DLAB & Contract

[JoeSpook]

Originally Posted by KDearing

My ASVAB and DLAB qualified me for CTI but was told by my recruiter (he's also a CTI) that they had to get me into MEPS (last week in fact) and into the system in a temporary rate. Then, when a CTI slot appeared, they will then DAR me into a new contract. I had some reservations as there were virtually no rartings to pick from that day but trusted them.

I processed at MEPS 20140631 and told the NCs there that I wanted CTI first, and anything else intel-related second. I walked out the door with a contract for MC. There were other cool jobs available, but nothing I really wanted stuck with if I failed the DLAB and couldn't switch. They did promise me that if I failed the DLAB, they'd switch me to IS or another CT rate if I wanted it. They said that they didn't want to put me into an intel field and start a security clearance process and then I switch jobs and they'd have to start over. Personally, I think photojournalism is pretty sweet, so I rolled with it.

Almost two weeks later (had to work around the busy-ness of MEPS around July 4), I passed the DLAB pretty nicely and walked out the door with a contract for CTI.

What they kept telling me was "man, if you qualify for CTI, you've got it. We always, always need them. Just pass the test." So, there's some encouragement for you.

One last heads up: pay attention to the ship dates of the other temp jobs that they offer you. I was under some stress because my ship date for MC was Aug 4, roughly a month after signing the MC contract. My wife had a kid in the meantime, and that would've given me about two weeks before shipping out to the Navy. Now I've got until December with the li'l one. Wouldn't have been possible if I hadn't passed the test and passed it fast.

Good luck! Please let us know how it goes!