navy nuke prep classes?

[ksheffer08]

I've been lurking around for a short time trying to find the answer... but no luck. I just recently went to MEPS. I scored a 92 on my ASVAB, and passed the NAPT, how I am not sure. I qualified for everything nuke, and I am going back this week to swear in.

well the NAPT made me realize I am not as prepared as I hoped. I have absolutely zero exposure to physics, chemistry, calculus, or trigonometry.

well odds are I will not leave till summer of '10, so that leaves me enough time to take a semester of community college, so nuke school is not such a shock. the college does have a nuclear program, as well as all of the usual math stuff. which classes should I take to best prepare me for school in goose creek? also I plan on being an MMN, and hopefully emergency welder.

[Fermi2]

A class in sentence structure and capitalization might help....


Mike

[ksheffer08]

this is the interenet, guy. no one cares.

[HydroDave63]

this is the interenet, guy. no one cares.

Fleet Needs More A-Gang!

[Fermi2]

this is the interenet, guy. no one cares.

You're on a website that consists of primarily very successful nukes. The odds are one of us will be your boss someday. Yes we care.

Mike

[kp88]

this is the interenet, guy. no one cares.

Consider the audience. 
The expectation is to communicate clearly and effectively.
What the heck is an "interenet"?

[Neutron_Herder]

You didn't lurk around long enough to realize that you're going to get some grief before you get your answer?  I'm curious about how long you really spent looking... 

People do care about the way you present yourself.  One of the things that would really irritate me during my time in the Navy was the way emails were written.  If you don't convey your thoughts well, you're never going to get what you're looking for. 

Then you write a sarcastic response to one of the most prolific posters on here?  Bad form kid.

That being said, here's my recommendation for getting ready.  If you're going to take some classes, I'd look at some algebra classes, and maybe an algebra based physics course.  Honestly if you passed the test you probably have the academic skills necessary to make it through the school.  There's a lot of info thrown at you, but it's not extremely difficult.

The enlisted side touches on some calculus, but they don't call it that for fear of scaring us uneducated enlisted folk.

If they offer a class in humility and not talking back to people that are willing to help take that class too...

[yota]

If they offer a class in humility and not talking back to people that are willing to help take that class too...

I believe the Navy calls that "basic training" and sends us dinks there first! 

[hamsamich]

basic physics if you can get it, and pre-calc would help.  I think a physics class may be the best one.  chemistry wouldn't hurt.  depends on your strengths and weakness.  do they have a "nuclear power for dummies" book?  not kidding, maybe they do.  try the community colleges, they should have less intense classes than big university.

good luck, most of the people you meet out in the fleet are going to act like these guys!      entertaining at the least....

[co60slr]

You're on a website that consists of primarily very successful nukes. The odds are one of us will be your boss someday. Yes we care.

Mike

"We?"  I, for one don't care about Internet Forum spell checking.  How one writes in an Internet forum, email, IRC, chat, SMS, etc has NOTHING to do with their professional technical writing skills.  More importantly, technical accuracy is more important (to me) than grammatical accuracy (which can always be fixed during final proofing).  The culture in the 21st century that launches "kids" into the professional world with bad email habits is not going to be fixed here. 

I've met several officers/managers that can compile a 100 page report that says absolutely nothing, but is grammatically correct.  Sometimes, they would even kick it off with a fancy 20 page PowerPoint that also said nothing, but had a lot of fancy animations for show.   All a complete waste of time if the issues are not clearly presented (or worse yet...not valid).   For example, have you ever seen a root cause analysis report with perfect grammar...yet fixes nothing?  Worthless!

So for starters, the "kid" needs to have a solid WORKING knowledge of algebra.  (Also needed for Calculus and higher engineering studies).  If not, I'm not going to care what his writing skills are since he won't be a nuke.  Otherwise, I'll be happy to train him him how to write when the time comes.  In the end, if he's not a clear thinker, than perhaps "we" can explain how that will limit his Navy and Commercial Nuclear career?   "Technical writing" is not a class taught at NPS or in any Commercial Nuclear Training curriculum.   OJT after initial quals?  OJT after a few tours?

