My son signed up for a job that he really didn't want cause they told him it was all that was available, can he change jobs after he signed his contract?

[diane-anthony's mom]

His recruiter left him a MEPS to go get his HS transcript and he was speaking with the Job counselor. He told him the only jobs they had available were sub, seaman & aviator. He couldn't get aviator because of his vision, didn't want sub...and the job counselor talked him into seaman...told him he recommends it to a lot of people because it's a great place to start. He really wanted an engineering job. He ended up signing the contract and called me after the fact when he was back with his recruiter...he was upset and so was I. The recruiter said that more jobs would become available in February and when an engineering job came up he could change his job...I said even though he signed his contract? and he said yes...he can still change it...He is supposed to ship out in June, but his recruiter said he is 100% sure he can change his job before then. He told him he wants him to memorize the book he got at meps...so many things have not gone the way they have been promised and I feel sick to my stomach! Is this possible...does anyone know or is my son going to be stuck with this seaman job with no hope of getting the engineering job he wanted because they talked him into this and had him sign... HELP...PLEASE need some correct info!!

[Angie]

He signed a contract...he can do a DAR which is a DEP action request to TRY and change the job before he leaves for bootcamp...BUT once he ships off to bootcamp he gets what ever the contract says.  He is not changing it in bootcamp or "A" School.

[diane-anthony's mom]

I am totally unfamiliar with all these terms since I am so new to this...we are supposed to be meeting with his recruiter on Friday. Is this something he would have to do or we would have to do? Is it a matter of filling out a form? The recruiter told us the other day that they were going to let him know when an engineering position came open and he would let us know immediately...and we would have all of 5 minutes to decide whether he wanted it or not before they filled it with someone else. He said he could then change Anthony's job from seaman to the engineering job. I just don't want him or I to get our hopes up if this isn't going to be able to be changed...I feel bad this isn't going the way he was told it would...

[Angie]

yep that is how a DAR (DEP action request) works...the recruiter might call him and tell him there is an opening and he can take it or not...with only a few minutes to pick and even if he says yes...someone else could have said yes and taken it from him before the recruiter is able to call MEPS back and tell them your son says yes.

 

First thing to learn...if it isn't in the contract it isn't going to happen.  Being told something is much different than it being in writting.  Think of the recruiter as a used car salesman, they will tell you what ever you want to here...also they have nothing to do with the job's MEP's takes care of that.

 

Odds are he will go in as a an undes seaman...and if he does do that, he will not be changing in bootcamp or "A" School, and when he goes to get a rate, odds are he will be requried to pick from the deck/combat jobs not the engineering jobs. 

[diane-anthony's mom]

so even if the recruiter finds him an engineering job and gets the call to meps...he still wont get the engineering job? or will they make him sign a new contract? this really sucks...I thought you were supposed to be able to trust your recruiter!

[Hannah88]

No. If he gets the call from MEPS that there is a job available that he wants he can absolutely take it. But we were also told we'd have about 5 minutes to decide.  He can also keep submitting the DAR every 30 days until his ship date and if he still doesn't get a new job, he can either go to BC with the rate he has or drop his contract.  My son is also going through this process but his ship date isn't until August, so he has a couple of more months.

[diane-anthony's mom]

thanks hannah...that makes me feel a little more at ease...He really wanted the engineering job, but the job counselor talked him into this seaman position since it was the only one available at the time of his physical. I know he is considered an "adult" and needs to make his own decisions...but this is confusing for me too...he doesn't want that job, he wants the engineering job and now he has signed the contract. His ship date is in June so we still have some time also...is the recruiter supposed to submit this DAR or are we supposed to submit this...I think the recruiter mentioned it to me the other day, we are supposed to have a meeting with him on Friday, his physical was just on Monday. So if they call with an engineering job with this "5 minute window" will he have to sign a new contract?

[Angie]

The DEPPer "(your son) has to get the recruiter to put the paper work in. 

 

What I meant is even if your son says yes to the recruiter that he wants the job, there is still a chance that he doesn't get it, as the computer system they are looking in is looked in by everyone at MEPS who is trying to get their people a job, so someone else could take it out from under him. 

 

If he says yes, and he gets the job, than yes he will have to go sign a new contact...but it won't be in the 5 min window he has to sign it..more like a day window....the recruiter will tell him.

 

Not trying to be rude...but why did he sign for something he doesn't want?  What is he going to do if it doesn't get changed before he ships out?  If he doesn't ship out...there is a good chance the recruiter won't work with him again as he wasted a slot for someone else to go to bootcamp.

[Hannah88]

Thanks Angie. I guess the 5 minute window is the phone call my son gets from his recruiter letting him know what rate(s) are available (he put down several in the DAR) and making the decision and then a day to get to the recruiting office to sign the new contract?  In our case, none of the rates that were on his list (about ten) were available the day we went to MEPS and in hindsight I feel like he was subtly badgered into the rate he chose. He's only 17 and even though I was there, it's a lot of pressure when you've got three recruiters in the room, to just sign something/anything.

[diane-anthony's mom]

Your not being rude Angie...and I agree Hannah...they do get subtly badgered and I wasn't there, the recruiter told me I could not be there when he signed his contract. Hindsight!! I just keep praying he will get one of the jobs he wants and the recruiter will come through for him... I hope the same for you Hannah...

[CaptainFatso]

Non designated strikers are not such a bad thing... particularly if a significant part of your motivation to join is to be a sailor. In fact, I would suggest that anyone not as committed to being a sailor as they are to the trade they ultimately hope to learn is probably making a risky career choice.

I was an ET. However, I was also a line handler, a member of a damage control party, member of the security alert team and back up alert force, a member of an underway replenishment team, a quarterdeck watch stander, a duty master at arms, and somewhat of an ambassador for my country while in foreign ports. Throw in being an expert at brass polishing and deck buffing, being an ET was only one of the several roles I was expected to play.

I don't suspect that things have changed all that much. I have a hunch that those going to fleet these days are expected to be sailors.

Maybe he needs to think this through a little more. If being a sailor is appealing to him, being undesignated is not a bad thing.

[diane-anthony's mom]

He is excited about the prospect of being a sailor and knows that many other duties will fall upon him other than his specific job. He has worked part time for our family business for 4 years through HS, we build boiler feed systems, condensate systems, deaerators & fuel oil pumping systems...this is the field he wants to go into. He thought it would benefit him as well as the navy with his experience. My dad, who started our family business 65 years ago, was in the navy...stationed in Norfolk. Anthony is hoping to be stationed there as well...but who knows how that will work out...

[Angie]

You are correct there is nothing wrong with being undes, though it is much harder to get a rating once you are in and the chances of someone getting rating they want is slim to none.  Things are very different than when you where in years ago to get a job.  It is best to get a rate before they leave for bootcamp, than try to get one after "A" School.  Long gone are the days where someone could just strick for any rating they wanted.  They have to see what is open, put in a request, put in another request to big Navy.  Wait for at least a month to find out if approved or denied, if denied, they have to do it all over again.

 

Yes..people who join the USN are Sailors first!  Their rating second...and like I used to tell my female Sailors, a lady third...and only when you are out in town as you aren't here to pick up someone :~}