I will start by saying that this is my first post, and though I have spent roughly 15 hours as a guest reading other posts on this site, I'm not 100% proficient with the lingo...with that said, I'll do my best.
A little background: I'm 24, married with two children. I'm a DEPer right now, and will be leaving for Great Lakes on 10 July, 2009, enlisted in the nuclear program (sub volunteer). I am fully aware of the amount of dedication and work it takes to make it through the pipeline, and frankly am up to the challenge. My wife won't mind the hours, seeing as at my last job I consistently worked 80+ hrs/wk. I'm a sixth semester college dropout, at which point I pursued a VERY lucrative career in sales management. But, as the economy came crashing down around me (I live in Michigan...which is one of the worst hit), sales dropped to a point where I was spending more than I was making. I have now been unemployed since July 2008, and sought out the military as a possibility to dig my family out of this hole, so I called the Navy, specifically asking to speak to someone about the nuclear program. (Before anyone comments on it, I'm not JUST joining the service for a paycheck...it's something I've wanted to do since I was quite young, but my mother talked me out of it and more or less forced me to go to college.) I've had an opportunity to see the "real world", and quite frankly, without a real education or any truly marketable skills (...at least, not many skills outside of sales and just general intellect) it sucks. I'm ready and willing to do whatever it takes to live a successful life. And also, before anyone chimes in on this, finishing college is also not an option at this point. Since I've been unemployed my student loans have defaulted, and though I am rehabilitating them now, it will be another 10 months before I am eligible to receive new financial aid...not that I could afford to move my family to an area near a university anyway. Now, to the topic at hand.
After getting as much information from my recruiter as I could, I have scoured the internet in the forms of both forums and official military sites, but I have been unable to really find the answers to a few last questions I have.
1. Though I am familiar with the job descriptions, etc. for the different rates (ET, EM, and MM), I'm curious as to promotion trends, any difference in pay among them, transferability to the civilian world, along with difference in working hours.
2. In my time without a job, I have racked up a significant amount of debt (roughly $15,000). Though payments are being made, and to my knowledge everything is current, I'm wondering if/how this would affect my ability to get the necessary security clearance(s).
3. If (and I know it's a big IF) I am picked up for staff at NNPTU, keeping in mind the wife and kids part, would it be wise to take those orders?...or should I just go to sea duty? I'm concerned that the time spent teaching will put me a little behind in actually applying the knowledge, and therefore would have an impact on keeping up with quals once aboard a boat.
I would like to thank all of you in advance for any advice or comments you can provide. The thing I like most about this forum is the candid demeanor of most of those who post.
-Rex