Did you work in your military occupation specialty?

The only two times I have really worked outside my MOS were when I worked as a Detachment Supply Sergeant and then again as the Company Operations Sergeant. Both times I was never bored but they were definitively not my preference of job. In the end doing both Supply and Operations positions have helped me do my job as I now have a firm understanding of what can and can not be done. I'm by no means an expert in either but I'm not as blinded to how these things work as some of my peers are.

I worked in my Speciality as an electronics tech for the first 10 years in the Navy. Then I realized I was not going to make rate very fast because I was a High Power Transmitter Technician and there were very limited Sea Duty billets for me. I had done a tour on Guam as Sea Duty, Antarctica as Sea Duty, and Ship right our of School, but there were no Ship Board billets left for me.

At 10 years my detailer was going to send me back to Italy for another tour after a 8 month return in Charleston, but not in my speciality. Instead I volunteered to go to Sea as a Command Career Counselor - fully out of rate. As a result I made E-7 about 1/2 way through the tour. At the end of this tour, I returned to School, but as an Instructor. My NEC/MOS as a High Power Transmitter Tech was killed and I became an Instructor/General ET. This was much better for me and I made E-8 about 1/2 way through this tour.

After Instructor Duty I went back to Sea Duty and was the Junior E-8 on the Ship, but had gone thru the Navy Senior Enlisted Academy on the way to the ship. About 9 months into this tour our CMC retired and the Commanding Officer tasked me to be the Command Senior Chief until the Bureau of Personnel assigned a new one.

About 6 months later I was promoted to Master Chief and the CO asked me to apply for the CMC program, which I did. I finished out my last 13 years in the Navy with a new NEC/MOS as a Command Master Chief and retired at 30.