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Originally Posted by OreoDJ
Thanks guys this is awesome information. I'm enlisting as an E-3 because of my Eagle Scout so hopefully that makes advancement to E-5 a little quicker even with overmanning. I did read somewhere that if you are an IDC then you only need 30 credits to get into IPAP. Any truth to this? I'd like to follow a pathway of: Corpsman-> Orthopedic tech-> IDC-> IPAP-> Orthopedic Surgical PA. Its a pretty lofty goal but im pretty sure if i work hard I can manage it. Thinking of doing a Biomedical Engineering major for my bachelor's to give me a better background in prosthetics. The downside being that's a 5 year bachelors as a full time student. Thoughts?
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Making it to E-5 is going to take a little longer than that. Typical advancement for us to E-4 takes three years. Our advancement rate is pretty rough. Your first eval, if you can, work your butt off to get an MP. You won't get an EP straight off the bat, unless you're the only corpsman in your clinic. That'll give you somewhat of a better chance toward your first advancement test. It's pretty hard to get into the IDC program as an E-5 unless you've been deployed a couple times. Most don't get accepted until E-6 these days. Ortho tech is pretty hard to get unless you choose it after your first duty station. You can absolutely do a 4 year bachelors while active duty, TA can take care of it. Most bases have an education center (I haven't been on one that doesnt) and you can do all your in person classes there. If you have any questions feel free to message me!