My son is thinking of joining the Navy - w/o hs diploma?

[Sleepy]

I will never be one to knock the military, but I do have my preferences of branches and the Navy truly is at the bottom of the list (for reason already mentioned...time away from home).

My hubby will be retiring from the Navy this fall after 24 years of service. Before joining, he failed every grade of high school and spent every summer in summer school in order to graduate with a diploma. Honestly, he is a very intelligent guy...he just did not care when he was in high school. After in the Navy, no matter the course he took (and there will be many as you are trained in your field), he aced all of them. He is a quick learner and just 2 years ago became one of the first enlisted persons on his ship to become qualified OOD (Officer of the Deck...a position left only to officers until recently), and the first to stand the position. It was a huge accomplishment for him. Now if only he will get a job with Disney Cruise Lines. J/k...maybe I believe getting the diploma, regardless of the grades attached, speaks more than a GED. The best thing about the military is steady income. You have free medical and dental and life insurance is very cheap. For the first time, we are looking at potential unemployment and it terrifies us both. He never had to fill out a resume or go to a job interview, so this is all new for him. Sometimes I think he would stay in forever if they would let him.

 

[Minnesota!]

Well, my brother was conditionally accepted, with a GED (earned at a juvenille hall, no less)...but he failed his drug test.

I don't know that there would be that much more involved with getting the GED and getting in vs. going with a HS diploma!

Congrats to your son - serving ones country is a very honorable thing.

 

[jbdreamer]

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Ever hear the saying, "The military will make you or break you"? Often times the military can turn a young man around completely.. I've seen it happen numerous times.. "Bad boys'' turning into great men.. I don't see this particular situation as running "away" from something - it appears more like he is running "towards" something - and it's something that could be very beneficial to him in the end.. If it were a case of quitting school to hang out on the street corner - or pump gas - I might see it differently, but I think this young man has truly given this situation some serious thought..

I agree. I think the military is a great place to learn discipline. I too have seen it change peoples lives. But I don't think it is the place to go if you haven't even finished your basic education.

 

[C.Ann]

I agree. I think the military is a great place to learn discipline. I too have seen it change peoples lives. But I don't think it is the place to go if you haven't even finished your basic education.

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Unless things have changed drastically, he can finish his basic education at the same time.. Odds are he may even accomplish this easier because he's in a different setting..

 

[Sleepy]

I don't know that there would be that much more involved with getting the GED and getting in vs. going with a HS diploma!

The only difference I can think of is if the military is NOT your cup of tea, you will have a HS Diploma rather than a GED when looking for other work.

 

[doxdogy]

Talk to the recruiter first. Let him spell out all of the options for your son. This may give your son the encouragement to stick with school and get the diploma. I have known quite a few people that really did not do good in school, but did great in the working world. Not sure if he has done any research on the ASVAB, but there is a link below with some practice tests. His ASVAB score has a lot to do with what jobs are available to him.

http://www.military.com/Recruiting/ASVAB/1,13387,,00.html

 

[Chip126]

Talk to the recruiter first. Let him spell out all of the options for your son. This may give your son the encouragement to stick with school and get the diploma. I have known quite a few people that really did not do good in school, but did great in the working world. Not sure if he has done any research on the ASVAB, but there is a link below with some practice tests. His ASVAB score has a lot to do with what jobs are available to him.

http://www.military.com/Recruiting/ASVAB/1,13387,,00.html

Thank you for the link! I was looking for more information on the ASVAB!

 

[Chip126]

One more thing...........I have never met with a recruiter before and I am trying to think of so many things to ask him.

Has anyone gone through this before and can you think of anything that is really important that I need to ask??? I'm sure I haven't thought of everything yet

 

[dbarker]

I highly recommend he finishes HS. Even if the Navy will take him w/o a diploma, will any other future employer? Please encourage him to get his diploma.

Also, as soon as he gets to Basic, he will be in more class time than he ever imagined. My father dropped out of HS to join the AF eons ago. He stated he had more class time w/ the military than he ever did in HS.

Another point, his MOS (his job) depends a lot on his ASVAB score. You do not always get to pick and choose which job you want. The Navy will assign jobs based on its needs and the recruits ability. The more schooling he has before he joins, the better chance he has of getting the job he wants.

The recruiter is a good source of info, but also be aware that not all recruiters are as (shall we say) straightforward as others. For the recruiter, it is a numbers game. The more recruits they can get, the better. (picture salesman)

I can't help w/ info about the Navy, but there is a wonderful site about USMC. It is MarineParents.com (might be USMCParent.com).

 

[Sleepy]

Has anyone gone through this before and can you think of anything that is really important that I need to ask???

Like someone else said...it's a numbers game. (DH used to be a recruiter) They will tell you anything they think you want to hear. The real deal is NOT what you see in the commercials. Honestly, when dealing with a recruiter, unless things changed, you are just doing initial paperwork for like a prescreening. It;s when you go to the processing center (MEPS) for your physical and then sit down with the person who will help you pick a job that you have to be most aware. They are the slickest. For example. I wanted HM....like a nurse. I was told "Sorry, nothing in the computer available". He tried to get me to take this rate (job) where I would be doing a variety of things to see what I would most like. Umm...yeah. Scraping paint off the side of the ship. Anyway, he was pushy and I said I wanted to think about it so I went for lunch and came back and told him no thanks. i would just go to the AF division across the room. He quickly looked at his computer screen and said....Look at that...we have a 4 year and 6 year available and different leave dates for bootcamp. Yeah right...they magically appeared. BTW....mom and dad are NOT with you when you deal with the MEPS people.

What I would advise is this.....if they promise you something, make sure it is in writing. If they don't put it in writing, you won't get it later. Example....my husband took this assignment here and was supposed to get a monthly bonus. The person who was to do the paperwork was out on leave and the replacement was new so she did not know exactly what paperwork was needed as this was a new program of bonuses. When he got his final orders, the bonus paperwork was not there. He asked the detailer about it and detailer said "you can renegotiate for those orders to get the bonus, but I will guarantee you will not get those orders and will end up in Japan instead". The detailer hated my husband for refusing to take Japan orders (most undesirable) in the first place. So, we are here and not getting the bonus like everyone else. Nothing we could do about it. We did not have it in writing.

 

[Chip126]

Thanks again for all your input. I just thought that I would post that we did meet with the recruiter today who we were all quite impressed with.

He did encourage my son to stay in school, but that just didn't work out. He did, however, inform us that it is not impossible, but that it will be difficult to get in. He asked my son to stay in touch with him and that he can sign up on his 17th birthday. Once he has his GED the paperwork will start.

He will be starting the GED classes on Monday (three nights a week) and then he can take that test in August. He was allowed to take half of the GED test yesterday (given by the GED coordinator) just to see how he would score and he did very well on that. He will be taking his ASVAB test in July.

I am hoping for lots of pixie dust that this all falls into place and if it does, and my son continues to strive for his goals, he should be ready to go in October.

Again thanks for all your input. Your words of encouragement really helped me get through these past couple of days!