Your MOS choice -- what was it, what is it?

Roughrider

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Mar 11, 2012
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Our son is thinking about college choices. He's got a very specific major in mind, and while it's good to narrow down his list, I'm also encouraging him to consider larger schools with more departments so if he changes his mind about that major he will have plenty of options. IME, more often than not, people come out of college with a different degree than the one they planned to get when they were freshmen.

I'm wondering if that's true for military specialties as well -- did any of you or your dc end up doing something different, by choice, in the service than you initially planned when you started ROTC? What was your first choice for branch and specialty when you started, and what did you end up wanting to do?
 
Our DS didn't change his mind once in college, but he gave us whiplash his HS senior yr. He had always wanted to become an AF JAG. Sr yr. he wanted pilot. He stayed with his major, but did switch his specialty. He is at UPT right now.
 
Our DS didn't change his mind once in college, but he gave us whiplash his HS senior yr. He had always wanted to become an AF JAG. Sr yr. he wanted pilot. He stayed with his major, but did switch his specialty. He is at UPT right now.

That's quite a change! If it happened that early in the process, at least you know it wasn't due to burnout or disillusionment with plan A, but it the real calling of plan B.
 
Older son had planned on Branching Military Intel with a detail in Infantry all the way through the start of his senior year, he ended up deciding to branch Aviation.

Funny how things can change after a few years of ROTC.
 
In my case, I was infantry from start to finish. But remember: with the USMC you MOS is assigned after Basic School and while you submit a "wish list" it ends up being the "needs of the Marine Corps" that decides which MOS you are given.

There is a whole process for this that stacks and racks the class on a number of factors and then divides the class into thirds. MOS assignments are pulled from each third so that no one MOS is filled with the top (or bottom) of the class.

My DS has been more focused on combat arms MOS's versus one particular one. Through two years, he remains consistent in this but not necessarily the MOS itself.
 
Son is NROTC Marine Option. He went in with dreams of Marine Aviation. He now wants Infantry with the intention of eventually getting in MARSOC. I don't really see him changing his mind about that, but we'll see. He's still sticking with the History major he went in with and as a (hopefully) rising junior I don't see that one changing. It's too late to change the major even if he wanted to. It's his graduate degree, should he get one, that will really matter and define where he's going after x years in the military, if it has any influence at all vs. the officer experience.
 
roughrider,

Our DS's best friend in college, was AFROTC scholarship, went to summer field training (SFT), came back and dis-enrolled. He decided he didn't want AF, he had a great PAID intern job (IT) and decided he wanted corporate.

His sr. yr., still in the AFROTC circle, he decided he wanted Army Intel. Got an OCS/OTS slot with them. He gave up an 85K a yr job offer from his internship to take the Army slot.

He was driving his motorcycle to our home for DS's graduation party. 1 mile away from our home some fool driver on their phone swerved over and hit him. He was taken to the hospital, had pins placed in his arm. He now is going through the waiver process to get the chance to go Army.

That was June 8th last yr. He has not given up hope.

He never changed his major, he changed the branch.

Some will change their majors, some will change their career field, and some will also change the branch. DD's best friend entered on an AROTC scholarship at VT, after freshman yr she went NROTC.

I say this to understand why that 1st yr is the freebie yr.

I also post this to illustrate how an accident that was not your fault, could change your life. Don't take risks if possible. DS begged to get a motorcycle. Bullet (my DH, his Dad) placed his foot down and said NO, it is too high of a risk.

Not a day goes by when we think of him, we don't feel a twinge of guilt. Had he not been driving to our home, he would be an O1 in the Army today.

I am not trying to divert the thread. I am trying to highlight that until they take the oath as an O1, nothing is guaranteed. Not the major they enter into college as a freshman, not the branch and not the career field.

4 yrs is a long, long time.
 
DS was to be a Marine

All he ever wanted or discussed. Almost enlisted during HS. Went to a Norwich overnight for incoming cadets and it has been Army ever since.

It always was Infantry and still is.
 
I went from infantry to nursing/medicine. Pretty big switch I would say :yllol:
 
I went from infantry to nursing/medicine. Pretty big switch I would say :yllol:

Maybe not... I remember being treated by military doctors and corpsman who used a syringe like a pugil stick. :wink:
 
DS has been all over with potential college majors - civil eng'ing, education, criminal justice and is a rising MSIII poli-sci major. As he looks ahead to potential branching AROTC he's pretty much open to anyting that comes with the butter bars:thumb: He's expressed an interest in law school and JAG has recently been discussed with his PMS, but his goal is to be an Army officer, not necessarily a particular branch. I guess that will make him easy to please fall of 2014 when the OML comes out for his year.
 
Went from 91B Combat Medic to 67/70 Medical Service Corp and Nursing.
 
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