Hello,

I am planning to join the Navy some time this spring or summer after I graduate grad. school.

With my degrees I plan on going in as an officer and the one job that I really really want to do is an IS. So my question is this: how difficult is it right now to land this job?

I have a B.S. in Psychology, a B.A. in Philosophy, and an M.A. in Humanities with a concentration in Philosophy. My cumulative undergraduate GPA was 3.99 and so my graduate GPA is 3.98.

I took a practice ASVAB on-line and only missed like 1 or 2 questions on the mathematics section and don't think I missed any at all on the verbal sections. I didn't do so great on my mechanical knowledge and workshop sections.

I am in good health. I only broke my wrist twice and it wasn't even bad enough to get it reset. I wear contacts/glasses. And I just have some acid reflux.

I have no trouble with the law. I never even accrued a traffic violation yet.

I did take a hit of a joint when I was 14 just one time.

I am not in debt. I have no credit problems (I don't even have credit though).

Does it sound like I stand a good chance on landing an intel job? And if I do does anyone have any idea how full that position is?

I thank you all in advance for any help. This is one job that not only do I think I will enjoy, but I also think my superior analytical skills will make me an top notch IS. = D

If you want to join as an officer in an intel-like field, your options are Intel Officer and Information Warfare Officer. IS is an enlisted rating.

Unless you have serious foreign language skills and/or very strong prior leadership experience, I would say your chances are poor. There are a LOT of other candidates out there with equal or better-perhaps much better--qualifications and a very limited number of slots. Do not take it personally, but its the truth. I certainly would not give up my hopes until you have pursued the matter with an officer recruiter, but I would not give ANYBODY any assurances that they could easily walk into such a slot.

You can always go enlisted first, get your clearance and establish a good track record, and then apply for OCS. Or you can pursue the civilian intel route, now or after serving as enlisted. There are a number of internship programs available to break into military intelligence.

Oh, Ok, I thought IS was just the general description of the job. Thanks for clearing it up. In either case, then, yes, I would be trying to join up as an intel-officer.

You need to get a job in the Intel field. You can get a job with a contractor or try to get a job with a federal agency. Look into the NSA, FBI, CIA, DIA, ONI, etc. On the contractor side there are lots of them, so look for a job fair. SAIC is one you can look up. You probably should be willing to move to the Washington DC area. There are tons of Intel jobs here. Get your butt up here. Good luck. I would say based on my experience your GPA is only going to be part of puzzle so to speak.

You would need to put together a Direct Commission Officer (DCO) package. Call the Navy recruiter in your area and ask to get in touch with the DCO recruiter. Good luck. It will probably take you about 6 months to a year to go through the process and another year if you are passed over the first time as most people are.

I would also suggest you go enlisted as well. I think that is worth about 10 points on the overall eval of you.

Also, the main thing they are looking for are leaders, so you need to beef that up if you don't have it.

You have virtually zero chance of getting hired on with a contractor unless you already have a clearance...none of the firms I have worked for or for whom my contract employees now work will take individuals without clearances.

You can try apply directly to a federal agency at an entry level position...unfortunately, your degree probably will not get you far as philosophy is not in demand.

I concur that your best bet at this stage is to try to go enlisted first.

Wuming, simply call up an Officer recuiter and ask to meet with him face-to-face to discuss your competitiveness.

You'll want to provide him with basic information about yourself, including a recent resume.

The DCO program is a competitive one, however, the board selects people from a wide swath of backgrounds.