@NHuffer I am recent graduate of George Washington School of Business looking to do a JD/MBA 4-5 years down the road. I graduated from GW Business in 2018 and have recently enlisted in the US Navy Reserves. I go to MEPS next week and my practice AFQT score is 87. I was wondering what career opportunities there are in the US Navy for a recent college graduate with a business degree and these scores? Would it be possible to secure a full-time job in the navy right after college even though I will be joining the reserves?
Is there a reason you want to enlist vice getting a commission? Enlisting means joining ranks with recent high school graduates. Don’t get me wrong- it’s been done before by college grads (I know of a few, personally, that went that route), but it’s usually because the desired jobs are enlisted-only.
As far as jobs that you can do with a business degree: just about anything. If you want to enlist, then there aren’t any prereq’s for any of those jobs. The enlisted corps of every branch works on a “on the job training” mentality, so you’ll go to a school after bootcamp (anywhere from a few weeks to a year, depending on the job you choose), and then you’ll learn the rest during drill weekends (if you’re a reservist) or at your first duty station, if you join full-time. As far as the officer corp, the only jobs you can’t do with a business degree are nurse, doctor, and lawyer, I believe. Any other job, just like the enlisted folks, you’ll learn upon completion of Officer Candidate School (boot camp for officers). So that means you could be a pilot, surface warfare officer (boat driver), intel officer, or even a SEAL. Essentially, a business degree doesn’t pigeon-hole you into any particular job, nor would it make you that much more qualified than your basic enlistee or officer candidate.
As far as joining the Navy full-time… yes, that’s entirely possible. I recommend speaking to an officer recruiter at a station near you. https://www.navy.com/local Punch-in your zip and you’ll see the nearest enlisted and officer recruiters. I’ll tell you right now: going enlisted is far easier and quicker. But that’s because those spots are typically harder to fill, so the recruiters usually have to work for it. The officer route, however, requires a lot more initiative on your part, and the application process takes quite a bit longer (6 months to a year, typically). The lifestyle of the two is night and day, however. If you don’t have your heart set on a particular enlisted job, then I HIGHLY recommend going the officer route if you want to join the Navy. Further, if you want to become an officer, withdraw your appointment with MEPS immediately. Once you officially join (on your way to bootcamp, essentially) then you can’t really back-out and go the officer route.
If you’ve got any more questions feel free to message me directly. I would have sent this in private chat but decided to post it publically in case it might help anyone else.
@nhuffer I’m a bit confused as I’ve been getting mixed messages. I’m currently trying to enlist through the office in Hyattsville, Maryland. They have two separate offices a block away, one deals with officer training and the other deals with enlisting people. The office that deals with officer training told me that you need two years of work experience in a particular field if you want to become an officer. I decided to go to the other office down the street and they told me you can enlist as a “Navy Reserve first and then sign up for officer training.” My plan was to enlist through the Navy Reserves while I’m searching for a full-time job and once I get that job complete officer training after the two years.
@Govegan1995 I don’t know why the officer recruiters told you that, but it’s 100% not true. All you need to join as an officer is a bachelors degree with a minimum GPA of 2.7 (I believe)- no experience needed. There are too many fields in the military that don’t have a civilian counterpart where one could gain experience, so that whole reasoning is not sound.
So yeah, do not enlist. It’s not as easy as they make it seem to transfer to the officer route. Further, look at the pay disparity between officers and enlisted: https://militarybenefits.info/2019-military-pay-charts/ O1-O10 are officer ranks (O-1 being where you start) and E1-E9 are enlisted.
If you want to look at the requirements for service, you can look here: https://www.navy.com/joining-navy-if-you-havent-served Again, to become an officer you need a bachelors with a minimum GPA, be a U.S. citizen, and meet the medical requirements (which they’ll screen you for.) Just remember that the officer route involves you applying and it considered competitive (depending on the field you choose). Enlisting is as simple as signing a piece of paper and off you go- but I don’t think that path is right for you unless you’re desperate for a job right now. The officer route will likely take 6-12 months.
Have you signed a contract yet? PM me. You will be frustrated with 18 year old peers after completing GW, salary and responsibility aside.
Officer programs vary in what is open. Without ROTC. Is your goal GI Bill for law school?