Confused and in need of knowledgable answers please!!!

[Madame Determination]

Im a 24 yr old married mother of 2 and yes my husband is very supportive. I'm currently interested in enlisting in the Navy. However, I have tons of questions and can't seem to get straight forward answers from a recruiter! I did graduate from an accredited school for Medical Assisting and took some AP classes in H.S. Will the schooling I have give me an advantage wen trying to become a HM? Also my ultimate goal is to b a doctor? What would be the best route to take to achieve my ultimate goal?

[Kathy (AOMom)]

The only advantage it may give you is when you take the ASVAB you may score better on those types of questions, than say mechanical stuff. Other than that no. Corpmen is one of those rates that is overmanned, so you may have to wait a while to get in. If you want to be a doctor in the Navy? Or when you have completed your commitment to the Navy?, you will be able to go to school on the GI bill for a mostly paid education. I think(correct me anyone if wrong) that if you want to be a doctor in the Navy, you would go to school first and get your degree and then join as an officer, not enlisted.

[Fur&FeathersDVM]

Medical school is very, VERY expensive. Your GI bill would probably cover your undergraduate degree, but the GI bill isn't going to cover all of Medical school. Any sort of professional medical degree (med school, vet school, dental school, etc.) is going to run you about $200,000 just for the professional degree- easily. I'm in vet school and one of our classmates is an army veteran- her GI bill covered all of undergrad and then her first (of four) years of veterinary school. And she went to a local community college for her undergrad and is paying in state tuition for professional school. So while the GI bill is going to help you, it's not going to cover getting an MD- although it is a better option than trying to pay for it out of your own pocket. And once you finish Medical school, you need to do your residency and pass your boards- another long process where you won't be making much money!

 

Kathy is right, if you're going to be a doctor in the navy, you have to go to school first and join as an officer. There are several different programs you can do along the way to becoming a doctor in order to be a navy doctor that will help you pay for it along the way, ranging from committing to it when you finish undergrad to going to the Department of Defense medical school to being picked up for a commissioning program during your residency (at which point they would help you pay back your school). In order to really understand those programs, you'd need to talk to a recruiter who specifically deals with prospective doctors. If you're just talking to a regular enlisted recruiter, they are not going to be able to help you much with that.

 

[Madame Determination]

Thanks Kathy (AOMom) and navyprincess34..... I have been doing a LOT of research on the various options I may have to obtain my degree but its just soooo confusing. Do you have to give yr for yr when they pay for my schooling? E.g. If I do 4yrs of undergrad and have to give 4yrs of service? Hey Kathy, from the research I've done only CREO 3 IS OVERMANNED NOT CREO 1&2. That was from a somewhat recent post but please correct me if I'm wrong or have been misinformed! If possible I 'd love a link to any updated info you find!  Here's a few of the main scenarios I think may work for me and my family if they are possible

1st- I thought of entering into a NROTC program to do my undergrad then going active duty while in med school. However, this means I'll be 4yrs behind on the time I'd owe to the Navy...right? Not to mention the time I'd owe for the rest of my schooling!

2nd- I also considered just doing active duty and going to school at the same time. I was told this is possible but I'm not sure. I dont understand how someone with a family can go to school FT for their undergrad (pre-med), work FT for the Navy, have time for their family, and keep their sanity all at the same time. I know this may be the most difficult option.... has anyone ever been in this situation or something similar?

3rd- I was told the GI Bill pays more once you are out! Is that true? If so I thought about going active to do my undergrate then using my GI Bill for med school once I'm out. If I do it this way will I still "owe" any time after med school?

With undergrad school, med school, and then residency it takes about a minimum of 11yrs 2 become a doctor. If I have to give yr for yr for my education I'll be giving the Navy at least the 11 yrs. However if I do NROTC, thats 4 yrs Im not even serving that I'd "owe" which means I wont be done with the Navy until about 15 yrs instead of the original 11yrs!? I ask because if i did become a doctor I would like the option of possibly practicing outside of the Navy. Please remember I'm looking for the most practical and economical way to achieve my goal AND keep my sanity all at the same time!!!

[Angie]

you can not be active duty and go to school full time.  Navy ALWAYS come first!

 

Below is different ways to be a Navy doctor

http://www.ehow.com/how_5030139_become-doctor-navy.html

[Madame Determination]

Straight forward answers that what  i like. Your response helped clarify a few things. Also i think i went on that site and it was geared more toward people that are already doctors that want to join but i will definitely check it out again! Thanks!!! So realistically if i can only go PT how long will it take to become a doctor while serving?

[Kathy (AOMom)]

Oh I wish I could answer your questions but honestly dont know enough about it all to give you an informed answer. But navyPrincess had some good advice, talk to a recruiter that deals with doctors, most recruiters are for enlisted and you need to talk to a special recruiter to give you all the up to date answers you need.

