navy? recruiting? help!?

Question

Hi,
I'm a 17 years old girl, I'm meeting with my navy recruiter tomorrow 8.7.07 @ 1:00pm. I'm not sure what to expect..are there certain questions that I should ask? I'm interested in the medical field and beng a hospital corpsmen. Can anyone give me some information about being a navy hospital corpsmen or the medical field or personal experience? What should I expect when I meet with my recruiter and such etc...THANKS so much! I turn 18 in September. I have my dad's blessing, but my mom is having a hard time letting me go. I dropped out of high school, but I have a ged. I'm what people would call a girly girl I like getting my nails and hair done, makeup etc. but I was raised with 4 older brothers so I know how to get down and dirty and don't mind it at all. I am taking this very seriously and I hope that you are too.

Answer 1

First off, Good luck with getting in. We had the hardest time getting GED waivers. Second, almost every female who walks into the recruiting office wants HM. The Navy has limited openings for females in that rating, so be prepaired for that. Third, Do the very best you can on the ASVAB. I believe that your going to need above a 50 AFQT just to qualify for Navy service with a GED, but in the 8 months that I have been out of the game things could have changed. Only 5% of all recruits can have GED's, unless that has changed as well.

Questions to ask:
1. Where is the closest place to take the ASVAB. Meps or MET site.
2. What do you need to score on ASVAB to get in because of GED.
3. The likelyhood of getting HM as a female.
4. Are the classifiers in MEPS good at their jobs. Ive seen good classifiers and not so good ones. The classifier is the person your going to see in MEPS that will assist you in picking your job, they fill in the blanks on the contract, and witness you signing your contract. They are the only ones who know what jobs are available, and trust me, the available jobs change rapidly. An opening for a female HM could be there today, but not tomorrow. Or vice versa. That job could have been there 5 minutes before you talked to the classifier, but taken by another meps just as you walked into the classifiers office.

Look at where you want to be in 5-6 years. Ask how the Navy can help get you to where you want to be.

Ask for clarification on ANYTHING your not 100% sure you understand.

Remember that you can change jobs to anything you want before you ship to basic, as long as you qualify for that job and its available. The process is called a DAR, or Dep Action Report. So you can choose any job while at meps. Pick a ship date up to a year away from when you sign the contract, and ask to submit a DAR as soon as you get back from MEPS.

Good luck, and Im glad that you chose the Worlds Finest Navy.......

Answer 2

Remember that recruiter's job are to sell the Navy so they are going to tell you all the good things and sugar coat the bad things. You shouldn't have any problem being a hospital corpsman but don't let the recruiters tell you what rate(job) you should be because sometimes they have to fill certain jobs. They will tell you that you may not go to a boat or deploy but you will definitely do both atleast once in your enlistment. Ask if you qualify for a bonus, or a college fund! Make sure you get an "A" school, and possibly a "C" school, which is training in the corpsman field. Make sure that if they tell you that you will get "school or bonus or college fund" that they have everything on your contract when you sign up. Sometimes recruiters will tell you something but you find out once you get to boot camp that it was not included!! GET EVERYTHING ON PAPER!! There's so much more to say but I recommend you research the Navy before you make a decision. Good luck!

Answer 3

The higher you score on the ASVAB the more doors are opened to you. At one point you will go to a career counselor who will show you your options. At that point you will have to make a decision where you want to go. The good thing is that there are a lot of good jobs in the Navy---Corpsmen are one of the finest ratings.

No matter what your rating you need to get your head straight. I'm a two service vet (Army and Navy) and the Navy is very intense in its training and will demand a lot from you. Being mentally tough is more important than being physically tough.

Remember that your time in the Navy is whatever you make of it. There will be hard days that you wished you had never joined. There will be days so great that they will be forever etched in your soul. I envy you. I wish I was at the start of my career again. You will come back home changed. It is impossible to see those distant shores and the challenges you face and not have an edge on life.

Good luck---all the best

Answer 4

I am a medic in the Army, you would have the navy equivalent of my job. It is a good job, if you know it's what you want to do, but just make sure you get what you want IN YOUR CONTRACT. Anything you want can be put it. A larger signing bonus, ask for one regardless, and make sure you specify you want to be a hospital corpsman or they will put you on a ship so fast you'll be spending six months at a time treating sea-sickness and crabs, which I am sure you wouldn't like. Anyways, proud of you for considering the service (even though you went Navy, ahaha).

Answer 5

as of now my rating is reserved when i ship which is a hospital corpsman. its 14 weeks of A school and you can have follow on training at a C school. i am switching jobs though so someone who has had the training may know more than what my rating description says.

Answer 6

Recruiters are paid to lie..ask the recruiter stupid questions and find someone who has actually been the Navy to answer your real questions seriously.

Answer 7

with a GED your prospects are slim. as a female, the chances of getting HM are also slim, the need is for Males to serve in the trenches with Marines.

you will need to score at least a 50 on the ASVAB because of the GED. you will not be eligible for as many jobs because of the GED, and you won't get offered as many bonuses because of the GED.

Should have stayed in High School.

Answer 8

http://usmilitary.about.com/index.htm?terms=military

I would recommend this site for you. Almost any question you have about the military is answered honestly here.
Recruiters recruit. They do not always answer honestly.
Make your own decision; do not allow them to push you one way or another.