Looking into the enlisted nuke program: questions.

[Jblacksh]

For the past few weeks, I have been running back and forth down to my recruiter's office and MEPS.  They've told me a long list of things about the Nuke program, and I was curious to find out how much of it was 100% accurate.
1.) 20K sign on bonus (I just discovered that it is relative to what month you enlist.)
2.) This bonus will pay out upon the completion of Nuke Power school.
3.) I can add a 15K bonus on top of this for 120 hours of college.
4.) This bonus will pay out upon the completion of Nuke Power school.

I am very interested in becoming an officer, but I am impatient to do so.  I am 22, I have been in college for 4 years, and I don't see graduation anytime soon in my foreseeable future.  I want to enter a field that is challenging (no doubt about this) with a very bright (glowing) future once I get out of the service.
5.) 30-40% of the students in Nuke school become officers due to their good grades.  This number seems astronomically high, and the Nuke recruiter compared it to other fields of study as being 15-20% higher in commissioning in school.  What kind of good grades are they looking for? I am quite good at studying and feel I can make the upper 20% with no problem.
6.) Only 2% fail out of nuke school, another 6% are kicked out for drugs/alcohol abuse.  I have seen evidence that this may be true in other blogs and forums.
7.) If I make the officer program, I will be sent to another school.
8.) If I reenlist in the officer program, I will be given a 120K bonus.

9.) If I do not make officer and reenlist out of school, and sign on for 8 years, they will pay me 60K and bump me up to E-5.

[Khak-Hater]

Once upon a time, a young Irishman was walking down the road when he came upon a very small man with red hair and beard, a pipe, and a green bowler hat with a four leaf clover stuck in the hat band.  He took a second look at him and asked "Excuse me sir, but are you a ..."

The small man answered "Aye laddy, that I am."

Surprised at finding the mythical creature, he asked "Where's you pot of gold?"

The small man answered "It's in that field right there.  Dig it up and it's yours."

Quite excited, he ran home and got his shovel and returned to the field where he began to dig.

Each day, the small man would walk by the field and ask "How's the digging comming?"

The Irishman would answer "Soon enough that gold will be mine."

Finally, after many weeks, as the small man walked by, he asked the Irishman "Tell me laddy.  How old are you?" 

The man stopped digging and answered "I'm 22.  Why?"

The small man laughed and said "Then don't you think that you're a wee bit old to be believing in leprechauns?"

Well aren't you, laddy?

If you want to be an officer, then finish your degree and go in as an officer.  The nuclear Navy is full of blue shirts scraping the rust off of valves in the bilge who were convinced that the Navy would snatch them up to be officers.  When I went in in the mid 80s, the recruiters told half the guys in my boot camp class that they were so smart that they'd be picked up for flight school before they ever left NNPS.  They seriously thought that they were going to be Tom Cruise in Top Gun.  I'm not saying that blueshirts don't become officers.  I knew several guys who did, but the majority of those were on their second or third enlistments when it happened for them (i.e., they could've been out already making real money, not that that's everything, but it sounds pretty important to you). 

If you want to serve your country as an enlisted man, then enlist.  If you want to serve your country as an officer, then finish your degree and apply for a commissioning program, or better yet, start taking NROTC classes right now.  If you just want to make a lot of money, then go get a real job.  The hours will be shorter for the pay received.

Good luck,

mgm

[Preciousblue1965]

6.) Only 2% fail out of nuke school, another 6% are kicked out for drugs/alcohol abuse.  I have seen evidence that this may be true in other blogs and forums.

That right there is the most painful portion of you post, simply because it is true.

That number was once well over 50.

[NukeLDO]

Never heard of #3 and 4.  Might be true, but I've never heard of it....now if you walk into the Marine Corps recruiter's office, that college credit makes the difference between enlisting as an E-3 or an E-4.
#5 is patently false.
#8...officers don't get to "re-enlist."

[Jblacksh]

Thank you, Khak-Hater.  You hit it right on the head with a lot of potential recruits.  I put my goals out there, so people have an idea of what I would like to accomplish.  In truth, I am looking for a challenge, and I see it in the nuke program.   I am on this forum so I can verify what I am being told, so I at least hit the deck with both eyes open.

I will most likely push for a later enlistment date, so I can get my officer paperwork in order and apply for the BS finishing program.

NukeLDO: My apologies, on #8, I believe they meant if I 'get accepted'.  Is there any more information on #5?  I trust the nuke recruiter when he says they pull the officer candidates from the nuke school more frequently, as it is a difficult course of study.  30% or so, may simply be a number he pulled out of the air, but is there any veracity in his statements?

#3 & #4: The college credit appears to be a bigger deal now, but I would enter as an E-3 purely because I am enlisting in the nuke program - and become an E-4 after 'A' school.  (I have this on paper.)

