Does anybody out there have any advice for re-enlistment and switching your MOS?

Let me tell you about Kilo school..

1.) Difficult MOS- AIT is 12 months (6 of intensely crammed classroom teachings and 6 of hands on learning). When I went through in 2016, they had a 40% fail rate.
2.) The most difficult classes that cause the most people to fail are the first two classes you take. The standards have changed to where if you double tap (fail the initial test then fail the retest), you are removed from the program.
3.) If you are Army, they will almost never recycle you (allow you to start the course from the beginning). However, if you are Navy they won’t allow you to flunk our. They keep the people who want to leave and kick out the people who want to stay (from my personal experience)
4.) If you are promotable, you will most likely have to surrender your promotable status to reclass to this MOS (this happened to 2 prior service members in my class- one was a 68W and one was an AirForce E5)
5.) This MOS has an INSANELY high tendency to not promote since it can be extremely difficult to get points while working in the lab. Most labs are understaffed and the Kilos are frequently overworked. I have a hard time getting leave approved occasionally because the turnover rate is so high. Points are mainly earned through boards and maxing out education.
6.) This MOS requires a longer contract than most initially because your AIT is 12-13 months (depending on HBL and if you do recycle).

Benefits:
1.) This MOS will allow you to obtain an AA from George Washington University, a rather prestigious school. You just have to take 2-3 classes with GWU to get the degree.
2.) You will take the ASCP and if you pass, you get an MLT certification that will earn you a decent salary on the civilian side when you transition out, and you get to put MLT on your credentials in your work emails
3.) You’re in a climate-controlled environment MAJORITY of the time (yes, even in field units they make reasonable accommodations to keep the lab up and running at the proper temp)
4.) You have arguable one of the smarter MOS for the Army. This is not an easy job, although some may think all this MOS does is push buttons.

Sorry for the long post, but this is my current MOS. Feel free to reach out if you have questions

I know nothing about either MOS (Petroleum or Medical Lab). But I DID re-class twice. Let me tell you this. If you are going to do it, DO IT EARLY. My first re-class, I was a young SGT. Moving in to the new field, I had 10 level AIT, I wasn't really behind my peers too much because PLDC (now BLC, I think?) doesn't touch on career field at all. My second reclass, I was a SSG (P), and picked up SFC while in AIT. After graduation, I was a SFC in a field where I only had 10 level AIT knowledge. There were absolutely no allowances from anyone for lack of experience or lack of knowledge. I was expected to know and execute as if I had been a 35M for 10 years, rather than 10 days. Things did NOT go well for the first couple years as I got up to speed. It is true that there was also a ridiculous lack of support from the Warrants and from my peers who could have, theoretically, helped me out, but their lack of support was on me, not on them. At the end of the day, I was unable to properly execute the duties and responsibilities expected of me, and it hurt not only my performance, but also my future assignments and ultimately my ability to get promoted to the next rank.
#LFMF.

I’m a 68K. It is very difficult. 6 months of classroom time and practicals at Fort Sam followed by 6 months clinical rotation at a military hospital. Then the Army pays for you to take the ASCP MLT exam to become certified on the civilian side. (You don’t need that to be a 68K in the Army but it is promotion points). The way the classes go are LMED, Chemistry 1, Chemistry 2, Hematology 1, Hematology 2, Urinalysis, Blood bank 1, Blood bank 2, Immunology, Microbiology 1 & Microbiology 2. (I still have my books) Most people fail out of chemistry. After that you’re pretty safe again until hematology. It requires late nights of studying. If you fail a test you retest. If you double tap it you have to go before a board where (I’ve heard, never been) they yell at you. If you double tap 2 tests you go before another board where they decide if you recycle into the next class or get reclassified. Getting recycled isn’t impossible if you have good relationships with your instructors. But if you’re a POS expect to be a truck driver or something. You’ll get a lot of freedom down there Bc it is a long school. You can even bring your family if married. After Fort Sam you’ll get ranked based in your GPA and put in your preference for your next duty station. I went to Fort Campbell for my phase 2. If you’ve ever failed a record PT test or had UCMJ you’re automatically at the bottom on the list. No one in years has not failed a single test. So again, it hard. But I love it.