Physics GRE Discussion Forums

Hey.
I heard today that one should not put a military rank in resume that is sent to the US. Can anyone confirm if this is true, that is, it would be viewed negatively? Thanks.

you mean as an international applicant from other countries?

Yeah. Mandatory service, NCO reserve rank.

That seems strange to me. Did they give a reason why you shouldn't list it?

I can't imagine any reason why this would negatively impact your resume, especially if the position was one of importance and/or required leadership skills.

Did they give you a reason why you should put it?

To be honest, I don't think it will affect the application very much, in either direction.

schwiss wrote:Yeah. Mandatory service, NCO reserve rank.

I don't know what NCO is. but there are some rumors that being a military personnel might cause some problem in getting visa. actually for some countries, say north korea, it's not rumor and they practice this. because they (US) don't want to transfer some critical technologies to other nations by educating people with military background. having said that, I am not sure this really addresses your concern or not. that's what I heard.

I did not hear a reason for either putting or not putting it in. But because I have to include the service itself to explain the time gap I have in my education, I thought I'd mention the rank too. NCO is a corporal/sergeant.

Luckily I would not say my country is comparable to North Korea, and the mandatory service is just something that ~80% of male population do, e.g. is not related to an actual military career at all.

I guess I'll just leave it as it is and not worry.

Yeah, I wouldn't worry about it. Like I've mentioned to others, I doubt application committees look at applications this deeply. And even if they do, I'm sure they don't give it much thought.

-Riley

pqortic wrote:

schwiss wrote:Yeah. Mandatory service, NCO reserve rank.

I don't know what NCO is. but there are some rumors that being a military personnel might cause some problem in getting visa. actually for some countries, say north korea, it's not rumor and they practice this. because they (US) don't want to transfer some critical technologies to other nations by educating people with military background. having said that, I am not sure this really addresses your concern or not. that's what I heard.

Even if the US government has this incentive, the admissions committees at schools do not, and the government has no control over who they admit (besides through offering funding and I doubt there is any difference in the available government funding depending on whether you've listed a military rank on the CV for your admission application or not). On the other hand, it seems like there could be upside to including it, since it can highlight your leadership skills and ability to work in a team, as HappyQuark said.

kroner wrote: On the other hand, it seems like there could be upside to including it, since it can highlight your leadership skills and ability to work in a team, as HappyQuark said.

Damn, now I have to go change all my applications to include that I was varsity captain for my high school soccer and basketball teams.

-Riley