Power School Update

[imthehoopa]

          Before I dive into it, I'd like to thank those of you who have tried to get updates via PM from me. The interest in my well-being and encouragement are greatly appreciated. Also, a thank you to the site and the senior members who's advice continues to prove invaluable to my progress here at NNPTC.

          I'm aware I've been more lurker than member of the site the last few months. Other than a few short posts here and there I haven't had the time to contribute much, but that was expected once Power School started. I can't say that I was ill informed of the effort expected of me here. We've just ended week 9 and the wealth of knowledge we're already covered is only the basis for what is to come. My study habits have maintained the same since A-school for the most part. I still put in 20+ hours a week, and a lot of time off the log helping other people in my section with difficult concepts. We just recently started learning cross-rate material so it's kind of funny watching so many of us MM’s frustrated at the “magic” you ET’s and EM’s learn. Luckily my father is an electrician (some of you who have gone through refueling in Norfolk may have actually worked with him), so I learned a lot of it a long time ago. I'm finding that my college experience is much more useful in Power School than it was in A-school. There are others who are doing equally as well without, but they sometimes have difficulties helping others if the in-class explanations aren't sinking in. A lot of the time, I know some alternative explanations that relate the information to something they already know. All that said, our section is doing well overall. We lost one person to auto-drop and two more are borderline, but the section average is about a 3.1. It isn't great  . We're working on it. I am currently at a 3.72 (higher pending the results of this morning's test). I'm doing better than my goal so I'm happy, but not content. I think I can do better.

        Hmm... What else? I volunteered for section leader, so a lot of my extra time is spent doing something else to keep our section on top of things. We have to take the E-5 exam in March, and while it would be amazing to be advanced, I'm aware it's near impossible. I just want to pass the test and receive the points. For the time being, I'm more concerned with reviewing past material for comp in a few months. Speaking of which, we graduate May 14th. I've almost paid off all my debts I built up in my time in college prior to the Navy. I'm pretty proud of that. I thought it would take years. I read on here someone suggesting that some of us meet up for lunch sometime. Count me in. Just shoot me a PM with a day and I'll take a look at my lunch schedule. It makes me laugh because I feel I've given more than enough information that anyone in our tiny Nuke world could figure out who I am around here, yet no one has introduced themselves. If you have, feel free to say "Hi.” If not, don't consider it a challenge... . As always, feel free to ask me question about anything that's going on I may have left out. Good luck to class 1002 who classed up this week. You'll wish you were back on T-track soon enough  . I look forward to updating this post over the next few months and keeping you informed.


-MM3 imthehoopa

[heywaitfourme]

I'm glad to hear your doing well. I am one of the few who suggested a lunch get together. I just graduated A school, and have begun my stint in T-Track. Any advice you can give before power school? Anything to study up on or read? If you ever see me around, please stop me and introduce yourself. I'm the E-4 with the full stack and then some.

Keep up the good work and thanks for the update!

[JustinHEMI05]

Thanks for the update! Happy to hear things are going well! Keep up the good work and good luck!

Justin

[DDMurray]

           I still put in 20+ hours a week, and a lot of time off the log helping other people in my section with difficult concepts. We just recently started learning cross-rate material so it's kind of funny watching so many of us MM's frustrated at the "magic" you ET's and EM's learn.        

We have to take the E-5 exam in March, and while it would be amazing to be advanced, I'm aware it's near impossible. I just want to pass the test and receive the points. For the time being, I'm more concerned with reviewing past material for comp in a few months. Speaking of which, we graduate May 14th. I've almost paid off all my debts I built up in my time in college prior to the Navy. I'm pretty proud of that. I thought it would take years.

-MM3 imthehoopa

Nice update.  Congratulations on getting rid of your debt.  Two things in your post that raised my eyebrows.  Why do you do hours "off the log"?  When I was a student, off the log was between midnight and 0500, which is no longer permitted.  I commend you for helping your buds, but caution you about being above the requirements/expectations (unless of course your SLPO has approved this). 

Second thing, you don't have to take the E-5 exam, you "get to take" the E-5 exam.  You'll never have a better opportunity to advance to E-5 on the exam as you do before you complete training.  Obviously don't study for the exam at the expense of NNPS coursework.  I recommend you consider some weekend reviews of BMR since the exam is about half that.  I made E-5 off the exam when I was at NPTU.  As a result I made E-6 and E-7 faster.  If you decide to re-up your bonus will be more.

Keep up the great work.

Derek, former EM

[Gamecock]

Why do you do hours "off the log"?  When I was a student, off the log was between midnight and 0500, which is no longer permitted.  I commend you for helping your buds, but caution you about being above the requirements/expectations (unless of course your SLPO has approved this). 

Since study hours are based on being scanned into the building, backed up by paper logs, it really is not possible to do hours "off-the-log."

[goobs22xx]

Since study hours are based on being scanned into the building, backed up by paper logs, it really is not possible to do hours "off-the-log."

And while it comes across as commendable to not take credit for studying during the hours that you are helping your classmates, there is no reason not to go ahead and log them. Teaching someone else only serves to reinforce your own understanding and is, in fact, helping you retain the material.

