WOIN Does the "Factory Specs" exploit for Synthetics mean they skip a grade?

Hey everyone. I just picked up the GSC (very neat!) and had a question about one of the exploits given to Synthetics:

Factory Specs. Synthetics do not take an origin career; they come fully formed from the factory and enter their first full career immediately.

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Does this mean that a synthetic character being created at grade 5 should have only four careers, since they skip their origin? Or do they still take five, just picking a normal career instead of an origin for their first pick?

If the latter, this seems like a pretty large benefit. A lot of origins are pretty weak, and getting a head start on a career (especially one like the military which has a long chain of picks) could be really good!

Yep, it’s the latter, and it’s quite a decent benefit. Partly why synthetics are resented.