Is it possible to enlist into a 65A or 68L with a 8 year old DUI?

Thank you I didn't know that. What does AOC stand for? Moving away from 65A to 68L; If 68L is not entry level how does one become this one?

AOC stands for Area of Concentration. It's more or less the officer equivalent of an MOS. 68L is an entry level MOS as far as I know. I think there are some folks who start off as 68Ws then transfer over at some point as well.

I don't trust recruiters. I keep hearing horror stories. The recruiter told me that Occupational Therapy is a hard MOS to get into because few are qualified but that doesn't make sense because my understanding is as long as my ASVAB score is great and they waive my DUI, and there's an opening who am I competing with? When is enlisting a competition?

The problem is openings don't come up very often. It's a very desirable job and people tend to stick around once they land those positions. If you are qualified and the position happens to be open when you head to MEPS then you can get the job, but that's a big if. When I was recruiting I had a girl who had her heart set on becoming a dental tech. She was more than qualified, but there were simply no slots at the time. Eventually she ended up becoming medic instead.

Can you tell me the process of going to MEPS? What is the process for seeing available slots? My fear is that when I get to MEPS a contract of an MOS I don't know much about will be put in front of me with pressure to sign it there and then. I would prefer to pick my MOS first, do research, and then see if its available.

As I was leaving recruiting they were starting to give recruiters more visibility over what positions are available at any given time. I believe they were also able to tentatively reserve positions based on your qualifications. I'm not sure if that is still the case. If you are otherwise qualified (ASVAB, physical, etc) you will probably be pressured to pick a job now. Your record is visible to several echelons up the chain and they will want to know why a qualified individual hasn't joined the Army yet and the recruiter will feel the heat. You really have to decide what it most important to you. Is it important to enter the Army ASAP or to only have a particular job even if it means waiting longer? If it's the latter you have to understand that you may be waiting around for a while. That position may open up in a week or it may not be open until 9 months from now.