Just wondering if anyone can share a little more info on this rate for me. Im going to bootcamp in 6 days, and Im coming out as a Non-Rate. I did the 6 year enlistment and took the E-3 pay grade. How does one move from a Non-Rate to a MK rate? I was really wanting to do the airman program and try to have my name put on the AST list. Just found out that rate is the slowest on promotions. I'm looking to make this a career. Would like to know how much this Rate works and with the Law Enforcement. I have never really been a get down and dirty type of female, But heard that this rate does it all and is the heart of the CG.
MK is the jack-of-all-trades RATING. however, don't base advancement levels on what job you want. do something that makes you happy, i've seen too many people in my short career in the cg miserable because they either a. got guaranteed school and didn't really know what the job entailed, just went off the short description off our recruiting website, or b. chose the rating because it got them to school faster, or because it had a percieved high advancement trend.
i understand money is important, but you have to be at least moderately happy with how you're earning your check.
that being said, we do a lot of LE, i've never done it, never wanted to. i'm happy being a grease monkey. just depends on where you're stationed.
my best advice is to get out to the fleet, go to a big boat, and see what all of the ratings do, their pros and cons and what-not. then make your decision as to what will make you the happiest.
and to put it in perspective, MK's are everywhere, so you can do a lot of cool stuff, and are not as limited to X amount of locations like other ratings.
I can tell you my experiences... I've been in just over 7.5 years and I dove into the SAR (search and rescue) and LE (law enforcement) field for 6 years at a small boat station and patrol boat. I now found myself loving the job in the Aids to Navigation Field (ATON). Honestly, I have loved the MK rating every step of the way. At the small boat station I was the only EMT and spent many countless hours on search and rescue cases... never a dull moment. You have an oppurtunity to affect many realms of the CG's missions. That's the beauty... you can move from LE to SAR to ATON or wherever. But as with anything it is what you make of it. It's your choice. Get out there and get a feel for the different jobs of the Coast Guard and I don't mean just the unit you are assigned. Stop by some local units and check out what they do. You have already made a great choice by joining this service. I wish you luck. Your first few months at your new unit will be tough, there are many things one must get aquainted to in a military service. Don't let that get you down though. Just set your goals high and do not let anything stop you from getting there.
In my time in the Guard as a MK I have been a Boat coxn, Boat engineer Boarding officer, Salavge crew leader, worked in engine rooms on seven different ships, plowed snow at a loran sta.EPO at a loran Sta, EPO on a Bouy tender, ran the bouy deck, built light structures, painted and repaired light houses, pored concrete, rebuilt many engines, helped rebuild a galley, Main prop chief, and many other jobs along the way. Now if little are afraid of dirt under your nails, Maybe the MK rate is not for you. A good test is take some diesel fuel and put a dab behing your ears and on your neck. If you can stand the smell of that you will make a great MK. There are many good female MK's out there. You could be one of them.
I am a girl Mk2 and i love it. If you are good at problem solving and visualizing how stuff works you will do fine regardless of how much mechanical knowhow you have right now, although it helps. I came in knowing pretty much nothing more than basics about how engines work. Just make sure you arent afraid to look a little dumb and ask a million questions and dive into any manual you can get you hands on and DONT MIND getting filthy dirty in oil, soot, grease whatever and tear some stuff apart.
I would however go to a boat first and see what all the ratings do. I was originally came in to be a MST because i had a biology degree in college but they didnt have guaranteed a-school open so i went out into the fleet - BEST thing that ever happened to me, because i was definitely meant to be an MK and not an MST. lol So have fun at bootcamp!
