What's the future of the Army, MOS speaking?

Changing MOS's is a good move. As you get higher in rank MOS changes can be difficult to impossible in some cases. First check your line scores against any MOS's that you might be interested in. You don't want to waste your time pursing an MOS you aren't qualified for. If you intend on making the Army a career 20+ years then you need to consider the promotion trends for any future MOS you select. You don't want to pick a new MOS field only to find out you can never be promoted and end up getting RCP'd at 14 years.

First, look for something you enjoy. second, look for something that translates to employment in the outside world. The great thing about the military is that you can have two professional lives. One in and one out. Let the military educate you.

Get as much civilian Ed as you can! I don't know what the TA system looks like these days since the budget is jacked up, but get Ed in something that you can use on the civilian side. Make it a safety net, just in case!!

17C and 25D. Both are cyber Moe's. I think the Milper message with info on cyber MOS's is 15-293

You should be checking your qualification scores from enlistment against those score necessary to qualify for current listed critical MOS's. There are many that offer E5 or WO. In addition, they offer bonuses in many cases.

The most critical question is for you ... What do you want to be when you grow up and leave the military?

Many skills translate to critical needs on the outside. Current trend ... CYBER. Information Systems Security Engineers are required in many secure areas at civilian contractors to keep funding. It is a high demand job at the moment.

Additionally, if you plan on going reserves, CYBER is critical there as well. No job is worth all the money in the world if you don't like going to work most days.

Best of luck, and watch the trends in Army Times!!

Sounds like a good question for SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4". Cyber would be my initial answer. Also the new-ish 51C MOS (Acquisition, Logistics &
Technology Contracting) and Civil Affairs. Those three MOS's aren't going anywhere any time soon.

If you are looking at making the military a career, look at the numbers.

Promotion and Timelines are based on MATH. It's really simple in the long run.

1% of the force is E9, and it "pyramids" down from there. How many SGMs are in your current field. How many SGMs or CSMs are in the field you are looking to go into. As an example, in the USMC there were 9x 0291 MGySgts (my feeder MOS), and countless SgtsMaj. "Numerically," I would have been better off pursuing SgtMaj (CSM) at E8, just from a numbers (quantitative) perspective. However, based on "longevity" that may not be the same argument (my field would have been about the same).

So... how many Unit Supply Specialist SGMs are there? How many CSMs holding that MOS. Now compare that number to your "potential" MOS choices. Will that speed up or slow down your potential career path? Then start looking at MSG, SFC, SSG, and SGT as well.

It's great to pick up Sergeant faster... but not if you're going to sit there until HYT. You have to look at both the long term and short term goals. You're sitting at Spec now, and you want to get to SGT and SSG (or close) within this next enlistment if at all possible.

This means a bigger playing field "may" be better for your (more promotion chances, meaning faster turnover, and more buffer during drawdown). Also, depending on your education, you may want to consider the possibility of going WO/CO in the future so keep those options in mind as well.

and don't forget that somewhere in your new MOS you will run into someone that "you aren't a real___________, 'cause it's not your 1st MOS"

What is your future plan for the army if you decided to reinlisted?

My is if you still love to serve, motivate and enjoy benefits that been offer.

Think about what environment you would like to work with and then select a MOS that corresponds to your plans. For example, in a hospital environment there are lots of specialized schools such as medic, radiology, nuclear medicine, etc. training as well as technical Biomedical Equipment Repair school (which can lead to a Warrant Officer commission). All of these can ensure you a good career path in and out of the service. Whatever you pick, try to reenlist for a specific school.