Anyone here been through OCS?

[Nebor]

I'm about 30 years old, work in the IT field, been at the same job since I finished my BA in Information systems.

Lately I've been feeling extremely restless, and I'm seriously considering joining the Army. I feel like I need to do my part, to serve my country, etc. I traveled the middle east as a pre-teen, and wouldn't mind going back (admittedly under different circumstances.)

I have a ~$500k house in Colleyville, TX, it's completely paid for, my parents built it for me when I graduated so I'd stay living in the same area as them (as opposed to my Kalifornicated brother.) I have three cars, all fully paid for. I also have a couple dogs (fully paid for ) that my parents can take care of for me.

I guess my question is, to anyone who's gone OCS, leaving behind a successful career, how was it? I'm concerned about my ability to pay my property taxes, car insurance and other miscellaneous bills on a 2 LT's salary. I currently make ~$110k a year. I don't want to have nothing to come home to, but I do really want to go, and I don't have a problem sacrificing the income for the experience of a lifetime.

Oh, and I've got a BA in Information systems with a minor in Economics, and an MBA with a focus in Managerial Economics.

So, a little advice from guys who've been there, done that would be much appreciated.

 

[ManBearPig]

err...why?

oh, nevermind. That's good of you to do.

 

[Mursilis]

Maybe I'm confusing you with someone else (quite possible), but haven't you said you're gay? Isn't that going to be a problem?

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: Mursilis
Maybe I'm confusing you with someone else (quite possible), but haven't you said you're gay? Isn't that going to be a problem?

Yeah you must be confusing me with someone else.

 

[Mursilis]

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: Mursilis
Maybe I'm confusing you with someone else (quite possible), but haven't you said you're gay? Isn't that going to be a problem?

Yeah you must be confusing me with someone else.

My mistake then, and good luck!

Have you talked to a recruiter? What are your chances of actually being accepted into OCS? They're actually pretty selective (speaking as someone who applied for, and was denied, a commission in three different servcies).

 

[destrekor]

Join the Army Reserves or Army National Guard? Quite a possibility of being activated regardless, but by law your job must be held while your activated. So during the week you can continue to work your current career, and on a few weekends and a couple weeks during the summer (not counting original training) you can serve your nation with your specializations.

and take note of what the post above this one says. OCS is tough to get into, especially if your not already in the service with a few years behind you. Having a college degree will improve your chances, but no guarantees. Normally, I think you have to join up as enlisted first and hope you've talked to the right people so you get an OCS slot right away.

+

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: destrekor
Join the Army Reserves or Army National Guard? Quite a possibility of being activated regardless, but by law your job must be held while your activated. So during the week you can continue to work your current career, and on a few weekends and a couple weeks during the summer (not counting original training) you can serve your nation with your specializations.

and take note of what the post above this one says. OCS is tough to get into, especially if your not already in the service with a few years behind you. Having a college degree will improve your chances, but no guarantees. Normally, I think you have to join up as enlisted first and hope you've talked to the right people so you get an OCS slot right away.

+

Hrmm. News stories in the last few years have told of problems keeping officers. The majority of them are leaving after their minimum time served, and classes are being condensed in length and increased in size to facilitate the training of more officers...

 

[Dirigible]

Originally posted by: Nebor
I'm about 30 years old...

You'll probably need an age waiver then.

 

[abracadabra1]

Didn't go through OCS for commission, so I can't talk about that route. Didn't leave a successful career to join, so I can't talk about that either. What I can tell you is that the decrease in pay isn't going to be as bad as pay charts reveal. Sure, base pay is somewhere in the high 30k range (or something along those lines), but that doesn't take into account other pay that you receive. BAH (housing) varies on the area you're stationed, but is entirely untaxed. BAS (food) is also untaxed (not too significant, only about $200 for BAS, but still nice). As a 2nd Lt, you'll earn the equivalent of a 60k salary or so (i.e. ~50k after tax). Keep in mind that this doesn't take into account money saved during deployments and any tax advantages offered by combat zones.

