Which MOS best gives me tactical knowledge, training and experience while helping me gain some new marketable skills, 12B or 37F?

I am currently a 12B in the Guard, in a sapper unit, and I am 37 years old. I can tell you that you may think you are in shape and can do the physical tactical stuff, and you may be able to, but it is taxing on the body at 37. I will tell you for about 10% of the time we get to do some cool stuff...the rest is rucking and carrying heavy stuff. I hit the gym 5/6 days a week between running and heavy weights and I struggle after a long weekend in the mud. I will tell you this as well, I have never had a one weekend a month (2 day) and two week AT a year schedule. Most of our weekends are 3 or 4 days and our AT is typically 3.5 weeks to 4.5 weeks. There is no relatable civilian skill that will transfer. I myself am ready at the door to re-class the minute they will let me. I have a lot of pride in being a 12B, but my body is telling me to slow down or I won't make my 20 years.

With your background your best option would be 37F. Being an Engineer is all about the pride & competition. You want experience & real life skills. You know the way to go, jump right in.

I would avoid the whole " marketable skills" red herring. You have a master's degree, there is no AIT that is going to give you anything more marketable then that. Even if you spend a decade in any MOS, you'll still need to get certificates in your new career field. Also, as a Reservist, you're not going to gain any relevant, applicable, level of experience in your new MOS for years.

At 32, unless you're already in great shape, you are probably over estimating your ability to recover from a physically strenuous job. For your average civilian doing daily Army PT and hitting the gym a few times a week is enough physical activity.

Something that sounds a bit more up your lane might be CID or Counter Intelligence. They're both jobs conducting investigations; the first one is criminal investigation, and the second is investigations into matters of national security. Both jobs are mentally challenging

I was 12B in a Sapper Co in the Guard when I was in, and am strangely enough looking at 37F in the Reserves if I get back in.

I can only speak for myself but I definitely had more pride in being a 12B over being a 13P in my two mos. 13P was a stationary desk job that wasn't my cup of tea. 12B is much more active and physically demanding with a ton of hands on stuff to do. However some of the hands on stuff is back breaking sweat dripping I hate life stuff (setting up triple strand in full kit in 100 plus degree temps you'll sweat so much into your eyes it'll be like being in the gas chamber again). While some of it is awesome. I was the primary breacher for JRTC livefire and got to blow open the main breach point for the infantry to clear a trench on one iteration, and the next iteration I was the door breacher for the primary assault on the little village they had for the infantry squad I was attached to.

Since nobody else knew demo, most of the times it was me and an infantry team leader moving forward alone shooting through the windows and taking out the little fake dummy badguys, while we set the door charge for everybody else to run through.

I feel that lots of JRTC is a wasted training opportunity, but the live fire they nailed.

So if you want some tactical experience you should get it as a 12B, but be aware, you will be doing alot of what the infantry does. They sleep in the mud, you will be somewhere close by. I tried to keep my guys from being involved in all of their shenanigans but stuff happens. Also, and I have read before that this is also true with 37F in the reserves, our training schedule was never the bare minimum days training schedule. I don't know if its because we went to NTC/JRTC/overseas so much or what, but we were always way over on the whole one weekend a month two weeks in the summer thing. Which was fine for me, more days means more time to get better at your job, but many people were taken aback if they had civilian careers that didn't want to give joes that kind of flexibility.

Be in good shape. Even part time the MOS is rough. I got thrown down in a troop transport after coming back from setting up triple strand, had a nagging pain in my back, tried to wait it out but after a couple of months went to a civilian doctor and had a stress fracture in my l5 vertebrae.

I can't see for one hundred percent I got it there, but I have my suspicions. Something to consider if you are older.

Most of my complaints with 12b were unit complaints, not complaints with the job specifically, and I remember less and less of them the longer I am out.

37F, no need to look any further!

I joined as a 26yo. 12B active duty.

That being said,

It’s a young mans game(12B).

If you want a more valuable skill set after the army as far as 12 series go you’d have to go through an abundance of schooling while in for mos, however 12N have hopped in with the tac side of being able to build different obstacles with us as well and they build upon the foundation of heavy machine operation

Psychological operations and combat engineering? What are you trying to become?

There's nothing about being a 12b that's going to get you anywhere in the civilian world. We're awesome mf'ers and get mad cred and respect for the danger of our job. The being said most 12b skills are physical in nature that are most used. I drove tanks, put up fences, and dug up unexploded ordinance. I worked security checkpoints checking people and vehicles. I searched houses for contraband weapons. I walked for miles every day with a mine sweeper hunting for weapon caches under ground.

It's an exciting job but civilian options from it would be construction mostly. Most don't get the experience in demotions to certify with civilian hardware. Military uses dumbed down systems for detonation that doesn't translate easily to civilian standards. Also the formulas include notions only logical on the battlefield like P for plenty.

I loved the job but in retrospect the skills I gained only made me a weapon. Weapons don't get paid like architects. If you're trying to improve your resume it's just not worth that much outside construction and labor.

I don't know shit about psy ops. Those guys always made my Battle buddies nervous.

37F, if you go Combat Engineer you will be in a line unit, not much experience to bring to the Civilian market. Now with that being said I was a 12B for 8 years and it was the most fun and interesting time of my life.

67 R Attack Helicopter Repair