35W and 35M HUMINT Enlistment Bonus Questions?

2020-06-25T20:56:52-04:00

I want to join as HUMINT, both 35W and 35M are HUMINT.

35W has a $40k bonus, 35M has an $18k bonus.

After doing some research on Reddit, the difference is that 35W has language school, and 35M does not?

If I'm not able to pass language school as a 35W, would my whole bonus get cut? Or will I just end up receiving $18k instead of the original $40k?

Extra questions: Is Mandarin Chinese in demand? I'm interested in learning either Chinese or Korean (the North Korean variant).

And is anyone here a HUMINT warrant officer? Really interested in going the warrant route and making this my career.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 25 at 2020 8:59 PM

2020-06-25T20:59:29-04:00

PM me and I will answer some of your questions as a former recruiter, you are searching/researching in the wrong area.

If you can’t reach out to me, I suggest you sit down with a professional recruiter and have them answer your questions.

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 25 at 2020 8:59 PM

2020-06-25T20:59:44-04:00

Mandarin has been an ‘in demand’ language for several years. The Defense Language Institute is a no-joke school, but worth it if you put in the effort. I’m a CI WO, but was a HUMINT soldier first, I did Mandarin at DLI, and I survived.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jun 25 at 2020 9:02 PM

2020-06-25T21:02:16-04:00

Aleena Dadayan Humint? Nothing Wrong with Wanting to be 007. Don't Discount SIGINT, ELINT, COMINT, Counter-Intel. Don't Paint Yourself Into a Corner. Expand You Horizons a Bit. Respectfully CTO1.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 25 at 2020 9:25 PM

2020-06-25T21:25:28-04:00

I would first recommend slowing down and processing out what it is you actually want to do before jumping to the "I want to be a Warrant officer" route which is going to take at least 6 years to even be considered for warrant. If you enlist as a 35W which is literally just a Human Intelligence Collector Recruit and in your contract it say you will attend DLI and receive a bonus of $40,000, you must successfully complete all training as the bonus is tied to the MOS. You do not receive any of the bonus until you put in the enlistment bonus paperwork at your first duty station. As for enlisting as a 35M, when you get to Fort Huachuca, they literally just split the class in half and half go to DLI, and have do not. You must also be able to receive a TS/SCI clearance. As a Chinese Mandarin 35M, you will spend a majority of your career on the west coast or pacific.

Response by SSG Brian G. made Jun 26 at 2020 6:32 AM

2020-06-26T06:32:31-04:00

Not the way it works. You enlist for 1 MOS and that MOS has a bonus attached to it. You must complete all parts of that MOS training and qualifications to receive the bonus. If you fail to meet the qualifications/training of that MOS you do not default down to another MOS and pickup a bonus. You either get recycled to do the class over or you get reclassed to needs of the army.

Response by SFC Grant Ross made Jun 27 at 2020 5:17 PM

2020-06-27T17:17:31-04:00

You have to achieve certain steps before applying to be a Warrant Officer. Choose your career wisely, also I’d caution against using reddit for information. I’m a 35L, 35Ms do go to language school. Sign up for the MOS you want, my recommendation is don’t do it for the money, do it for the passion. With specific languages the military has a test that assesses what language you’re most likely to succeed at. That’s what you’ll get sent to school for.

Response by SGT Kenneth Partyka made Jan 12 at 2022 8:18 PM

2022-01-12T20:18:47-05:00

I was 97E long before it changed to 35W/M. Yes, you have to pass BOTH schools to get the bonus, you will not get dropped to the lower if you fail Language school as far as I know. I will tell you this though, you do not get to pick your language. You will be asked what you would like but it still we depend on the needs of the Army. I wound up learning Czech at DLI (it was the 80s) and I will tell you this, the fail out rate is about 50% (at least it was when I was there for the CZ, PL and RU classes). Chinese is a Level V language so I'd expect a similar rate.