed as any other branch of the military. They are in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Dubai, UAE, they were in Panama when I was down there. They are deployed everywere that any of our other troops are deployed.

4 - Married with a 10 month old.

That is also a major concideration. I was deployed for 14 months in Iraq. My wife had a pretty hard time when I was gone. I found a crinkled up picture of myself in my daughters bed. She had slept with it under her pillow while I was gone. I didn't know how hard it was for her, because she would never tell me. She said I had enough to worry about and wanted me to stay focused on what I had to do. It is hard on all families. Specifically there was a buddy who missed the birth of his first child. He missed his first words, first birthday, first christmas and every other first holliday, first steps, and first ...etc. Some days he was a wreck emotionally. I imagine his wife was just as bad or worse. Surprisingly, there were very few divorces during the deployment. During previous deployments that were shorter and non wartime there was a rash of diviorces. Odd.

I think the FBI would be the best choice out of the ones you stated, but even that would probably mean a relocation. I'd stay away from Spookville though, you never know where you'd end up. Maybe torturing prisoners in Bangledesh.
 
I have a master's in counseling, backed up with BA's in psych and criminal justice/sociology, and the FBI/CIA pretty much said "Wow, you're off to a good start. Learn a foreign language, get your doctorate, and call us in about 10 years. "
I'm also thinking about the military for that reason.
 
I enlisted in the Air Force in 1966. At the time I had " a chronic strep infection" and was running a tempature of 101 daily. Viet Nam was going full blast and at another time I doubt I would have made it in. Basic was a bitch physicaly, but not mentaly. Only complaint was that it was financialy difficult to support a family of four on Airmans pay. Altogeather it was a great four years. Best of luck to you............Essex
 
they changed the GRE scoring

it used to be 3 tests of 800 each, 2400 total

now its 2 tests of 800, and 1 test that goes from 0-6 in .5 intervals. so its a score out of 1600 and then another score out of 6

My quantitative (math) was 640 (of 800)
my english was 510 (of 800)
my analytic (essay writing) was 5.5 (out of 6)

1100 is what most masters programs want. 1200+ is considered a "shoe in" nowdays, and above 1300+ are pretty rare.


As far as a language, I have a few years of german =/ but nothing major.
__________________
Sean Dempsey -
"Non-member" Utahn

Father by choice, not by chance.
"A good craftsman never blames his tools."

Stewart/Colbert '08!
Click to expand...

Totally going off topic now, but I'd like to add to this statement. It depends on what field of study you are trying to get into. 1300 is the average score for graduate students pursuing engineering.
 
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