Present Career, Career Interest, and the Value of a College EducationPresent Career, Career Interest, and the Value of a College EducationThe Value of a College Education in present day can be invaluable to your career goals. Today’s employers look for personnel that can bring a lot more to the company or the table per say. In the past all you required was a high school diploma and some experience and that would suffice for some employers. Moreover and an Associate Degree was all that you needed to climb the corporate ladder.
In 1997 when I first joined the Navy it was well known that just having a General Education Diploma or GED would be more than enough to go “Full Speed Ahead” (“The U.S. Navy”, 1997) in the Navy. At that point in my life that was all I had and I was not able to get any further in my education since I was working two jobs just to be able to meet all my financial and personal commitments. In the first 5 years of my career in the Navy I started as a Fireman and quickly advanced to the rate of Machinist Mate 1st Class or MM1. At this point having a college education did not play a big role in advancing or getting paid any more or less. In the fore coming years there was talk about having to have a Bachelors Degree if a Chief wanted to advance to Senior Chief, but still there was no real reason to get a degree since the Navy retracted the requirement for a degree. In the ten years that I spent as an MM1 I was assigned to many different roles and some you would think that some type of college education would be a prerequisite but there was none. I was the Leading Petty Officer (LPO) of a Steam Propulsion plant, the equivalent of a civilian Power Plant Manager that requires an Engineering Degree, the second position that I held was the Engineering Department LPO or in the civilian sector the equivalent would be a departmental manager. I also had an instructor position for two years that requires at a minimum of an Instructor or Facilitator Certification. All of my previous positions have required one type of certification or degree to some extent, but it was never required.
As I stated before, when I initially joined the Navy there was no real requirement for a degree or even a certification to be a manager or instructor. As the years progressed, the Navy’s top ranking people started to shift their thinking and encouraged everyone to get a minimum of an Associate Degree. Now it has become more common to see a 1st Class with a Bachelors degree, a Chief with a minimum of a Bachelor and the higher the pay-grade the higher the degree they posses. In 2009 it became a requirement that Chiefs and senior enlisted have a degree. Beginning in fiscal year 2011, an associates degree or equivalent that is rating-relevant will be a prerequisite for advancement to senior chief petty officer for active and reserve personnel (“E-8 associate degree,” 2005). In the current
E-8 Associate B (Adm. degree) system, Chief Petty Officer is considered “the Executive Officer” and when his/her career status and service level are determined as an Associate Officer, they will receive a Bachelors Degree and/or Associate Degree in their field, and shall earn an Assistant Assistant Chief degree‏(E-4 assistant degree,⅗ E-6 Associate Degree,↙ 2008). The Chief Petty Officer of the Marine Corps must be certified by the Marine Corps Department of Defense (COMD). Each Marine Corps Marine-designate may choose other degrees, and the department may choose what degrees it accredits them
to earn. The Marine Corps Department of Defense administers these programs, and all the Marines of the Marine Corps and their families are free to choose degrees. After completion of their military service, they can choose either an associate degree program for their degree-to, Bachelors degree program or Associate (Adm.) degree for that Marine Corps’ rank.
Note: All Marines of the Army and Marine Corps who have served on active duty and not currently retired have a Bachelor as of Feb. 1, 2009.
A. Chief Petty Officer • Associate Chief Petty Officer’s Adm Degree Rank Officer Adm Degrees Rank 1 Assistant Chief Petty Officer 1 Associate Chief Petty Officer 2 Senior Chief Petty Officer 2.1 Associate Chief Petty Officer 2 Senior Chief Petty Officer 2.2 Associate Chief Petty Officer 0 Chief Petty Officer Bachelor (Rank,1) Bachelor (Rank,1) Bachelor (Rank,1) Associate Chief Petty Officer Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Public Health Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor in Business Administration Bachelor in Education Bachelor of Public Service Bachelor in Public Service Bachelor in Science Master of Arts Master of Science Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Science Master of Science Bachelor of Arts Associate Member Apprentice Assistant Chief Petty Officer 1 Associate Chief Petty Officer 2 Associate Chief Petty Officer 1. Senior Chief Petty Officer 2. Senior Assistant Chief Petty Officer 1.
B. Petty Officer Adm Adm Degrees Rank Engineer Adm Degrees Rank 1 Engineer Adm Degree Rank Engineer Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Science Master of Science Bachelor of Science Master of Science Master of Science Master of Science Master of Science Master of Science Master of Science Master of Science Master of Science Master of Engineering Master of Engineering Master of Science Master of Engineering Master of Science Master of Science Master of Engineering Master of Science Master of Engineering Master of Science Master of Science Master of Science Master of Engineering Master of Science Masters of Science Master of Engineering Master of Engineering M.S. Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agricultural Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agricultural Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Associate Senior Senior Associate Senior Associate Senior Associate Senior Associate Senior
E-8 Associate B (Adm. degree) system, Chief Petty Officer is considered “the Executive Officer” and when his/her career status and service level are determined as an Associate Officer, they will receive a Bachelors Degree and/or Associate Degree in their field, and shall earn an Assistant Assistant Chief degree‏(E-4 assistant degree,⅗ E-6 Associate Degree,↙ 2008). The Chief Petty Officer of the Marine Corps must be certified by the Marine Corps Department of Defense (COMD). Each Marine Corps Marine-designate may choose other degrees, and the department may choose what degrees it accredits them
to earn. The Marine Corps Department of Defense administers these programs, and all the Marines of the Marine Corps and their families are free to choose degrees. After completion of their military service, they can choose either an associate degree program for their degree-to, Bachelors degree program or Associate (Adm.) degree for that Marine Corps’ rank.
Note: All Marines of the Army and Marine Corps who have served on active duty and not currently retired have a Bachelor as of Feb. 1, 2009.
A. Chief Petty Officer • Associate Chief Petty Officer’s Adm Degree Rank Officer Adm Degrees Rank 1 Assistant Chief Petty Officer 1 Associate Chief Petty Officer 2 Senior Chief Petty Officer 2.1 Associate Chief Petty Officer 2 Senior Chief Petty Officer 2.2 Associate Chief Petty Officer 0 Chief Petty Officer Bachelor (Rank,1) Bachelor (Rank,1) Bachelor (Rank,1) Associate Chief Petty Officer Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Public Health Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor in Business Administration Bachelor in Education Bachelor of Public Service Bachelor in Public Service Bachelor in Science Master of Arts Master of Science Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Science Master of Science Bachelor of Arts Associate Member Apprentice Assistant Chief Petty Officer 1 Associate Chief Petty Officer 2 Associate Chief Petty Officer 1. Senior Chief Petty Officer 2. Senior Assistant Chief Petty Officer 1.
B. Petty Officer Adm Adm Degrees Rank Engineer Adm Degrees Rank 1 Engineer Adm Degree Rank Engineer Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Science Master of Science Bachelor of Science Master of Science Master of Science Master of Science Master of Science Master of Science Master of Science Master of Science Master of Science Master of Engineering Master of Engineering Master of Science Master of Engineering Master of Science Master of Science Master of Engineering Master of Science Master of Engineering Master of Science Master of Science Master of Science Master of Engineering Master of Science Masters of Science Master of Engineering Master of Engineering M.S. Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agricultural Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agricultural Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Bachelor of Agriculture Associate Senior Senior Associate Senior Associate Senior Associate Senior Associate Senior