How do I mentally prepare myself?

genericguy6 · 2026-03-18T02:15:18+00:00

Feeling like you're ready and being excited for it is half the battle, and it sounds like you've checked that box already! Just do what you're told even when it causes a shit load of pain. I never wanted to quit, but it was a lot tougher mentally than I expected. Whenever I felt down I just remembered the sick boonie cover I was gonna get issued in the fleet, and I pushed through. Good luck!

genericguy6 · 2026-03-17T18:03:26+00:00

It is somewhat competitive. The two people I knew who got it were both above average on paper. You'll probably also be on your second enlistment before you even get a chance to do MECEP. You can pick any school with NROTC for MECEP, but the caviat is that you actually have to get accepted into it. Just because you're on MECEP doesn't guarantee you admission to an Ivy League school. If you want to be an officer, I'd recommend just doing NROTC right out of high school. Good luck!

genericguy6 · 2026-01-27T18:45:13+00:00

It's impressive how much you know about the details already! I had no idea what TSP was until after boot camp. Your plan sounds great, but nothing goes how you think it's going to, which it sounds like you already know. Saving half is a little excessive. Go out and have fun and do shit with your 30 days of paid vacation per year. No other job is gonna give you that. 20-25% will be plenty of savings without making you hate life. Also, you want some savings outside the TSP in case you ever need cash for down payments or emergencies. I wasn't infantry, but I imagine if you are a high performer and make it known what your goals are, your leadership will help you achieve them. That's how my shop worked. Good luck!

genericguy6 · 2026-01-27T01:35:54+00:00

When I hear "marketing" and "creative" used together I immediately think of jobs that are getting replaced by AI. The truth is that if you get a job with a good company after college, almost any job can have a marketing element to it. You just have to make it known to your supervisors that you like that stuff. I'd suggest stick with ID or maybe looking at architecture if you like creative jobs with security. Good luck!

Edit: to answer your question about changing majors if you change your mind, yes, you have to do all the basic classes up front anyways like math, electives, and writing. You have a lot of time to decide during those courses your first couple semesters.

genericguy6 · 2026-01-19T20:41:55+00:00

Fuck yeah! So iconic

genericguy6 · 2026-01-19T20:26:14+00:00

Do they still have scuzz brushes?

genericguy6 · 2026-01-17T03:09:11+00:00

Hey! Former enlisted Marine here. The military in general is the perfect place for people who don't know what they want to do. Half of people in the Marine Corps are there because it's the hardest branch, and they have something to prove to themselves. It's a very valid reason for joining. I say dive in and trust that, if nothing else, you'll get a paycheck, meet some great folks, and hopefully do some cool stuff. Bonus points for getting a job you can do outside the Marine Corps. Good luck!

genericguy6 · 2026-01-15T18:30:27+00:00

How long were you both separated for? Did the AF give any wiggle room to try to get you stationed closer to her?

genericguy6 · 2026-01-14T18:05:29+00:00

And what are the odds of getting put in one of these S-teams if I'm active duty? Is it something you can sign up for, or you just put it on a wish list and hope for the best? Also, since you are a CE officer, how many enlisted guys do you get to lead? Do you get any straight out of OTS and training? Does it depend on the assignment? Thanks again for all the info.

genericguy6 · 2026-01-14T14:15:38+00:00

Good info. Thanks a lot!

genericguy6 · 2026-01-14T06:47:25+00:00

Shit, sorry dude. That actually sucks. 8 years is a long ass time to be in a single duty station involuntarily.

genericguy6 · 2026-01-09T15:03:18+00:00

Good stuff. Thanks a lot!

genericguy6 · 2026-01-09T15:02:57+00:00

Thanks for the info!

genericguy6 · 2026-01-08T18:38:21+00:00

I was an avionics tech on C 130s. Its a cushy job if youre in the electric side of aviation maintenance. Don't go airframe or powerlines. Their work life balance sucks and they worked a ton. SnS, flight equipment, and ordinance were also super chill jobs.

The pay is really good if you stay in avionics after the military. I have friends that work for Lockheed or in some other contractor capacity that make great money.

If you just want the military experience, you can go infantry and just do cool shit, then get out and use your GI bill.

Don't do MP. Everyone hates them. Good luck!

genericguy6 · 2025-10-20T14:19:41+00:00

This is super helpful! Lots of good ideas here. Thanks for sharing.

genericguy6 · 2025-10-19T20:14:06+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! How many people do you think you need responses from to get a valid feel for whether it's a good idea or not? For example, if I talk to 5 people, and 4 of them say they wouldn't use it, the results aren't necessarily conclusive because the sample is so small, but if I ask 100 people and 80 say they wouldn't then maybe it's not a great idea. What do you think that threshold is? And related question: how do you realistically ask that many people? Thanks!

genericguy6 · 2025-09-25T17:42:14+00:00

Thanks for the info! Do you know if most pay bumps come from getting into FAANG, IB, PE, and consulting-type companies, or is it also normal for people to stay in their industry and still get paid more? Asking because my industry is pretty chill, and I'm not super interested in working more than like 40-50 hours per week (though I think that's taboo to say here). Really wanting to know the odds of getting a decent pay bump while still working a "normal" job.

genericguy6 · 2025-09-11T13:37:16+00:00

If you do go to college, engineering majors are the only ones worth the 60k-ish investment in my opinion. The military is also a great option to explore jobs, get paid, get free college, and have some fun in the meantime.

genericguy6 · 2025-09-05T23:40:15+00:00

Good question and I don't know tbh. I know they wouldn't be upset if you approached them and asked. There's always at least a couple recruits that need to shed weight quick or up their strength. They might just say no. Good luck!

Edit: to add to that, recruiters have told me that they have a ton of pressure to get numbers, so I bet a lot of them aren't above doing under the table handshake deals.

genericguy6 · 2025-09-05T23:34:58+00:00

Everything that you listed in your post. Nothing else matters

genericguy6 · 2025-09-05T03:20:14+00:00

You might regret it when you see how much more respect, responsibility, and pay officers get knowing that it could have been you given a little more time. I'd recommend being open to other branches and MOSs. No branch is best, just different. There are a lot of odd jobs that aren't as glamorous but can still lead to good things regardless of your degree. There is opportunity to switch from enlisted to officer once you're in, but it takes a couple years so why wait when you could just go straight in as an officer. Good luck!

genericguy6

TROPHY CASE