I know I’ve been bad about updating my blog. In fact, I was supposed to write my last post back in June 2011, because my original intent was to chronicle my post-MBA life for only 2 years. But nevertheless, there are two more posts that I wanted to make and this is the second to last one.
Are you an MBA from the Class of 2010 or 2009 and still looking for a job? In our first edition of Unconventional MBA jobs, we talked about becoming an FBI Special Agent….
Something I wanted to do after college but never did (my college sweetheart at the time was against it) was to attend the U.S. Army’s Officer Candidate School (OCS) to become a U.S. Army Commissioned Officer. There are several main steps to the application process:
- Talk to a military recruiter (Try to bring someone with a military background with you so that they can tell you if the recruiter is being honest and accurate. You should have plenty of classmates from B-school who came from the military)
- Application Paperwork (Education and employment background, personal references, medical history, 3 letters of recommendation, essay for why you want to do be an Army Officer, etc.) It will take you longer than you think to complete everything in the application packet.
- MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station), basically a hardcore physical exam.
- ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery), a multiple choice test to see how "smart" you are and it will impact what specialties you will be eligible for.
- APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test), two mile run, max pushups and situps in 2 minutes.
- Battalion Board Interview (in person interview)
So why did I not end up joining? Well, the quick answer is that I found another job before I hit my self-imposed deadline for joining the Army. However, the application process takes at least several months and I had already met with a recruiter, started filling out the paperwork and was training for the APFT (Army Physical Fitness test).
I had been regularly hiting the gym so the pushups and situps were cake for me but my cardio was terrible. The minimum requirement for my age group’s two mile run was 17:00 and I was clocking in at 20:00 when I first started training (my first mile split was like 8:00 and my second mile was like 12:00 =P). On the plus side, I lost like 12 lbs in a month from running regularly and I was in the best shape of my life since college.
You have to want to join the Army. I can’t stress this enough. Although going through OCS and becoming an officer was not exactly my top choice after B-school, it was something I had always wanted to do and I felt I had one last chance to make it happen before I got too old (the max. age for OCS is 35).
Here is a summary of the pros/cons of becoming an Army Officer:
PROS
- You’ll be in great shape while all your classmates put on weight from sitting on their asses behind a desk job (I’ve gained about 20 lbs since I started working at my current job and it isn't all muscle =P)
- Job stability. The Military-Industrial complex cannot be stopped! (sure they can cut the military budget but as an officer with an MBA, you’ll be a rare commodity)
- Women cannot resist a man in uniform. (Female applicants, you’ll probably get mixed results with this one)
- The opportunity and honor of serving ones country.
CONS
- The physical demands of Army life take a heavier toll on your body when you’re 30 years old. Those cuts and bruises that healed overnight in high school will now take days if not weeks.
- You are not going to get rich in the Army but you get your food, housing and healthcare taken care of.
- There is no guarantee which branch you’ll be assigned. Your top choice might be Military Intelligence (doesn’t it sound cool?) but you might end up getting assigned to Field Artillery.
- The transition back to civilian life may be difficult because private sector job recruiters are used to seeing applicants that join the military BEFORE B-school, not the reverse.
- And not surprisingly, you might get KILLED. Dulce et Decorum est pro Patria Mori.
