Officer question - IT...?

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Permalink Reply by Hans, The Old Salt on September 7, 2009 at 11:17am

An IT is an enlisted rating, not an officer field.

If you get your degree in IT, you would obviously be a very good fit for the IT rating but a vacancy would need to exist at the time you apply to enlist.

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Permalink Reply by George A on September 7, 2009 at 12:08pm

I appreciate the response, but that response kind of contradicts your statements.

You say I can't be an IT as an officer, but If i get my bachelors in IT, I can work in the IT field as an officer...?

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Permalink Reply by Hans, The Old Salt on September 7, 2009 at 1:54pm

Enlisted people work "in the trades" like IT, Cryptology, etc.

Officers are "managers", and while they might be the Division Officer for the IT crew, they don't "do IT work".

A new officer with a degree in IT wouldn't necessarily be assigned duties in managing IT's, and if they did, it would only be for a limited time, as officers are expected to gain a broad range of operational experience ultimately leading to command of warships.

An enlisted person who went to Navy IT school would work in IT for the duration of their career, but if they "bumped up" to officer (a very difficult accomplishment) their duties wouldn't likely remain in IT.

(By the way, I am a retired Master Chief IT, so have some background in the career path.)

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Permalink Reply by George A on September 7, 2009 at 2:50pm

Ah, ok. thanks for specifying a little more for me. Like Ive stated before, nothing really interests me besides the IT field. With that said, would me enlisting as IT and staying in the service until I decide to "retire" be the best choice?


If thats the case, I might just get my degree while in the service. Which brings me to my next question; Do you get paid more or the same between having a bachelors or masters in IT?

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Permalink Reply by Hans, The Old Salt on September 8, 2009 at 10:15am

George A said:

Which brings me to my next question; Do you get paid more or the same between having a bachelors or masters in IT?

Your pay will not directly have anything to do with your academic degree, but will be based on your Navy paygrade ("rank").

Having said that, Navy advancement is based on competitive examinations and performance evaluation marks, so a person with a Masters degree would perhaps advance quicker (and thus earn more).

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Permalink Reply by George A on September 8, 2009 at 10:32am

Thank you, again, for answering all my questions and being the only person to respond to my cry for help, ha.

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Permalink Reply by Hans, The Old Salt on September 20, 2009 at 11:19pm

JohnM said:

Ok, Old Salt. You gave us a good description of the old Unrestricted Line Officer, the backbone of the Navy whose career goal is to retire as an Admiral commanding a fleet.

Now welcome to the 21st century, and the era of the Navy Information Warfare Officer.

Hi John.

I'm familiar with IWO's.

They are not IT guys; they are the O-gang equivalent of CT's and IS's.

An IT degree, bachelor or masters, would not likely lead to an IWO commission.

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Permalink Reply by vince garcia on September 21, 2009 at 1:07am

George.

The navy calls what you want to be an IP - Information Professional (1600 designator ). An Officer designator
This site has more info: http://www.npc.navy.mil/Officer/Intelligence_Information/IPO/

In short, most IPs I know are like the equivalents of CIOs of fortune 500 businesses. Most of the people who responded to your question are off a bit. The IP is a new community in the Navy designed to make officers more smart about leading technology and running Navy Information Systems. So it is about working with computers on a much higher level. Not your Microsoft MCSE, devry institute kind of job....It is a White Collar job.

V/r
Commander Vince Garcia
USN

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