Life as an officer and USMA vs USNA

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supersoldier0823

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Hi everyone. I have two questions that is causing me a lot of stress and making me second guess myself.

1. What is life like as an officer. What is a day to day schedule. I guess I have no idea what an officer would be doing in a typical day and this has caused me to have no idea what I want to do in the service. I have heard that even though an officer may be a pilot or part of an armory division they don’t actually fly helicopters/ drive tanks as their job but instead do more of a management and desk type job role.

2. Say I had appointments to both USMA and USNA, what the difference between officers and what they do, and which one provides better exit for people looking for civilian jobs. I also was wondering about the quality of life because honestly I do not want to destroy my body in exchange for 5-20 years of service, but I still have a passion to serve our country. I am so stretched between the two and it is mainly because I have no idea what I would want to do. I have been thinking military intelligence/finance but I also feel like if I join the army through West Point I would be selling myself short and not doing more active roles like infantry or artillery. If I were to join the Navy through Naval Academy how would someone that majors in economics or systems management get a job in the navy or does degree not play a role in what you want to do.

I would really appreciate any advice from current and former students, current and former officers, and even parents. This decision is super tough for me as it will basically decided the next 9-10 years of my life, and I feel if I do not make the right one then I will have to live with that.
 
Hey there @supersoldier0823

My DD found it very helpful to reach out to those who attended both Navy and West Point and are currently serving/have served to have conversations with them. She found that people want to help you on this journey, will freely share their experiences and will be very honest with you. Reach out to your Field Force Representative and your BGO. They will know people who can talk with you and answer your questions. After speaking with A LOT of people from both academies, about what life is like post graduation, the realities of their assignments, the challenges and opportunities they had, she gained clarity on where she could see herself and what opportunities fit her best. I can't stress enough how important live conversations and gathering multiple data points are for this because you can ask follow up questions and dig a little deeper. AND while those folks can give you insight, also remember that their experience is theirs and yours will be yours. Good luck in the data gathering and analysis!
 
supersoldier0823 said:
Hi everyone. I have two questions that is causing me a lot of stress and making me second guess myself.

1. What is life like as an officer. What is a day to day schedule. I guess I have no idea what an officer would be doing in a typical day and this has caused me to have no idea what I want to do in the service. I have heard that even though an officer may be a pilot or part of an armory division they don’t actually fly helicopters/ drive tanks as their job but instead do more of a management and desk type job role.

2. Say I had appointments to both USMA and USNA, what the difference between officers and what they do, and which one provides better exit for people looking for civilian jobs. I also was wondering about the quality of life because honestly I do not want to destroy my body in exchange for 5-20 years of service, but I still have a passion to serve our country. I am so stretched between the two and it is mainly because I have no idea what I would want to do. I have been thinking military intelligence/finance but I also feel like if I join the army through West Point I would be selling myself short and not doing more active roles like infantry or artillery. If I were to join the Navy through Naval Academy how would someone that majors in economics or systems management get a job in the navy or does degree not play a role in what you want to do.

I would really appreciate any advice from current and former students, current and former officers, and even parents. This decision is super tough for me as it will basically decided the next 9-10 years of my life, and I feel if I do not make the right one then I will have to live with that.
Click to expand...
This is probably not as in-depth as you are looking for, but I have found the youtube channel Life is a Special Operation to be very helpful in learning about life as an officer, and it's part of the reason I am going to apply to West Point. They have a good video What's Harder - ENLISTED or OFFICER that has a lot of good info. Hope that helps a bit.
 
A lot of paperwork, briefings and listening to senior NCOs/Warrants. Honestly, some "babysitting" mixed in at times.

All Army branches have their nuances though, hard to compare them individually. From an expanded career perspective, you have certain career progression roles (KD time) such as PL, XO, CO and nonprogression roles such as staff positions, PMS, OC/T, recruiter etc...

You need KD roles to promote unless you are JAG or AMEDD.
 
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Aglahad said:
A lot of paperwork, briefings and listening to senior NCOs/Warrants. Honestly, some "babysitting" mixed in at times.

All Army branches have their nuances though, hard to compare them individually. From an expanded career perspective, you have certain career progression roles (KD time) such as PL, XO, CO and nonprogression roles such as staff positions, PMS, OC/T, recruiter etc...

You need KD roles to promote unless you are JAG or AMEDD.
Click to expand...
whats KD stand for
it isnt on acronym list
 
There are a myriad of resources that you can use to conduct research around the career paths that interest you. As noted by CoffeeMama, one very good resource will be current cadets/midshipmen. Also, seek out retired and active duty officers, if you can. I highly recommend finding some good books to read about the military. I have my students read several depending upon their career interests. Books, such as Combat Ready, Chosen Soldier, and Destroyer Captain are just a few titles about being an AF fighter pilot, an Army Special Forces soldier, and a Naval Captain, respectively. There are literally 1000's of titles. I'm sure you can find some good ones. Best of luck with your research!
 
Key Development, as in, if you selected Infantry branch, you need time commanding some type of maneuver org., such as an Platoon Leader, Infantry Company commander, a Cavalry troop commander, etc. That would be in comparison to Broadening Experience such as time spent in future weapons research, or something other than your main interest, quite possibly with few if any under your command, to broaden your experience. In effect, you have time doing what you selected and time spent with other duties to learn about the broader Army.
 
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