Advice

[MonkeyGirl89]

Hello!
I'm thinking about joining the Navy. I'm 17 years old, almost 18 (my birthday is Oct. 12). I may join the Navy after I graduate from high school. I'm graduating in May 2008. Should I wait?
I'm not sure what field in the Navy I want to go into. I want to go to college to become a Psychologist. Are there any fields in the Navy related to Psychology? That is one of my main reasons to join the Navy, for them to pay for college. How much time would I have to take college classes while on sea/shore duty?
Other reasons why I want to join the Navy is for job training, good job experience, travel, college, and to make a difference.
What kind of path should I take in the Navy? What are the options?
I also have a friend that wants to join the Navy as well.
Do you think the Navy would be good for me? I'm not the most athletic person, but I'm pretty intelligent and a quick learner. I took the practice ASVAB test and I scored really high on it. My percentile was an 84. The recuriter told me that my score would most likely be in the 80s-90s on the actual ASVAB test.
I've been told that recuriters lie. So I'd like to get as much truthful information as possible from people actually in the Navy and wouldn't benefit from me joining. Thanks! =)

~Kayla

[denmom]

Hi Kayla,

First I want to say welcome to the site. Second I want to say I have a daughter who just turned 19 yesturday and finished bootcamp 9/21. I also was in the Navy 22 years ago.
To try and help with some of your questions. First check out the website below it gives you a list of different jobs and careers the navy has to offer.

http://www.navy.com/careers/

The best thing you can do is do some research on your own or if your parent support your decission have them help you. When you go into the recruiters office go with as much knowledge as you can.
As for anything in the phychology field I don't know but maybe intel would be the way to go. Also have you thought about applying to the naval accademy? Get your schooling first then go active duty. Just a thought.

If you do choose to join don't wait until you graduate go ahead and join the delayed entry program. If you have good recruiters they will help you get ready for things before you even leave and the longer you give yourself in DEP the more prepared you could be. I can't answer all of your questions but i'm sure someone else on here can also be of help.

Feel free to pm me if you want to also.

take care and good luck.

[eruptklot]

Hi Kayla,
Welcome to the site. I would have to agree with denmom as far as joining before you graduate. You will gain a lot more out of the experience of DEP and be better prepared when you go in. As far as being the most athletic, I would not worry too much about that. From my experience with Navy recruiters, they are fairly honest and are there to help you out. It is the OTHER branches I worry about with what they tell you. The Army tried to grab me up really quick and I question some of their ways, but with the Navy I would not worry too much.

Like denmom said, try and learn as much as you can before you go in, it will only help prepare you. I have been in DEP since March and will tell you it has been a lot of fun so far and I have learned a lot through it.

As far as college goes, I have already been through college and have my Bachelor's and Masters here in November. Take it from me, if you can get any type of help with paying for college while getting work experience I say jump on it. I found that after working to get through college, now that I am out, it is still hard to find a job. I had looked into the Navy in high school and after HS and wished I would have started sooner. If you have further questions I would be glad to try and help. Feel free to PM me anytime.

[Ryan's Proud Mom]

Hello Kayla and welcome. I would agree that DEP is the way to go. You can get a feel for the Navy and decide if this is right for you. My son, Ryan, was in DEP for a year before leaving for Boot Camp, graduated 9-14-07 from BC and is in A-school now. If you decide not to join, after being in DEP, you don't have too. Do your research and talk to a recruiter. Whatever you decide, I am sure you will do fine. I do know that there psychology in the Navy, Ryan looked into and still may follow that dream as well as the one he is pursing now. Good Luck. Keep asking questions, My Dad use to say the only stupid question is the one not asked. We are here to help you any way we can and if you decide to join, thank you for defending us.

[cousinIT]

umm. so we all know recruiters lie!
if you have any questions, just ask me!
if i dont know, i know someone who does!

[MonkeyGirl89]

Thanks for all the replies!
I am really excited and nervous about joining the Navy. I just turned 18 a few days ago, so I don't need parents to sign anything.
I am pretty certain that I will join the Navy. I haven't gone to MEPS yet. I do plan to be in DEP for a couple months to a year. I have a friend that is going to MEPs today.
What are the different programs offered in the Navy? What are the different ways that I can promote before going to Boot Camp and in the Navy?
I'd like to have a job somewhere related to Psychology, but I don't want to have a job that would put in Iraq a lot. I would like to go to Iraq once to help out and see what it's really like out there.