[NukeLDO]

He should be telling you that if accepted for commissioning, you have the potential to get yourself in a position where you are eligible for a 120K bonus...but that certainly isn't payable upon acceptance...perhaps after your JO tour and completing engineer's qualifications.  So, I guess, yes, after about 6 years, you'll be eligible for the bonus.
30-40% is simply an unrealistic number.  25% attrition through the pipeline, even if its to an officer program, would mean they'd have to be bringing in many more folks than they actually are.
And yes, if picked up for an officer program, you would come back through the pipeline....no 'A' school...start at NPS.

[NukeLDO]

And with 120 college credits, you've got to be close to some kind of a degree right?  Finish school, and if you're still interested in serving, apply for an officer program.  Eliminates the possibility that you'll end up serving your entire time as enlisted (not that there's anything wrong with that...I did it for 11 years).

[withroaj]

Do not become a blue shirt with the hope of becoming a khaky. 

...At least not with the hope of becoming an officer.  If you enlist, do it to be enlisted.  While it's true that quite a few enlisted nukes get picked up for officer programs while still in school (a few from each class, nowhere near 30-40%), most enlisted nukes remain enlisted nukes by the end of their training (fancy that).  I get irritated by the people who enlist to become officers(enlist to become officers... already sounds fishy) and become bitter about the fact that their commissioning packages get rejected.

Most of the successful prior-enlisted officers I've met were already on a path to success as enlisted nukes (as always, YMMV).  Commissioning as LDO/EDO/CWO came as a result of their success in the Navy and desire to go to the next level, meaning they'd already done pretty much every thing an enlisted nuke can do by the time they were first classes or chiefs.

Just remember:  whatever you do, have fun with it.  Good luck.

[Preciousblue1965]

Try, in excess of, two out of every three in my era.  Kind of sad really.  We lowered the standards and now we get fleet wide cheating at the Goat Locker (and above) level.  Seems the flowers have started blooming already if you ask me.

HoneyComb,

You wouldn't be implying that the NNPP is beginning to reap what it has sown in the last decade would you?  After all, the idea to lower the attrition rate of the Pipeline is the brain child of several high ranking nuclear personnel.  Thus it must be proper and correct in all aspects.  Well I just can't stand by a allow you to tarnish the "new" nuclear Navy Training program. 

30 Lashes with a wet noodle.

[HydroDave63]

Seems the flowers have started blooming already if you ask me.

Those ain't flowers....it's thistle!

[still_in]

As for number 7, that depends on what officer program you get selected for, if you do.  STA-21 will send you back to college while if you apply for NUPOC you wouldn't because you are required to have a degree for this.
  After the initial 5 years of obligated service you can "re-enlist" for up to 5 years with a bonus of 30,000 dollars a year.  The bonus gets smaller if you obligate yourself for fewer years.

If you plan on enlisting to apply for STA-21, the most common for students, they will definitely want to know why you didn't finish your degree on your own.  If you really can't justify it then you should finish your degree before and try to get NUPOC before enlisting or go get accepted to OCS.

When I was selected for STA-21 in 2005, out of the 45 that were selected from NPTU Charleston, about 30 were students and 12 were SPU's and 2 sea returnees.  With a student class size of 160 thats about 18 %.  Just remember that those numbers are constantly changing with each year and there is 82% of each class that doesn't get selected.  

Anyway, good luck.

[Jblacksh]

And with 120 college credits, you've got to be close to some kind of a degree right?  Finish school, and if you're still interested in serving, apply for an officer program.  Eliminates the possibility that you'll end up serving your entire time as enlisted (not that there's anything wrong with that...I did it for 11 years).

If you plan on enlisting to apply for STA-21, the most common for students, they will definitely want to know why you didn't finish your degree on your own.  If you really can't justify it then you should finish your degree before and try to get NUPOC before enlisting or go get accepted to OCS.

My problem right now is money.  Because I was forced to drop a semester, I may no longer be applicable for grants at my private university.  This will leave me about 6K in the hole per semester.  As well, they raised their tuition by 1K, so that is more money I have to pay out of pocket.  I have looked into state universities, they are about as bad - but instead of grant money, they offer bigger loans.  I have 120 hours because I got an associates in Computer Security, and switched to History.  The requirements for the two are very different, so as a whole, they add up to a lot.

When I was selected for STA-21 in 2005, out of the 45 that were selected from NPTU Charleston, about 30 were students and 12 were SPU's and 2 sea returnees.  With a student class size of 160 thats about 18 %.  Just remember that those numbers are constantly changing with each year and there is 82% of each class that doesn't get selected. 

Sorry, what is a SPU? 

