Can You Get a Signing Bonus With the Marines?

by Tony Guerra

As all good employers do, the U.S. military and its individual service branches, including the Marine Corps, offer benefits to attract candidates. Of course, serving in the nation's armed forces is about much more than just drawing a paycheck, especially if you're a Marine. Still, a few of the men and women the Marine Corps accepts for enlistment do qualify for enlistment bonuses. Marine Corps career fields paying enlistment bonuses are typically those that are short staffed or critically needed.

Marine Corps Enlistment

All U.S. military service branches offer signing or enlistment bonuses tailored to attract enlistment in important career fields. Before you can qualify for a military enlistment bonus, you have to meet your hoped-for service branch's enlistment qualifications. The Marine Corps only accepts enlistees between ages 17 and 29 that possess at least a high school diploma and with sufficiently high entrance aptitude test scores. Hopeful Marine enlistees must also meet tough physical, mental and moral standards before they're allowed to sign up.

Marine Corps Enlistment Bonuses

The Marine Corps offers both enlistment and reenlistment bonuses to its personnel. To qualify for a bonus when you join the Marine Corps, you agree to serve in a designated career field, or military occupational specialty (MOS). The size of a particular Marine Corps enlistment bonus also depends on the specific career field you select when joining. Some career fields in the Marine Corps pay much larger enlistment bonuses than do others, and some pay none at all.

Enlistment Bonus MOSs

The specific MOS categories for which the Marine Corps will pay an "enlistment incentive" varies from year to year. For 2013, the Marine Corps is paying enlistment incentives for dozens of specific career fields including in aviation, infantry, administration, intelligence and music or band. Marine Corps enlistment incentives range from $2,000 to $8,000, depending on MOS. There's even a $1,000 bonus paid to those agreeing to ship out to their assigned Marine Corps boot camp at certain times of the year.

Payment of Enlistment Bonuses

If you're paid an enlistment bonus for a specific Marine Corps MOS, you must serve in that MOS for your entire agreed-upon term of enlistment. Typically, Marine Corps enlistment bonuses are paid as partial lump sums with the remainder paid in installments. If you receive a military enlistment bonus, be aware it will be taxed. Additionally, if you fail to complete your Marine Corps enlistment contract due to misconduct, for instance, you'll owe a prorated refund of any enlistment bonuses you were paid.

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