Separately, I want to have a Nuke working for me that speaks his/her mind...especially to challenge me regardless of any rank or title.  For that, the poster is commended; however, he'll get "smacked down" enough while he's a "NUB" at Prototype to figure out what many people were illustrating in response to his "disrespect".  Perhaps then, he (et al) will figure out why so many of his predecessors entered the Navy with such a great attitude, only to have it squashed by instances of poor/uncaring leadership.  Should we "spoonfeed?"  Definitely not, and the NNPP and Commercial training programs will see to that. 

If he's an exceptional operator, clear thinker, writer, and overall "nuke leader"...perhaps it's one of US that will be working for HIM one day.   (Yes, I've seen that a few times in 20+ years).  No exposure to higher math, physics, chemistry, trig...but was able to pass the NNPP entrance exam?  That raised my curiosity about his intellectual ability.  I guessed that the original poster knows what to do to address his weaknesses and was simply looking for some reassurance.  He didn't need any answer, in my opinion.  He knows what to do and it's all a matter of how badly he wants to be a nuke.

Co60

[RDTroja]

this is the interenet, guy. no one cares.

Ahh... the wild, wild, west... errr, internet.

The days of nobody cares ended when legitimate businesses started using the internet as a tool for buying, selling and hiring. The business world has co-opted what was once the bastion of progressives and rebels and taken it mainstream. There are certainly places where the old internet exists and if you can't get past the mainstream takeover there are still places where it is appropriate to be a rebel. There are even parts of this site where the rules and expectations are relaxed -- the Goldmember area. Out here in public, we are an organization of professionals and we conduct our business in a professional manner. If you can't get past that part, you need to look for employment in a different field because the days of the wild, wild nuclear industry have passed, too. People who can't communicate effectively and appropriately are not going to last long (at least above the level of laborer.)

Such is progress.

Please don't get the message that we are trying to chase you away. Most of us on this site are proud of our industry and we just want to make sure that you show it the respect it deserves. It is a very interesting and sometimes difficult place to make a living, and most of us would not trade it for another... unless, of course, the money was better  . And, Broadzilla is right... you may very well be asking someone on this site for a job someday even if you are not doing it now.

[Fermi2]

Absolutely spelling matters. Have you ever heard of narrative logs? Corrective Action Documents? Test Essays?
We are all technical writers and in my world you best get it right.


Mike

[IPREGEN]

The Navy will teach you what you need. Extra classes will help, but are not required.

Some of the comments on this site are from people that believe they are right up in almighty territory. Good for them, but anybody can get onto this site and the amount of "highly successful" people is questionable. You can become a "gold" member by paying,  and to be a moderator, well...

[IPREGEN]

just common sense

[co60slr]

Absolutely spelling matters. Have you ever heard of narrative logs? Corrective Action Documents? Test Essays?
We are all technical writers and in my world you best get it right.

No, I've never heard of those things located in a Navy Recruiter's office.  So, perhaps we're really debating the intersection of "your world" and the Navy Recruiting world.   However, even in "your world", your own HR Office most likely does not give English with Essay CLEP exams before an interview is granted.

Also, I've never seen Navy NPS take points off for spelling errors on Test Essays and I haven't heard of the NRC giving spelling quizzes as JPMs during ILT licensing. 

So, in "my world", if spelling was given the same emphasis in the "real world" as it gets in this Forum, then you'd be able to argue your point with facts relative to Navy Regulations, NRC Regulations, INPO Indicators, etc.   In the absence of facts (i.e., the most important attribute to nuclear engineering and technical writing), I'll concede your strong opinion, but also argue that Navy Recruiters most likely don't care any more about your "opinion" of spelling ability for their recruits than you would if a Navy Nuke were to lecture you on Commercial Nuclear employment screening standards.

