Besides getting on-the-job training in your chosen field, you also earn money for college, should you decide to continue your education upon leaving the military. Unlike civilian colleges and universities, in the Marine Corps you receive money while training in your field, and you receive free room and board. Many businesses actually give hiring precedence to those with military backgrounds. Lockheed Martin, Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly are just a few examples of companies who actively hire military veterans. There are over a hundred who do, and the list keeps growing.
You can choose the fields of intelligence, infantry, field artillery or ammunition and explosives ordnance removal. Besides the traditionally military fields, you can receive your MOS in personnel and administration, engineering, auditing, maintenance, chemistry, food service, avionics, legal services, public affairs, logistics and data systems. You can even choose a field in band, if a career in music is your dream. Become a weather observer and get a head start on a meteorological career. Only after you receive your MOS will you receive a Permanent Duty Station assignment.
Depending on your MOS, you can earn a bonus if you choose a specialty in a high demand field, for example, a skilled translator in Middle or Near Eastern languages -- especially Farsi -- could receive thousands of dollars in bonus money for enlisting. You also may be eligible for a shipping bonus, if you agree to report to recruit training or "ship out" on a certain date.
Camp Lejeune in North Carolina is where you will receive training in the clerical fields, some infantry positions, auditing, legal services and utilities. At Camp Pendleton, in California, you will receive training in the infantry, and tank and amphibian tractor and repair. If aviation is your dream, you will most likely be shipped to Pensacola, Florida. Other bases are located in Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Alabama, Virginia, Maryland, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.