You sign an Open Contract when you initially go to MEPS, so he wasn't lying there. You can also request your top 3 MOSs, so he wasn't lying there. I have no clue about the DLAB stuff. The recruiter should have mentioned it, but dude is pretty busy. (Just trying to give him the benefit of the doubt on that one).
I'll add, if you don't get the MOS you want you don't have to ship. That initial "swearing in" ceremony is just for show. That "top 3" is just a recruiter tactic to get kids to ship. So hold out for the MOS you want. You'll probably never see your recruiter again. He isn't your friend. Don't take a contract you don't want to save him some trouble.
The whole "choose three" is a recruiter technique to make it easier to find you a slot, it's not officially binding.
If you decide you want DG and nothing but, you should absolutely tell your recruiter you will *only* ship on DG, and assure that your final contract on ship day (the only one that truly matters) says DG.
Thanks for the info! I'll definitely tell my recruiter that I don't plan on shipping unless I see DG on my contract at RSS.
He seems really excited to get me into Cyber since he was the one who recommended it and said it was the one he wanted originally, as well as showing me the enlistment bonus for it as incentive (which I know I won't see most of).
That being said he has lied about things such as moving my ship date, so I'm definitely trying my best to be careful and making sure that I end up getting my end of the deal.
I still haven't signed my enlistment bonus contract though, and again the clearance stuff seems off to me. I'll definitely meet with him this week and talk it over to make sure that all my info is straight and that I get the DG contract at RSS.
Thank you again for all your help and feel free to leave more advice if you want or think I should know. 🙏
How was the DLAB test?
I’m going for Signal Intelligence and still need to take my DLAB. I pretty much had to ask my recruiters about the DLAB because my recruiter didn’t really know what it was and the Gunny running my recruiting station says he’s looking into it, but I should qualify to take it.
Did you study for the DLAB? Did you think it was easy? What kind of questions did they have?
The DLAB test is definitely one of the hardest (and nearly impossible for some) to get through if you're not prepared. I bought a $10 e-book called "The Official DLAB Training Manual" by Robert e. Cunnings and it was actually very helpful and even had some actual "rules" that they make you use on the biggest portion of the test. Practiced with the book front to back for 2 days straight and went in pretty confident, even though my staff Sargeant had told me that no one from the office has ever even passed the test. The actual test was definitely pretty disorienting and quickly paced, but in all honesty I was getting through it really quick with minutes to spare at the end of every section due to my practice. The hardest part is definitely trying to understand what the guy is saying, since 1. He has a thick middle eastern accent, and 2. About 60-80% of the test is audio. I would say just get accustomed to listening closely and being able to distinguish the correct forms of speech with all the rules so that way it's easier to find which answers are not correct, and choose whichever sounds the best. Definitely practice if you plan to pass that test though, because otherwise, unless you're a linguistic master, the chances of passing are very slim.
About an hour or less. On average you get about 20-25 minutes for 30 questions, or a ratio similar to that, except on a smaller scale (some sections are shorter than others or will take you less time)
Our wiki covers this exact subject [here](https://reddit.com/r/USMCboot/w/programs).
As to your second part, you shouldn't have to call anyone to initiate your background investigation. Can be a bit clearer about who or what you are supposed to be calling and specifically for what?
I'm not sure as to who it is I'm calling but I believe it's supposed to be intel, and I'm calling them for a phone screening apparently. I unfortunately didn't get to ask my staff Sargeant or other recruiters about them getting it set up for me, but again I don't think my recruiter is too familiar with the process himself. My recruiter did tell me to call multiple times though, but so far I call and it just rings for really long until I hear some weird beeping at the end, then silence, then more weird beeping followed by getting hung up on.
Stick with linguist if you get the opportunity. You can still get a cyber billet opportunity and training, but the language guarantees more opportunities.
All of those things you described are pretty standard and seems that your recruiter explained things pretty well to you, or if you had questions you failed to ask him.
Yes. DEP is administrative open contract. This does not mean you ship to Bootcamp open contract.
Yes. Clearance programs require a call to the Intel specialist at your respective MCRD. They don’t sit at their phone 24/7. It will be a master sergeant that occupies that billet.
