military Forum

[northwood]

I will be starting my first year of law school come august(T3 in the state where I want to live and work). While I am aiming for top 10%, realistically I figure to be around median for the duration of my time. I am worried about job prospects, and paying back my loans.- I have a partial scholarship- but since its not a full ride + living expenses, I will be taking out loans. I will be 30 when I graduate. My question is this for people in the military. Will I be too old to join up if I can't find a job? I do not want to join the military, but I am working on an emergecy backup plan, if all else fails. ( I try to plan for as many possible outcomes so I wont have the deer inthe headlights look when something unexpected does come up)

[Kswizzie]

I'm in ROTC so I am more familiar with the officer side of things. If you want to be an officer you have to commission before your 35th birthday.

[malxneal]

With applicants who have no prior service, the age cut off for Air Force is 35 at the time of commissioning which usually occurs within a year of law school graduation. For Army and Navy the cut off is age 42 (not sure about the Marines or Coast Guard). The point being they want you to be able to do at least 20 years of service before a certain age (age 62 for the Army). For those like myself with prior service the age limit goes up for every year of active service. Either way, you won't have to worry about the age limit, but you should focus on 1) doing as well as you can in law school and 2) maintaining some level of physical fitness in order to pass military fitness standards. I have spent the last 10 years in the military and hope to spend the next 10 after graduation as a JAG. Emergency plan or not, its not a bad living.

Don't forget the military route also has a loan repayment program depending on the branch of service!

[iShotFirst]

Will I be too old to join up if I can't find a job? I do not want to join the military, but I am working on an emergecy backup plan, if all else fails.

How do you think you are going to get a commission as a military JAG with this attitude? It's not like the only people who join JAG can't get a job anywhere else. JAG is a highly sought after commission and this attitude will get you no favours.

[selfloathingtransfer]

There's a pretty good forum on this here - http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... litary+law - and several others. Just use the advanced forum search.

[northwood]

Will I be too old to join up if I can't find a job? I do not want to join the military, but I am working on an emergecy backup plan, if all else fails.

How do you think you are going to get a commission as a military JAG with this attitude? It's not like the only people who join JAG can't get a job anywhere else. JAG is a highly sought after commission and this attitude will get you no favours.

I am not thinking about joining the JAG Corps. I am not interested in military law. I was only trying to determine if joining the military would still be an option for me at the age of 30 ( after law school) or if I would be too old.

[MrKappus]

I am not thinking about joining the JAG Corps. I am not interested in military law. I was only trying to determine if joining the military would still be an option for me at the age of 30 ( after law school) or if I would be too old.

Yeah...ShotFirst needs to read more carefully. It was quite clear that "join up" =/= JAG. Sounds like you're good to go if things at the T3 don't work out as you hope.

[iShotFirst]

My apologies. Bit sensitive about the topic.

[theskippa10]

google is your friend

[northwood]

Ishot first- no worries.. its all good

[mmribail]

I am very interested in the JAG. I have a number of questions that I hope someone on here is able to answer.

1) What is the JAG's position on transfer students?
2) Do they have a position on what law school you go to like big law does?
3) How about grades? (I am currently in the top 12%). Do they even care and
if they do is that enough to get me in?
4) How do they determine pay (I know its by rank but...)? Do they take into account the time in service you already have. I currently have 6 years in the reserves and two more years in the IRR. Will they count any of that towards my commission?
5) Are you able to choose what type of military law you want to go into?

[mmribail]

come on, cant anyone help me out?

[malxneal]

I am very interested in the JAG. I have a number of questions that I hope someone on here is able to answer.

1) What is the JAG's position on transfer students?
2) Do they have a position on what law school you go to like big law does?
3) How about grades? (I am currently in the top 12%). Do they even care and
if they do is that enough to get me in?
4) How do they determine pay (I know its by rank but...)? Do they take into account the time in service you already have. I currently have 6 years in the reserves and two more years in the IRR. Will they count any of that towards my commission?
5) Are you able to choose what type of military law you want to go into?

mmribail, from looking at the past list of accepted JAGs and where they went to school, it would seem like where you go to school matters less than it would in biglaw. There were candidates on the list from T14 to tier 4. I think the important thing is attitude, showing you are committed to public service /military service, as well as good grades in school. I would hardly think a transfer matters either as long as no academic disciplinary issues are involved. And yes, your prior service time does count towards pay, but not completely towards retirement. In other words, if you were to get commissioned you would be commissioned as an O-2 (as most JAGs are) but with 6 years on the pay scale, BUT for an ACTIVE DUTY retirement you would still have to do close to 20 years. IRR time does not count, but still more than someone who is O-2 with less than 2 years. Not sure about your last question, but all question above can be answered by a JAG recruiter.

[Kswizzie]

A buddy of mine with median-ish grades at a top 25 didn't get picked up but he had no prior military involvement from talking to JAGs I have heard that it is easier if you are coming from ROTC and getting a delay to go to Law School or are already active duty. I am talking Air Force cause those are the only people I have had contact with not sure about Navy/ Army.