Here's a quick example (my numbers for this year as filed with IRS)
AGI - 38078 (0-1)
Aviation pay - 1500
BAH - 10800
BAS - 2310

Total - 52688
Total Tax - 3672
Effective Tax Rate - 6.97%

After tax income - 49016

 

[TallBill]

Sounds like you are stuck with a lot of cash and not doing anything. I'm going nuts after finishing my enlistment and cant wait to get back in as an officer.

 

[Mursilis]

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: destrekor
Join the Army Reserves or Army National Guard? Quite a possibility of being activated regardless, but by law your job must be held while your activated. So during the week you can continue to work your current career, and on a few weekends and a couple weeks during the summer (not counting original training) you can serve your nation with your specializations.

and take note of what the post above this one says. OCS is tough to get into, especially if your not already in the service with a few years behind you. Having a college degree will improve your chances, but no guarantees. Normally, I think you have to join up as enlisted first and hope you've talked to the right people so you get an OCS slot right away.

+

Hrmm. News stories in the last few years have told of problems keeping officers. The majority of them are leaving after their minimum time served, and classes are being condensed in length and increased in size to facilitate the training of more officers...

Maybe they're more desperate for officers now than when I was trying to get in (the mid-90's). Back then, the services were drawing down, and had more applicants than slots in most cases, so they could afford to be picky. Now, things may very well be very different.

 

[abracadabra1]

Originally posted by: TallBill
Sounds like you are stuck with a lot of cash and not doing anything. I'm going nuts after finishing my enlistment and cant wait to get back in as an officer.

My cash is stashed in investments. It's doing what it needs to so I can retire much later

Not doing anything? Are you kidding me? Between canceled flights because of equipment/weather I get plenty done at the beach

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: abracadabra1

Originally posted by: TallBill
Sounds like you are stuck with a lot of cash and not doing anything. I'm going nuts after finishing my enlistment and cant wait to get back in as an officer.

My cash is stashed in investments. It's doing what it needs to so I can retire much later

Not doing anything? Are you kidding me? Between canceled flights because of equipment/weather I get plenty done at the beach

I'm fairly certain he was talking to me.

I totally feel like I'm doing nothing. I can't imagine doing this job for much longer. Week after week, it's the same thing. I want to be able to say, "I helped take a town from insurgents last week." Pushing some project out ahead of schedule so that Point of sale equipment is more user friendly and people can buy jeans .43 seconds faster is not much of an accomplishment, by comparison.

 

[jonks]

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: abracadabra1

Originally posted by: TallBill
Sounds like you are stuck with a lot of cash and not doing anything. I'm going nuts after finishing my enlistment and cant wait to get back in as an officer.

My cash is stashed in investments. It's doing what it needs to so I can retire much later

Not doing anything? Are you kidding me? Between canceled flights because of equipment/weather I get plenty done at the beach

I'm fairly certain he was talking to me.

I totally feel like I'm doing nothing. I can't imagine doing this job for much longer. Week after week, it's the same thing. I want to be able to say, "I helped take a town from insurgents last week." Pushing some project out ahead of schedule so that Point of sale equipment is more user friendly and people can buy jeans .43 seconds faster is not much of an accomplishment, by comparison.

I believe it's on record that helping Mitt Romney get elected president is a suitable alternative to military service. He's only suspended his campaign so give him a call

 

[abracadabra1]

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: abracadabra1

Originally posted by: TallBill
Sounds like you are stuck with a lot of cash and not doing anything. I'm going nuts after finishing my enlistment and cant wait to get back in as an officer.

My cash is stashed in investments. It's doing what it needs to so I can retire much later

Not doing anything? Are you kidding me? Between canceled flights because of equipment/weather I get plenty done at the beach

I'm fairly certain he was talking to me.

