Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 11/24/2010

Question
what jobs in the coast guard do i qualify for with an asvab score of 70?

Answer
Heather,
If you scored 70 on the ASVAB let me congratulate you.  You qualify for just about anything you want.  The Coast Guard requires a minimum of 40 points to join.

The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), is sometimes called an aptitude test.  The real reason it's called a "battery" and not a "test" is because it's impossible to pass it or fail it.  It's not a test like you take in school where 70% is passing, etc.  It's just a group of questions arranged together that help an expert determine what kind of work you're most likely qualified for.  The ASVAB is the most widely used aptitude evaluation in the world. It is designed to measure your strengths, weaknesses, and potential for future success.  The ASVAB provides you with career information for various occupations and is an indicator for success.

The ASVAB is designed to show where you skills lie.  For example, if you scored very high in Auto and Shop Information (AS)and Mechanical Comprehension and poorly in Numerical Operations and Coding Speed, that's a good indication that you'd do better as a mechanic than you would as a computer programmer.  Everybody is good at something, the ASVAB just helps determine what it is you'll probably do best.  Nothing is more miserable than being stuck in a job that you can't do, or hate.  They don't want to make you a cop when you'd really be happier and more productive being a helicopter  mechanic.  The score of 70 just means you do indeed have some ability and the Coast Guard would like to hire you.  If you actually ended up with a score of 12 or 15, it means you probably have no useful ability other than begging for change on a street corner.  So you can't fail it, but you can score lower than what the Coast Guard will accept.

So start selecting the Coast Guard jobs you want and apply for them.  I'm pretty sure you'll get your first or second choice.

Good luck,
Colonel H