Co60

[BuddyThePug]

to ya!  Superlative!

[Fermi2]

In "My World" I review all the resumes for Ops Jobs, select the candidates, and do the interviewing. So what do you think happens to resumes with bad spelling or grammar?

Mike

[HydroDave63]

Dooooode, don't be such a hater! 

[deltarho]

No, I've never heard of those things located in a Navy Recruiter's office.  So, perhaps we're really debating the intersection of "your world" and the Navy Recruiting world.   However, even in "your world", your own HR Office most likely does not give English with Essay CLEP exams before an interview is granted.

Also, I've never seen Navy NPS take points off for spelling errors on Test Essays and I haven't heard of the NRC giving spelling quizzes as JPMs during ILT licensing. 

So, in "my world", if spelling was given the same emphasis in the "real world" as it gets in this Forum, then you'd be able to argue your point with facts relative to Navy Regulations, NRC Regulations, INPO Indicators, etc.   In the absence of facts (i.e., the most important attribute to nuclear engineering and technical writing), I'll concede your strong opinion, but also argue that Navy Recruiters most likely don't care any more about your "opinion" of spelling ability for their recruits than you would if a Navy Nuke were to lecture you on Commercial Nuclear employment screening standards.

Co60

Wouldn't you want to make sure your documentation was in order so that you could at least have the chance to prove how stupid you are in person? Just asking...

[Fermi2]

Dooooode, don't be such a hater! 

dont u mean hatr?

[IRLFAN]

In "My World" I review all the resumes for Ops Jobs, select the candidates, and do the interviewing. So what do you think happens to resumes with bad spelling or grammar?

Mike

Mike,

I may be looking for an operations position soon, do you award extra points for former coworkers?

[Neutron_Herder]

dont u mean hatr?

maybe it's just me, but i think this is hilarious!!

(Sorry Mike, I could undo the capitalization but not the punctuation.  It hurt too much just to not do one of them....)

Jay

[x633ro]

No, I've never heard of those things located in a Navy Recruiter's office.  So, perhaps we're really debating the intersection of "your world" and the Navy Recruiting world.   However, even in "your world", your own HR Office most likely does not give English with Essay CLEP exams before an interview is granted.

Also, I've never seen Navy NPS take points off for spelling errors on Test Essays and I haven't heard of the NRC giving spelling quizzes as JPMs during ILT licensing. 

So, in "my world", if spelling was given the same emphasis in the "real world" as it gets in this Forum, then you'd be able to argue your point with facts relative to Navy Regulations, NRC Regulations, INPO Indicators, etc.   In the absence of facts (i.e., the most important attribute to nuclear engineering and technical writing), I'll concede your strong opinion, but also argue that Navy Recruiters most likely don't care any more about your "opinion" of spelling ability for their recruits than you would if a Navy Nuke were to lecture you on Commercial Nuclear employment screening standards.

Co60

Undoubtedly much more experienced than I at pursuing a career in commercial nuke. Definitely knows it all before he's begun, I just don't understand why you would waste your time with Navy nuke when you are already at the PGM level of a commercial unit...

[larsorad]

Hey,  Navy Nuke is the best way to go.  Granted, i did it over 30 years ago, in Orlando. You'll go to an A school first, the to class. U used to get put in 12 sections, by rate (ET EM Or MM) and then into a "smartness" level / class. The classes are tough, starting with basics and progressing. Quizzes rate yer grade in the program and they have a basic study time, a recommended stury time and a "mandatory" study time. All time spent after school. I was on "M" 21 which meant that I had to put in 21 mandatory hours extra , studying, till the grades went up. The scores are based on a 4.0 system, where 2.5 in the minimum passing grade. On my final I got a 3.63. Good luck. Looking back, I'de have done it no other way.  * years on subs then to a commercial nuke plant and have earned 6 figures since then.