..At least not with the hope of becoming an officer.  If you enlist, do it to be enlisted.  While it's true that quite a few enlisted nukes get picked up for officer programs while still in school (a few from each class, nowhere near 30-40%), most enlisted nukes remain enlisted nukes by the end of their training (fancy that).  I get irritated by the people who enlist to become officers(enlist to become officers... already sounds fishy) and become bitter about the fact that their commissioning packages get rejected.

I am not joining to become an officer, but I am very interested in making this my goal during my service in the navy.  30% does sound implausible, and I was surprised to hear that from the nuke recruiter.  I am mainly concerned with the higher possibility, as it is a far more entertaining thought when I am working through A and Power school.

Is there any more information or confirmation of #9?
"If I do not make officer and reenlist out of school, and sign on for a total of 8 years, they will pay me a 60K bonus and bump me up to E-5."

[93-383]

Is there any more information or confirmation of #9?
"If I do not make officer and reenlist out of school, and sign on for a total of 8 years, they will pay me a 60K bonus and bump me up to E-5."

you are refering to STAR. at your two year point you will be elegible for a six year re-enlistment that only adds two years. However you get credit for four years of bonus due to the two year extension droping off. The bonus current bonus max is $90k for every rate except surface EMs

You also get spot promoted to E5

[NukeLDO]

Don't know if its still the case, but the STAR bonus used be 1/2 paid at the time of re-enlistment with the remaining 1/2 distributed as lump sum payments over the remaining years on the contract...so you won't see the 60-90K all at once.

[Preciousblue1965]

Don't know if its still the case, but the STAR bonus used be 1/2 paid at the time of re-enlistment with the remaining 1/2 distributed as lump sum payments over the remaining years on the contract...so you won't see the 60-90K all at once.

99% sure that is still the case.  The lump sum payments after the initial 1/2 payment is paid every october. Just be sure that you figure in the fact that if you re-enlist say in May, that you will get the initial payment around May and will get another payment 5 months later in October.  This will make the last year of your enlistment effectively a bonus-less year(at least that is how it worked out for me).

[Jblacksh]

When I get the money is not important, it is really just IF.  90K is 30 more than I was expecting, so that is good news.

Thank you everyone for your input! I now have some questions I will be taking back to the Nuke recruiter.

[JustinHEMI05]

When I get the money is not important, it is really just IF.  90K is 30 more than I was expecting, so that is good news.

Thank you everyone for your input! I now have some questions I will be taking back to the Nuke recruiter.

Wow, not even in the Navy yet and already pinning your hopes to some distant reenlistment bonus.

Good luck to you.

Justin

[Samabby]

History major? 

[vagabond]

History major? 

Are you saying being a history major is a bad thing?   

I'm sure there are SROs out that might be insulted by that, some even in this thread.  The smart ones wouldn't care I'd imagine    

Jblacksh,

Money is not the answer to everything, although it does help sometimes. 

I remember when I first reported to A School after bootcamp one of the first questions we were asked was who wanted ro re-enlist.  It blew my mind that about half the room raised there hands.  Just take it all one day at a time, and don't assume that this is "the answer".  You will be afforded a great oppurtunity.  You may hate it and have a sour taste in your mouth before you ever get to the boat.  Of course you could also love it and opt for skipping shore duty since you love being on a sea going vessel.  Whatever your decision, best of luck to you...and slow down a little.  Asking lots of questions is always a great thing. 

[Samabby]

" Are you saying being a history major is a bad thing?   Roll Eyes "

In a word, yes. The study of history is critical, but majoring in history is not, in most cases, a good choice for a youngin' headed toward a technical career in Nukeism. 

[Fermi2]

UH I was a History Major and right now I'll tell you there's probably not a better SRO in the world from a technical aspect. Majoring in history allows you to see trends very quickly, and learn from your mistakes and more importantly the mistakes of others.

Mike

[Marlin]

UH I was a History Major and right now I'll tell you there's probably not a better SRO in the world from a technical aspect. Majoring in history allows you to see trends very quickly, and learn from your mistakes and more importantly the mistakes of others.

Mike

Did all of the other SROs get a vote in this or just the History Majors?   

[HydroDave63]

UH I was a History Major and right now I'll tell you there's probably not a better SRO in the world

Or more humble...

[wlrun3@aol.com]

UH I was a History Major and right now I'll tell you there's probably not a better SRO in the world from a technical aspect. Majoring in history allows you to see trends very quickly, and learn from your mistakes and more importantly the mistakes of others.

Mike

   ...i, for one, believe you and consider myself lucky to get responses to questions that might seem ill contructed and badly thought out...

[BK3]

Oh man , I may be in for some trouble! 

I finished my BA with a degree in Social Science (History, Poli Sci) and am now going into the Nuke program, Ship date Jan 05. I'm already worried because I took one math class in college, statistics, and just feel unprepared for the curriculum offered at NPS. That said, I also plan to bust balls to finish. I'm more worried about making it through the school than in some distant bonus dangling in the future.