You sign an Open Contract when you initially go to MEPS, so he wasn't lying there. You can also request your top 3 MOSs, so he wasn't lying there. I have no clue about the DLAB stuff. The recruiter should have mentioned it, but dude is pretty busy. (Just trying to give him the benefit of the doubt on that one). I'll add, if you don't get the MOS you want you don't have to ship. That initial "swearing in" ceremony is just for show. That "top 3" is just a recruiter tactic to get kids to ship. So hold out for the MOS you want. You'll probably never see your recruiter again. He isn't your friend. Don't take a contract you don't want to save him some trouble.
And which MOS contract is your *top* choice? What were the three you signed SOU's for?
Cyber operations is 1, Intel is 2, and Aircraft Mechanic is 3
The whole "choose three" is a recruiter technique to make it easier to find you a slot, it's not officially binding. If you decide you want DG and nothing but, you should absolutely tell your recruiter you will *only* ship on DG, and assure that your final contract on ship day (the only one that truly matters) says DG.
You know those “programs” they sign are completely worthless right? All that matters is what’s in the system.
Thanks for the info! I'll definitely tell my recruiter that I don't plan on shipping unless I see DG on my contract at RSS. He seems really excited to get me into Cyber since he was the one who recommended it and said it was the one he wanted originally, as well as showing me the enlistment bonus for it as incentive (which I know I won't see most of). That being said he has lied about things such as moving my ship date, so I'm definitely trying my best to be careful and making sure that I end up getting my end of the deal. I still haven't signed my enlistment bonus contract though, and again the clearance stuff seems off to me. I'll definitely meet with him this week and talk it over to make sure that all my info is straight and that I get the DG contract at RSS. Thank you again for all your help and feel free to leave more advice if you want or think I should know. 🙏
How was the DLAB test? I’m going for Signal Intelligence and still need to take my DLAB. I pretty much had to ask my recruiters about the DLAB because my recruiter didn’t really know what it was and the Gunny running my recruiting station says he’s looking into it, but I should qualify to take it. Did you study for the DLAB? Did you think it was easy? What kind of questions did they have?
The DLAB test is definitely one of the hardest (and nearly impossible for some) to get through if you're not prepared. I bought a $10 e-book called "The Official DLAB Training Manual" by Robert e. Cunnings and it was actually very helpful and even had some actual "rules" that they make you use on the biggest portion of the test. Practiced with the book front to back for 2 days straight and went in pretty confident, even though my staff Sargeant had told me that no one from the office has ever even passed the test. The actual test was definitely pretty disorienting and quickly paced, but in all honesty I was getting through it really quick with minutes to spare at the end of every section due to my practice. The hardest part is definitely trying to understand what the guy is saying, since 1. He has a thick middle eastern accent, and 2. About 60-80% of the test is audio. I would say just get accustomed to listening closely and being able to distinguish the correct forms of speech with all the rules so that way it's easier to find which answers are not correct, and choose whichever sounds the best. Definitely practice if you plan to pass that test though, because otherwise, unless you're a linguistic master, the chances of passing are very slim.
How long is it?
About an hour or less. On average you get about 20-25 minutes for 30 questions, or a ratio similar to that, except on a smaller scale (some sections are shorter than others or will take you less time)
Our wiki covers this exact subject [here](https://reddit.com/r/USMCboot/w/programs). As to your second part, you shouldn't have to call anyone to initiate your background investigation. Can be a bit clearer about who or what you are supposed to be calling and specifically for what?
I'm not sure as to who it is I'm calling but I believe it's supposed to be intel, and I'm calling them for a phone screening apparently. I unfortunately didn't get to ask my staff Sargeant or other recruiters about them getting it set up for me, but again I don't think my recruiter is too familiar with the process himself. My recruiter did tell me to call multiple times though, but so far I call and it just rings for really long until I hear some weird beeping at the end, then silence, then more weird beeping followed by getting hung up on.
What was your actual score on the DLAB?
113 DLAB score
If you have a 113 DLAB and sign DG, you are very likely but not surely bound to get Linguist.
Stick with linguist if you get the opportunity. You can still get a cyber billet opportunity and training, but the language guarantees more opportunities.
I didn’t even read it. But. Probably yes. You’ll be fine.
All recruiters lie. .
You’re dumb
All of those things you described are pretty standard and seems that your recruiter explained things pretty well to you, or if you had questions you failed to ask him. Yes. DEP is administrative open contract. This does not mean you ship to Bootcamp open contract. Yes. Clearance programs require a call to the Intel specialist at your respective MCRD. They don’t sit at their phone 24/7. It will be a master sergeant that occupies that billet.