[Navy GM]

I'm going to be honest with you and tell you it's hard to take a lot of college classes while on active duty. Where you get stationed means a lot as well, as for as college goes, but you can get a decent chunk of college credits during a four year enlistment. As far as which job to choose, i really have no idea. i just kind of picked what i thought sounded fun to me, and i ended up loving my job, and i still do. Whatever job you do pick, some of your training and what not will translate into college credits. All i can say is don't make any uneducated decisions involving the navy, because at meps, their whole goal is to get you to sign on the line, they don't care about you personally. if you ever have any questions ask someone on here or someone you know that is active duty and they'll be able to help you out. good luck.


-Bryan

[Pengilum282]

As far as jobs relating to the field your interested in, I can't think of any, when you go to meps, look at all your options, and see if there is something there that interests you. Nothing worse than being stuck in something you hate, or even worse, can't do, and get sent to the fleet undes.

As far as studying, also very rate dependant. Some jobs it is not as hard, because they work 8 hour normal days. Other rates are not so lucky. Some rates will be up to 18 hours on, others 12 on 12 off.

Things are more regular on shore duty though, and thats where you get your chance to earn college credits.

[cousinIT]

I know that my Chief is pushing all of us to take college classes. I'm going to try and sign up for a little refresher course in math before I actually take the class.
Don't count on getting shore duty though...it's pretty much the last place they try and send you...unless you're a CTN....Cryptologist Technician that deals with Networking, I believe....they're pretty much hackers. Which is a pretty cool job to have =].

[Retired Navy Chief]

Hi there .... just thought I would give my 2 cents on this as well.

As a former recruiter myself, I can tell you that by and large, you can be fairly sure that you aren't going to get bald-face lied to by a Navy recruiter. That's not to say that they are going to tell you every little thing you ever wanted to know about it though :shakeheadno: .
When you think up a question write it down ... do your best to research it yourself first (this website is a great place to start) and then once you have a little background ... go ask the recruiters.
As was stated before ... Navy recruiters are generally honest. We have the best service to sell ... why lie if you don't have to ... right ? I also agree whole-heartedly that the people at MEPS are not there to make sure you have your dream job. They are there to make sure that you are physically qualified and to get you signed up in a job. When you reach the Classifiers desk to look at jobs, they assume that your recruiter has answered all of your questions to the best of their ability and that you are READY TO JOIN provided they have the jobs that you have in mind !! If you don't have all of your questions answered to your liking ... don't go to MEPS. The Navy has been here for a looooong time before they knew about you or me and you can be quite sure that they will be there in a couple days when you get ALL of your questions answered.

I don't believe that there is a large calling for psycologists as a profession per se IN the Navy. We probably have them but not in large numbers that I am aware of. They do have psychologists that work at the hospitals and whatnot .. but I believe that most are civilians contracted through our Family Service Centers.

I agree with Denmom when she gave the idea about possibly getting into Navy Intelligence. In a nutshell, they are the ones picking up tiny bits of information from many different sources (intercepted phone and internet transmissions, prisoner interrogations, etc ...) and putting them together to find out what the enemy is up to. Knowing how the enemies mind works, how their customs & government guide their actions and that kind of information is the real meat & potatoes of what the Intel folks do and THAT is where you can put psychology to good use.
I know that you said that you weren't interested in doing the Iraq thing ... that is just a small piece of the Intel puzzle for the Navy. Terrorism is world wide ... so are our "Spooks" :cool: .

The rates to look into are (IS) Inteligence Specialist or possibly one of the (CT) Cryptology Technician jobs. They all require high security clearances ... so I hope you have kept your nose clean !! If you decide that you definately want to go to MEPs and see what they can offer to you ... do yourself a favor and have a minimum of 3 different job interests in mind BEFORE YOU GO. I have seen several people walk away from a potentially great career because they limited themselves to only one option. You need to look at the big picture ... all the benefits, job training, college opportunities, travel, advancement ... etc. If all of that looks good to you but they just can't get you in to the job that you want ... ask what other options you have. I have had a few people in that situation and they ended up taking an Apprentice Program to get in the Navy and then put in for the job at bootcamp or when they got to their first command. Some people don't like taking that risk ... some make out fine.

Even more confuse now ??? Don't hesitate to ask questions ...

Cheers,
PISTOL