Would 35F or 68C be a better career for active duty and civilian life?

Enrique Torres — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 23:15:34 -0400

I need help deciding which would be better for me. I like them both but don’t know which will transition better to civilian life after the military. Also, have not decided if I want to join the Army or Air Force( or Space Force). Like which would pay more and which would transition over to Civilian life more smoothly.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2021 11:22 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 23:22:30 -0400

Neither. The job you should take is the one you'll enjoy. Don't make the mistake of taking a job because you believe it will lead to a better civilian career. If you don't like the job in the Army, you won't want to do it as a civilian. If you like the job, you'll probably stay in the Army for years, maybe even till retirement.

All military jobs pay the same, it's a pay grade. An E4 in the Army makes the same as an E4 in the Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy, Marine Corps, and Space Force. However, promotions between branches and jobs are different. A 35F in the Army will promote faster than a 68C.

Pick the branch that you enjoy the culture of. Pick a job you will enjoy doing. Don't pick a job based on what you think will be best for you based off what other people think would be best for you

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 3 at 2021 3:24 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 15:24:34 -0400

As SFC Boyd says take the one you will enjoy. I like to say follow your heart. I always wanted to be in the military, but my young ego and lack of ability to get a commission early in my life prevented me from signing the dotted line.

Had I just done so there would have been plenty of opportunity for me to commission afterward.

Nevertheless, I took the "safe bet" with my education and profession, and never really enjoyed it. I finally threw it to the wind and ended up joining late in life anyway. So here I am now 30 years later 10 years into a military career I could be retiring from right now.

If you do not take to sitting in a closed room with no natural sun light then 35F is not for you regardless of clearance level. The job can be really easy. Of course if you are college educated and comfortable with cranking out research papers it's a walk in the park of what is expected of a entry level 35F.

Here are the pros of 35F
1) You can hid from the 1SG and CSM by being in the Top Secret office. Now they can hunt you down and follow you there, but they have to go out of their way to do so. So it's a easy place to avoid simple details because it's too much hassle to pull the intel guys out of the top secret office.
2) Deployed or not, you get the good internet if you have an unclassified line to the outside world.
3) There is going to be sports or news running 24/7 in the top secret room. So you get to keep up to date with the world.
4) There is of course A/C always running in your office situation.

It was by far the best job I ever had in my life. Easy, and got to be plugged into "neat things". That said, if you are not into writing research papers on the fly you can find yourself overwhelmed and end up stuck updating the weather reports for convoy operations.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 3 at 2021 5:29 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 17:29:50 -0400

As an intelligence analyst in the civilian sector, you're likely to make a decent amount but it probably depends on where you work. I'm a 35F but not quite yet out and haven't done it as a civilian. But I know quite a few 35Fs who retired/ETSed and did analyst jobs as a civilian.

Ultimately it depends on you. A 35F is an all source analyst - so you can go to literally any unit. You're most likely going to end up in a battalion or brigade S2 though. I started out in a BN S2 - which means you do a lot of personnel security. There's also managing the physical security program for the unit as well. Personnel security - you're going to process security clearances basically. Any derogatory reports if anyone gets in trouble. Managing access rosters. I really didn't do any intel analyst work until I deployed both times in that first unit and even then it wasn't a lot of "analysis" because my unit did route clearance.

I have been at Cyber Command - I went there when it first stood up so I don't know what it's like now. I worked in the targeting branch. Then went to Riley and was in a MI Company, then the BDE S2. Then I was a SARC. Then I went to Strategic Command on a compassionate reassignment and oversaw the watch and then I was in the indications and warning branch.

As an all source analyst you'll always be doing some type of production if you are doing actual analytical work because we are the ones that take all the INTs and put them together into products. You'll be briefing likely BN or BDE commanders even if you're S2 - and possibly higher if you go higher than a BDE.

Some 35Fs don't do intel work when they get out either. I'm not planning to do intel when I retire in a few years because - well - intel people are weird at certain levels. I'd like to have a job I can tell people about too.

You also have to be able to qualify for a TS clearance and SCI eligibility.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 4 at 2021 7:16 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 04 Jun 2021 07:16:44 -0400

I don't think there's a right or wrong answer here. Both are respectable in the civilian sector. 35F will earn you a TS/SCI which is worth a ton in the outside world and the 68C should make you marketable after the military. Like many others have said, do whichever you think you'll enjoy more. As someone who's seen both, I personally would enjoy 35F more. The promotion rate is much faster.