I spent countless hours in group study helping one of my best friends make it through the program. I truly believe that it helped me in the long run and have no qualms with counting those hours as study time.

[imthehoopa]

Why do you do hours "off the log"?  When I was a student, off the log was between midnight and 0500, which is no longer permitted.  I commend you for helping your buds, but caution you about being above the requirements/expectations (unless of course your SLPO has approved this). 

I guess that did seem a bit weird and we still can't be in the building from 0000-0500. We sign into and out of the building by scanner and then sign into an actual study log once we get to our room and get our materials out. It's meant to keep track of how much time we actually put in to study. Since I am on voluntary hours, I don't need to log the extra time I spend helping people. Once I am done with my own homework and studying, I sign out of the study log to more accurately record my personal study habits.

[HydroDave63]

Once I am done with my own homework and studying, I sign out of the study log to more accurately record my personal study habits.

Sounds like a truer and better accounting. to ya! 

[Golly Orby]

That is something I was instructed by my SLPO in "A" school not to do, though I still don't honestly see the harm in it.

There is possibly a pattern here.  The student posters on here do well.  The students in my Power School section who read these forums also did well.  

[edit] Someone changed my username!  Golly, Orby!

[imthehoopa]

Sounds like a truer and better accounting. to ya! 

While I obviously agree with you, this is this Navy and it's not up to me. I discussed it with my SLPO this morning to clarify, and he wants us signed into the study log even if we are just jumping around helping people. It keeps him from having to go into the computer and adjust our hours according to what is on the paper logs. Not sure why it's necessary for the "study log" to match the "Hey, this person is in the building log," but that's fine. It's different from one SLPO to the next. I'd rather find out I was wrong and fix it than keep thinking I was correct.

Second thing, you don't have to take the E-5 exam, you "get to take" the E-5 exam.  You'll never have a better opportunity to advance to E-5 on the exam as you do before you complete training.  Obviously don't study for the exam at the expense of NNPS coursework.  I recommend you consider some weekend reviews of BMR since the exam is about half that.  I made E-5 off the exam when I was at NPTU.  As a result I made E-6 and E-7 faster.  If you decide to re-up your bonus will be more.

Touché. I do feel quite privileged to take the E-5 exam this early in my career in the Navy. The lacking enthusiasm in my previous post came after about a 45 minute discussion with an instructor about how it's impossible to advance from the exam in Power School just due to the fact that we haven't been exposed to most of the technical information a Second Class is expected to know. I started working in an hour or so of BMR review in to my weekend study routine. Thanks for the advice.


-MM3 imthehoopa

[Preciousblue1965]

Hoopa,

It is correct that you haven't been exposed to some of the technical stuff that you need to know to be a E5.  While you have a lot of theory knowledge, you won't have the experience in dealing with QA Forms, Casualty response, and other stuff you will only know from operating the plant.

For example, when I took my E6 test(I know you are taking an E5 exam but for the most part they tend to have the same general idea behind some of the questions) they asked about possible indications of a certain casualty. Out of the 4 answers provided, none of them would be found in the actual operations manual(which you won't see untill you get to your ship).  However, if you understood how the system worked, you could understand why one of the answers would be correct(sorry but not sure if I could go into more specifics). 

You will have a slightly better chance after you have some EFPH under your belt and the smell of secondary chemicals in your nostrils.

[cruzcampo]

Charleston or Orlando (if you were really old) should be or have been some of your best time in the Navy.  I'd suggest getting out more.  I can't speak anything for the west coast, but if you wind up on the east coast there is no better city to be stationed in.  (Opinion I know)

If you are in fact that gung-ho about it all, consider getting into a commisioning program.  Really.

[cruzcampo]

Mare Island or Bainbridge or lord knows where qualifies for "really old",.......kid,......

Orlandophytes are still puppy dogs by Marlin's, DLGN25's, IPRGEN's, Phurst's and the other dinosaurs's reckoning of age,....

heheheheh,...

Thanks for that.  I couldn't remember exactly where those were.  I was fairly certain they were on whatever continents Pangea split into, but I didn't want to make a fool of myself though.  I knew I'd be corrected at some point.

What was it like?  Watching all those first trans-uranic elements fall to the surface of the primordial earth?

[Marlin]

What was it like?  Watching all those first trans-uranic elements fall to the surface of the primordial earth?

We amphibious low profile crocodilians have managed to survive the meteor fall just fine thank you. Adapt or go extinct then expand your food sources to slow moving nubs who venture to close to the water, such is the evolution of a wide eyed nub nuke to crusty curmugeon nuclear relic.

[RDTroja]

Damn. Reminds me of the old Calvin and Hobbes comic strips where Calvin is forced to eat vegetables.

[cruzcampo]

We amphibious low profile crocodilians have managed to survive the meteor fall just fine thank you. Adapt or go extinct then expand your food sources to slow moving nubs who venture to close to the water, such is the evolution of a wide eyed nub nuke to crusty curmugeon nuclear relic.

Well played sir.