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I have read countless threads that conclude, in general, law students without WE are at a disadvantage during OCI. I am considering enlisting in the US Army through OCS following graduation this May. Would this type of WE be conducive to enhancing one's chances at a BigLaw job, or will it be less well-regarded than someone who worked in the corporate world?

I sincerely hope you are not planning on enlisting to heighten your chances for BigLaw down the road.

Crim wrote:I sincerely hope you are not planning on enlisting to heighten your chances for BigLaw down the road.

Nope, I just believe in military service. I was just wondering if it would be detrimental, since being an attorney is also one of my long-term goals.

Military service (since it sounds like you're doing it for the right reasons) goes together very well with an MBA. A lot of military types end up in consulting, banking and industry. I imagine BigLaw probably has the same respect for veteras that big-business does.

Former Marine. Recent grad. Yes, military service is impressive to employers.

More importantly, though, it is a once in a life time experience: once you hit 28 or so, you will never serve. Further, the discipline, ledership skills, confidence and planning/organizational skills will put you in a great position in every job you ever have ever again.

Knowing how to call for fire is less applicable but is fucking fun to learn.

You will have tested yourself in a harsh environment (now much more so than when I served). You will also have amazing stories and experiences that you will carry with you forever.

All that said, only do it if you really want to be a military officer. It is a rough life. The only gun shot I ever personally treated was self-inflicted to the foot of a tired recruit during the height of a South Carolina summer and is an amusing story (well, aside from the fact that he will forever be missing large chunks of foot bone and never walked quite the same way again... M-16s are no joke that was a fair sized exit wound, but I digress). The gun shots and bomb wounds you will probably see are not amusing at all and you are likely to see quite a lot of them.

One final point, you are not "enlisting" as an officer. You are receiving a commission. So get that straight.

I should add that I landed every position in my adult life due to my Marine training/background. Shit just kind of built on that, if you know what I mean.

Anonymous User wrote:I have read countless threads that conclude, in general, law students without WE are at a disadvantage during OCI. I am considering enlisting in the US Army through OCS following graduation this May. Would this type of WE be conducive to enhancing one's chances at a BigLaw job, or will it be less well-regarded than someone who worked in the corporate world?

If you want to serve, then serve. But, don't go into the military unless you actually want to serve.

vamedic03 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I have read countless threads that conclude, in general, law students without WE are at a disadvantage during OCI. I am considering enlisting in the US Army through OCS following graduation this May. Would this type of WE be conducive to enhancing one's chances at a BigLaw job, or will it be less well-regarded than someone who worked in the corporate world?

If you want to serve, then serve. But, don't go into the military unless you actually want to serve.

And if you want to "serve" enlist.


Sorry Voyager but I like my rank on my biceps like a man not on my collar like a trained dog.

Of course I jest... We lowly enlisted men wear rank on the collar sometimes to

SemperLegal wrote:

vamedic03 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I have read countless threads that conclude, in general, law students without WE are at a disadvantage during OCI. I am considering enlisting in the US Army through OCS following graduation this May. Would this type of WE be conducive to enhancing one's chances at a BigLaw job, or will it be less well-regarded than someone who worked in the corporate world?

If you want to serve, then serve. But, don't go into the military unless you actually want to serve.

And if you want to "serve" enlist.


Sorry Voyager but I like my rank on my biceps like a man not on my collar like a trained dog.

Of course I jest... We lowly enlisted men wear rank on the collar sometimes to

heh. gotta say that I was repeatedly blessed with truly outstanding NCOs. learned a ton from them. they were critical to the success of my various units. never meant to imply disrespect. simply was saying that the OP was not enlisting.

Voyager wrote:
heh. gotta say that I was repeatedly blessed with truly outstanding NCOs. learned a ton from them. they were critical to the success of my various units. never meant to imply disrespect. simply was saying that the OP was not enlisting.

And I was just playing around I had some very good officers, one was even a JD. Always good to see a devil in law school, especially one not in my cycle! Wish you nothing but the best.


To the OP: Not to beat a dead horse but enlisting for OCI is absolutely bizare. If you want to serve we would love to have you, but if you want to build your resume or earn some cash go work for a defense contractor and deploy to a combat zone.

I agree with what everyone has said here - DO NOT JOIN THE MILITARY UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE IN THE MILITARY. Please believe me when I tell you that it is a very hard life, especially if you do not find it rewarding because you want to be there.

That said..... I spent 5 years in the military between undergrad and law school. I am currently a 2L at a T10 school (where I got in with lower than average LSATS and GPA.) I have average grades here and I participated in OCI. I did 22 on campus interviews, received 20 call backs, accepted 11 call backs and got 11 offers. I will be going to a V10 this summer. There is NO DOUBT in my mind that the reason I did so well with big law was due to my military experience.

-You don't enlist when you go to OCS.

-Military experience is very valuable and you will always treasure it.

-There are many reasons one might want to be an Army officer but doing well at OCI should not be one of them.

-That said, my experience has been similar to the poster above me: my military experience has been critical in the successes I have had in landing all manner of exclusive jobs.

Just wanted to clarify that for Army OCS college option you technically are enlisting, contrary to what the previous posters said. You enlist as a 09S (Officer Candidate), go to basic as an E4, get promoted to E5 at the end of basic/start of OCS, do OCS and get commissioned as a 2LT at that time. You incur a 3 year service obligation from the date of your commission and should be eligible for 100% Post 9-11 GI Bill benefits when you decide to get out unless you had the Army pay back undergrad student loans, in which case, the clock for GI Bill eligibility starts after your initial 3 years are done. This is the route I took, so PM me if you have any questions about the process. Serving the country is definitely worth it and you also get some great benefits for doing it.