A couple of women on here are very knowlegeable and could possibly guide you in the right direction of where to go or who to call. AntiM and Angie have tons of experience and will give help if they can. I am sure there are more women just those names come to me right away. Best of luck to you, anythings possible. I work with a man who has reared 6 kids, his wife after 4 kids started school to be a RN, she earned her RN when she had her 6th. (about 14 years ago) and now is pursing her masters,one of  their daughters actually recruited my daughter in the Navy. Good luck.

[Madame Determination]

I appreciate your honesty on the matter. Its funny you even mentioned anything about RN in your response since i had actually thought of another "scenario"..... Will I get a Bachelors if I do the Nurse Corps. If so can i then use the bachelors i earned in nurse corps to apply for med school? Would it be a waist of time to do the nurse corps then go to be a doctor or would it actually be beneficial to do that first? How do I find a"special" recruiter?

 

[NF Mom]

navyprincess34,  Just curious, is your classmate covered by just the the new post 911 GI bill, or just the new post-911 GI bill,  or the both the new bill post 911 GI Bill and the Montgomery GI bill ???

[Craig]

Determination - I work with alot of deppers and I enjoy trying to help them with the weird and obscure rules the Navy has to benefit them $$$.  

 

I actually think you qualify for the Direct Procurement Enlistment Program (DPEP).  Most recruiter have know idea what this program is, so your best bet is read up on it, then talk to your recruiter.  You should also print it out, just so you can give the recruiter a copy immediately. 

 

I have a depper leaving in 2 weeks that qualified for the same program, and after ~4 months after boot camp and upon him reporting to his 1st duty station, he will be promoted to an E-5 (I was trying to get him E-6 but he was missing one item). 

Just remember there are 100's of weird rules out there and most recruiters are just programmed to know the normal ones.  So read up, and see if you meet the qualifacations.   (I think you do)....

 

Go to this link and look at Page 173 of this 232 page document. 

http://www.cnrc.navy.mil/publications/Directives/1130_8H/change%208...

[Madame Determination]

Craig thanks a lot and Im definitely going to look into that. Did you mean I might qualify for the DPEP as a HM or something else?..Were you saying that your recruit will have 4 mths of bootcamp instead of 2 or did I misinterpret? I did graduate an accredited program but never got cerified in the field also I worked in the field a little less than a year... Would I still qualify?...I know its a long shot but I what state are YOU in !!? =) You seemed very informed!

[Craig]

Determination - Everyone does the ~8 weeks in boot camp.  Everyone in boot camp is a E1.  Once they complete boot camp then you put on the additional stripes (E2 or E3).  Let's say you put on E3, you must wait 6 months for Time-in-Rate (TIR) to become E4.  However, with the DPEP program you can become up to an E6 if you meet the requrements.  This is just a rare program that most recruiters don't know about because most people can't qualify for it.  However, not having the certificate I beleive makes you not eligible for the program. However, you meet all the other requirements (ie working in the field).  Why didn't you get certified?  I would see if you can get a certificate then I would take your info to the recruiter to see what they can do for you. 

 

Yes, the rating would be HM, why would the Navy promote you to a rating that takes years to make if you have no knowledge of that skill?  Don't think you can be eligible for a Machinest Mate (MM) when you don't have a clue what a MM does.  Your skill is in the HM field and the Navy saves a heck of alot of money by not having to send you through the entire HM pipeline for schooling. 

Lastly, I am not a recruiter.  I am a retired Navy guy that runs two Navy websites that helps people understand the Navy (mainly deppers).  

 

To help you understand the time it takes to make rate, here is a sheet that might help you...

 

[Madame Determination]

Ok thanks again Craig and I didnt get certified because I was only in the field about 10 mths actively working. During that time there was also a lot of financial burdens that came my way at one time. My employer let me go, which only added to my financial, at the time i was young and still very unsure of the path I wanted to take (not to say I'm old now =). Sooo, I went back to school for cosmetology which is a hobby/passion of mine. Finances got a little better for a while but I was in school so it didnt last long and I needed to focus on the current task at hand (cosmo school). I DID get my license for cosmo however! Believe it or not a lot of the things that must be learned to become a licensed cosmetology are quite similar to medical assisting. In cosmo school one doesnt just learn about hair. A cosmetologist must also have to have a basic understanding of a variety of things such as the human anatomy, various skin diseases and disorders, nail diseases and disorders, laws and ethics, and sanitation skills. Because we are taught massage techniques we even have to have a basic understanding of the muscular and vascular system as well. So even though cosmetology and medical assisting may seem totally unrelated they really arent. The majority of the skills I aquired are quite interchangeable. So do you think the hours (1530+) that I have from cosmo school may help too? By the well I have never had a problem performing academically GPA since h.s. has always been a 3.5 or better... will my previous academic achievements have any merit with this program? As long as I meet the basic requirements, including the required scores, do you think it is safe to say I will more than likely be able to get HM? You also said something about your depper waiting 4mths but the statement confused me a little, please explain? Also maybe i can take some refresher courses and try to get certfied... do you think that would work?