Work Experience

SoFloDad

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Jun 14, 2016
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Hello all! I am very new to this process, so forgive my ignorance. But I have a son who is interested in applying for AROTC. I have researched a lot of the threads in this forum, and have learned much more than I did by reviewing the goarmy site. So, thanks to all of you who continue to provide such thorough responses to everyone's questions.

For now, I have a question in regard to my son's work experience and how it is weighted in the application process.

I understand his GPA and Test Scores are very important, as are Varsity sports. He has a decent GPA and decent ACT scores...and has been a two sport Varsity athlete from 9th thru 11th grade, going to State Finals in Track for two years, and an All Conference running back in 11th grade for football. He also has been one of the captains the past two years in football.

But he has also had a job where he has been working nearly 20 hours per week for the past year. I see on the application it is asked about, but I don't really know if this will help him much, as it does take away from some other volunteer or club opportunities, which may help him more to have.

Does anyone know how strongly the amount of time one puts in at an actual job, while in high school, helps in this application process?
 
I'm not sure what you are asking. You definitely want to list the work experience. It's another piece of information the board members can use to differentiate your son from others. Work can also fill the holes in leadership or athletics. There are also places on the application (additional information block) where you can expound on that work experience. Supervised other employees, worked as a volunteer at a veteran's facility, did manual labor or worked outside as a rafting guide, had to work to support the family. All of those would indicate the attributes we want in a Cadet and may cause the board members to score him higher than another applicant that was president of the chess club (no offense to chess players or presidents intended). Don't make anything up, but applicants need to tell the story of why they are the best candidate, not just check a few blocks and hope for the best.
 
If nothing else a job shows he has the discipline to show up day after day as well as the ability to show up on time and adhere to a schedule. Those are all good things and will definitely come into play while in any ROTC program.
 
If nothing else a job shows he has the discipline to show up day after day as well as the ability to show up on time and adhere to a schedule. Those are all good things and will definitely come into play while in any ROTC program.
It's good to know that it will be helpful, especially when my DS doesn't have a laundry list of extracurriculars to add. Thank you!
 
And also list any volunteer work under other and expand on it under additional activities, again, it can set him apart from others.
Thank you! He has plenty of volunteer work and actual paid work to list. He will definitely list it all and expand on everything he can.
 
Having a job will definitely help. If he sticks with his job it will show dedication and attributes of a hard worker. I was a martial arts instructor for 4 years, which weighed heavily in interviews and on my resume. I received the Army ROTC scholarship to three schools and was appointed to West Point.
 
Having a job will definitely help. If he sticks with his job it will show dedication and attributes of a hard worker. I was a martial arts instructor for 4 years, which weighed heavily in interviews and on my resume. I received the Army ROTC scholarship to three schools and was appointed to West Point.
That's awesome!! Congratulations, and thank you for your input!!
 
Having a job will definitely help. If he sticks with his job it will show dedication and attributes of a hard worker. I was a martial arts instructor for 4 years, which weighed heavily in interviews and on my resume. I received the Army ROTC scholarship to three schools and was appointed to West Point.
 
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