Whenever you get your ASVAB score, make sure you get a listing of EVERY job available that you qualify for. DO NOT let the guy at MEPS just show you what the Navy needs. You don't want to get stuck in a shitty job for several years.
If you're going to be a linguist, you should know that the schooling for it is about a year long. That's a lot of school. And when you're a linguist, you're not acting as a translator between diplomats and things like that. You're sitting in front of a row of machines, along with other linguists, just listening to shit on a set of headphones. And chances are, you'll be doing it while on a 12 hour shift. You'd be surprised at how boring it can be.
If you don't qualify for being a linguist, then you might want to look into getting a CTN job (Cryptologic Technician Networks), which replaced CTOs, CTMs, and CTAs back in 2004. But that depends on how much you like working on computers, crypto equipment, networks, etc. It might sound cool, but the job descriptions at MEPS are very wordy to make them sound more important, and cooler, than what they are. So be careful.
And may I ask why chose the Navy? If you do go through with it, there's a pretty good chance you'll end up saying these words: "I should have joined the Air Force." Chances are if you're a linguist or CTN, you'll be working in a joint community: i.e. working alongside the Army, Marines, and Air Force. And after seeing how much better the Air Force guys have it made, you'll be pissed.
The Air Force has the highest standard for quality of living. That means the Air Force gets better dorms/barracks, usually better food, and much better base facilities: gyms, movie theaters, bowling alleys, etc. It might not sound like a big deal, but if you get an assignment to a base in the middle of nowhere, then those facilities will keep you from going stark raving mad.
Last edited by Dizik (2007-01-19 07:48:34)