Cindy5, rate changes after the initial signing are very common, as our family has learned this firsthand. We just went through this with our son over the summer. Don’t be disheartened! If your son has a good recruiter, he’ll work diligently to get him signed at a different rate/job when they open up.

Here’s what our son went through:
He went to MEPS in July after working with a local recruiter for a few months. He tested very high and had his heart set on Nuke. So his recruiter was priming him for a nuclear rating but while at MEPS, he was told he didn’t qualify for anything Nuke, but was never told the actual reason why. Feeling pressured to make a choice, he signed on as a logistics specialist but didn’t like any of his options. He was pretty riled up when he got home and I got involved (he was 17 at the time) and started questioning his recruiter. He finally revealed the real reason my son was DQ’d from anything nuke - he’s very colorblind - something his recruiter was aware of but still led my son to believe he could be a nuke. We had some other issues with his recruiter as well so we went up the chain and had conversations with the Petty Officer in charge at our recruiting station. Long story short: My son switched recruiters, now working only with this recruiting “manager” (not sure of his actual title) who is very seasoned and sharp. He encouraged my son to pursue an intelligence rating, specifically CTN, and after researching it, our family all agreed it’s a great fit. This new recruiter assured my son he had plenty of time for a CTN slot to open up (son is a senior in HS) and sure enough....within 45 days, new paperwork was ready to sign to get him moved to the CTN rating he wanted.

Our recruiter said rating changes are quite common, so if your son is not happy with how the recruiter is handling things, tell him to push for what he wants. He’s still in control. Being in DEP does not mean he can’t change his mind and walk away, so they’ll work with him to get him in a slot he prefers.