Nuke Enlisted or Officer?

[Ryanderman]

I'm a 23 year old Mechanical Engineering student at the Rochester Institute of Technology. I'm graduating with both a Bachelors of Science and a Masters of Engineering in May 2009. And I have a GPA of 3.8. I also have about $54,000 in student loans, both Stafford and private bank.

That info out of the way, I'm seriously considering joining the Navy out of college, with an ultimate goal of becoming a Nuke Officer. I talked to a recruiter today, and he told me the best route would be to enlist first (and he mentioned something about getting in at E-3, and quickly moving to E-4 after boot camp. Not sure I remember that correctly), to qualify for loan repayment, and then after my loans are paid off in about 3 years, apply to become an officer. He said I would be almost guaranteed to be accepted to Officer training with my degree and GPA. I know that he has a quota to fill, and he'll say enlisted is the best way to go pretty much no matter what, but what he said makes some sense.

My question is, is it a better idea for me to enlist first, or should I try to apply to NUPOC directly?

[Ryanderman]

Thanks, but it's RIT, not RPI. Common misunderstanding

[Gamecock]

You'll have a masters degree in engineering.....you need to be an officer.

Stop talking to enlisted recruiters and find an officer recruiter  to talk to.

Cheers,
GC

[93-383]

You'll have a masters degree in engineering.....you need to be an officer.

Stop talking to enlisted recruiters and find an officer recruiter  to talk to.

Cheers,
GC

I agree. While you are at it report the recruiter to his supervisor. Telling someone with a masters in engineering that the best route for them will be to enlist is an outright lie. Additionally working as a broke NNPTC student with $50+k of student loan will do a great disservice to you. I don't know if the nuke community has a college loan payoff program like the medical community but try to find out. Talk to an officer recruiter and talk to the officers on this forum, ignore standard enlisted recruiters they will only want to fill their quota.

[JustinHEMI05]

I'm a 23 year old Mechanical Engineering student at the Rochester Institute of Technology. I'm graduating with both a Bachelors of Science and a Masters of Engineering in May 2009. And I have a GPA of 3.8. I also have about $54,000 in student loans, both Stafford and private bank.

That info out of the way, I'm seriously considering joining the Navy out of college, with an ultimate goal of becoming a Nuke Officer. I talked to a recruiter today, and he told me the best route would be to enlist first (and he mentioned something about getting in at E-3, and quickly moving to E-4 after boot camp. Not sure I remember that correctly), to qualify for loan repayment, and then after my loans are paid off in about 3 years, apply to become an officer. He said I would be almost guaranteed to be accepted to Officer training with my degree and GPA. I know that he has a quota to fill, and he'll say enlisted is the best way to go pretty much no matter what, but what he said makes some sense.

My question is, is it a better idea for me to enlist first, or should I try to apply to NUPOC directly?

Don't be duped like I was. I remember the "enlist first" bit. I said OK because I wasn't smart enough to find nuke worker.com. Go officer.

Justin

[S3GLMS]

I can give you some first hand, but old information.  The enlisted program can authorize in specific cases the repayment of student loans.  For me in the late 80's to early 90's I received $159 per month for each month of active duty that I served to a maximum of 84 months.  I graduated from college exactly 6 weeks after the stock market crashed in 1987 ( Sound familiar) there was not an engineering job in the country for a rookie fresh out of college. I had a college degree with $10,000 in student loans and I enlisted because none of the officer programs would pay any of the student loans ( I did apply and most were full quota and they only were willing to offer AMDO (Aviation Maintenance Duty Officer) if I would wait 6 months.  Long story short I was broke and I decide to enlist and I went forward.  Later on I was allowed to reapply for OCS but I was never accepted, so I finished a 7-1/2 year tour as an E-7 and never looked back.

I would advise you to look for the regional recruiting district office and speak with the senior Officer recruiter.  They can go over all of the potential issues with you about your qualifications (Academic and Physical), programs, availability and service types.  You have the potential to go through an Officer Program at OCS and that is a good thing.  You may not get a loan repayment plan with that program though.  So, depending on your situation it may not be what you want.  But you should not go enlisted just to be in the Nuke program, you have enough formulated knowledge to be an officer in almost any program. 

The civillian engineering field is booming right now especially for highly degreed individuals.  Typical starting salary is $55-$65,000 per year and that is non-nuclear general engineering and consulting.  So, do not sell yourself short in the job market.

While I spent my service as enlisted I had a lot of people ask me, What are you doing here with a college degree?  And the answer I always gave was that I volunteered so I could have a job and get my student loans paid back.  I look back on that decision and think what other opportunities I would have had if I could have waited 6 months and gone to OCS, and I will never really know.  My point is that you can get what ever you want from the service just explore every opportunity before you close off any avenues of selection.  I was told later by an officer recruiter after I left the navy that once you decline an officer program that accepted you, you will never be offered another one.  So do not make your decision lightly.

Good luck with whatever decision you make.

[War Eagle]

NUPOC
Your recruiter is either an idiot or untruthful.

[Ryanderman]

Thanks for the advice. I'll let the enlisted recruiter know I won't be needing to talk with him anymore.

So getting in touch with an officer recruiter would be the way to go if I want to pursue this.

Thanks again.

[JustinHEMI05]

Good luck and keep us posted!

Justin

[NukeNTO]

Ryan,

While I agree with most of what's been said so far regarding Officer programs (specifically NUPOC) being a better fit for you.  I will say that your enlisted recruiter probably isn't completely full of $hit.  The enlisted nuke side does have a loan repayment plan and you can get extra pay for college credit, etc.  The officer side doesn't have that.  So to make the most informed decision you can I'd recommend getting details on these programs from him.  If you'l like I can get you info for an officer recruiter in your area as well.  For NUPOC you could get a $15k signing bonus and around $3500/month (varies by location) till you graduate.  If you have questions post or send me a PM. 

[Snuff]

I am in the NUPOC program and just out of OCS; I don't have any college loans and while I probably don't know enough yet to tell you one way or the other, this is what I have noticed other people with college loans do.

First, nuke officers get a nice signing bonus of 15k before taxes. We get paid a little more than the other programs while going through OCS. And once you get out, there is something called a loan deferment offered to get rid of your interest payments I believe. I don't know if this applies to private loans but I think it does...just something to ask your recruiter about.

Finally, we got the opportunity to take a 25k personal loan through USAA. The interest rate ranges between 2-2.99%. Right now it's 2.99%.

Anyway, consider these things while you find out about loan repayments. Good luck.

[JustinHEMI05]

I am in the NUPOC program and just out of OCS; I don't have any college loans and while I probably don't know enough yet to tell you one way or the other, this is what I have noticed other people with college loans do.

First, nuke officers get a nice signing bonus of 15k before taxes. We get paid a little more than the other programs while going through OCS. And once you get out, there is something called a loan deferment offered to get rid of your interest payments I believe. I don't know if this applies to private loans but I think it does...just something to ask your recruiter about.

Finally, we got the opportunity to take a 25k personal loan through USAA. The interest rate ranges between 2-2.99%. Right now it's 2.99%.

Anyway, consider these things while you find out about loan repayments. Good luck.

Excellent first post, welcome to nukeworker.

Justin