I totally feel like I'm doing nothing. I can't imagine doing this job for much longer. Week after week, it's the same thing. I want to be able to say, "I helped take a town from insurgents last week." Pushing some project out ahead of schedule so that Point of sale equipment is more user friendly and people can buy jeans .43 seconds faster is not much of an accomplishment, by comparison.

Don't fool yourself with the glory of "taking a town from insurgents". Some of your closest friends will get injured and someone you know will likely be killed. Deployments are long and extremely difficult, especially on your family. If you're tired of your job and want to do something exciting - go sky diving on the weekend.

Also, depending on what you do in the Armed Forces, you may find yourself bored yet again.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: abracadabra1

Originally posted by: TallBill
Sounds like you are stuck with a lot of cash and not doing anything. I'm going nuts after finishing my enlistment and cant wait to get back in as an officer.

My cash is stashed in investments. It's doing what it needs to so I can retire much later

Not doing anything? Are you kidding me? Between canceled flights because of equipment/weather I get plenty done at the beach

Yeah, I was talking to OP.

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: abracadabra1

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: abracadabra1

Originally posted by: TallBill
Sounds like you are stuck with a lot of cash and not doing anything. I'm going nuts after finishing my enlistment and cant wait to get back in as an officer.

My cash is stashed in investments. It's doing what it needs to so I can retire much later

Not doing anything? Are you kidding me? Between canceled flights because of equipment/weather I get plenty done at the beach

I'm fairly certain he was talking to me.

I totally feel like I'm doing nothing. I can't imagine doing this job for much longer. Week after week, it's the same thing. I want to be able to say, "I helped take a town from insurgents last week." Pushing some project out ahead of schedule so that Point of sale equipment is more user friendly and people can buy jeans .43 seconds faster is not much of an accomplishment, by comparison.

Don't fool yourself with the glory of "taking a town from insurgents". Some of your closest friends will get injured and someone you know will likely be killed. Deployments are long and extremely difficult, especially on your family. If you're tired of your job and want to do something exciting - go sky diving on the weekend.

Also, depending on what you do in the Armed Forces, you may find yourself bored yet again.

I'm kind of worried that with my IT background and education I might get branched to a desk somewhere. :frown:

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: abracadabra1

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: abracadabra1

Originally posted by: TallBill
Sounds like you are stuck with a lot of cash and not doing anything. I'm going nuts after finishing my enlistment and cant wait to get back in as an officer.

My cash is stashed in investments. It's doing what it needs to so I can retire much later

Not doing anything? Are you kidding me? Between canceled flights because of equipment/weather I get plenty done at the beach

I'm fairly certain he was talking to me.

I totally feel like I'm doing nothing. I can't imagine doing this job for much longer. Week after week, it's the same thing. I want to be able to say, "I helped take a town from insurgents last week." Pushing some project out ahead of schedule so that Point of sale equipment is more user friendly and people can buy jeans .43 seconds faster is not much of an accomplishment, by comparison.

Don't fool yourself with the glory of "taking a town from insurgents". Some of your closest friends will get injured and someone you know will likely be killed. Deployments are long and extremely difficult, especially on your family. If you're tired of your job and want to do something exciting - go sky diving on the weekend.

Also, depending on what you do in the Armed Forces, you may find yourself bored yet again.

I'm kind of worried that with my IT background and education I might get branched to a desk somewhere. :frown:

You have a choice, and your performance can get you to where you want. Typically, enlisting in your branch of choice presents a very good opportunity (I don't want to say guaranteed, but it may be) to get that branch when you go officer.
Me... I gotta deal with grades and all these damn smart kids edging me out (nation wide), as well as military proficiency, that puts me on a list that determines my chance of getting what I want. I fear a desk job or transportation too. But I hope for Armor or Armored Cavalry/Mechanized Infantry.

+

 

[Nebor]

Contacted an experienced OCS recruiter in Plano today. Sounds like I shouldn't have any problem getting into Infantry or MI. I'm going to start working on my packet next week, with a target ship out date in August. :thumbsup: