nuke to nupoc

[airbear]

I just got an enlisted nuke contract with the navy, i got a $12,000 signing bonus, got a 93 on my asvap (perfect in everything besides English) and my recruiter and a lot of other guys told me that I can go from nuke to nupoc. I realize that there is no guarantee of this, but I was hoping that I could possibly get some assistance from someone on the inside as to what would be the best way to get to nupoc from the inside. A little background on me, I am currently a student at a community college working towards a degree in physics and mathematics. I have a 3.5 GPA and I have one more semester before i have my dual associates in physics and math. then my ship date is December 28th. Iv been working two jobs while going to school full time and living an hour away from both school and both my jobs. So work ethic is not an issue, any advice anyone has to offer would be greatly appreciated. my goal is to get a job as a nuclear reactor engineer. and my future goal is to work with theoretical physics.

[Cycoticpenguin]

you can not comission without a baccaluareate... not sure who told you otherwise...

Good luck. Others will chime in, Im sure.

[greenbean]

I don't know why your recruiter didn't just have you go straight for NUPOC. You do need a 4 year degree, so getting into an engineering program would be essential if you want to even think about NUPOC.

1) Get accepted to a well respected 4 year program
2) Apply for NUPOC as soon as your are accepted to the college
3) Pray Naval Reactors takes your package before your ship date.

You may find yourself looking at the STA-21 program instead of NUPOC.

There are some very experienced people here and I imagine you will find more suggestions.

Good Luck!

[spekkio]

You do need a 4 year degree, so getting into an engineering program a bachelor's program would be essential if you want to even think about NUPOC.

Fixed. You need a 4 year degree with a minimum of 1 year of calculus and 1 year of calculus-based physics to qualify for NUPOC. Technical degrees are more desired, but there are plenty of successful officers with BA's.

[Gamecock]

I doubt we are going to interview someone coming from a community college without any four year college experience. 

So, since you're shipping in December, I don't think you'll be able to build-up your resume in time.

Cheers,
GC

[airbear]

Yes all this is true, but do they not pull from within? i was told that there are nupoc slots for those in nuke school the excell. and the nupoc program is where they pay for your college while you finish your degree.

[airbear]

and the reason i didn't just go nupoc was because i wasn't in a four year school, and my recruiter told me that it is extremely difficult to get into.

[Gamecock]

Yes all this is true, but do they not pull from within? i was told that there are nupoc slots for those in nuke school the excell. and the nupoc program is where they pay for your college while you finish your degree.

Incorrect...

NUPOC is not a program open to enlisted nukes. 

There are officer program slots available to hard-charging enlisted folks via STA-21, and a few other programs.  Do some searching in the forum or google for more details.

Cheers,
GC

[greenbean]

.. my goal is to get a job as a nuclear reactor engineer. and my future goal is to work with theoretical physics.

While any 4 year degree with a good GPA will get you a shot at being an officer on a Sub or a nuclear powered ship, the desire to serve as a NR engineer will require an engineering type background in most cases. Additionally, if theoretical physics is in the future, a technical degree is a must.

I apologize if I made it sound like you had to have a technical degree to serve as a NUPOC in any fashion. I was offering advice that seemed to fit your current academic pursuits and goals and perhaps I was thinking too specific in your definition of "nuclear reactor engineer."


P.S. You should visit with your recruiter about the information he gave you and make sure you did not mistake one program for another. If your recruiter is the one in error, a little clarification might help the next recruit.

STA-21 has some great benefits. Check it out and keep your head up.

[goobs22xx]

There are a certain number of slots available for enlisted to nukes to become commissioned nukes through the various accession programs. It seems your recruiter may be using an error in terminology that is leading to the confusion, as NUPOC is simply the name of a program. His intent was most likely that there is a good opportunity that you can become an officer through one of the programs that are actually available to you, a statement which is certainly correct.

Start looking into the Naval Academy and the STA-21 program. Best wishes.

[airbear]

ok well there is only one other thing he told me, and that was that if i apply to the naval academy while i an in the dep(delayed entry) and i don't ship until December 28th, that if they don't give me a decision back by my ship date that my contract would be dropped because of the pending academy acceptance. is this true? would it be a good idea to wait until i go into the enlisted nuke to apply? I really appreciate all the help though.

[IPREGEN]

OK well there is only one other thing he told me, and that was that if i apply to the naval academy while i an in the dep(delayed entry) and i don't ship until December 28th, that if they don't give me a decision back by my ship date that my contract would be dropped because of the pending academy acceptance. is this true? would it be a good idea to wait until i go into the enlisted nuke to apply? I really appreciate all the help though.

This may shock you, but recruiters (some) will tell you what you want to hear to get you to sign the papers and enlist. They are, and get used to this, taking care of the needs of the Navy.
Ask your recruiter to show you the documented progression program for how enlisted people without a degree can become officers.

You get what you enlist for. When you have a chance at boot camp, ask your fellow recruits what they recruiter promised them.

[spekkio]

D'oh, didn't see the NRE part.

Anywhoo, if you enlist in the Navy without a degree, the only commissioning option available to you will be STA-21. Your recruiter claims that you can apply to the Naval Academy -- and he might be right by accident -- but do you meet all of their requirements? Do you have a LOR from your Congressman? How do you plan to do the interview when you're stuck in Charleston for nuke training or attached to a ship? There's more to getting an appointment to USNA than just filling out a form and crossing your fingers. I'm not pointing this out to discourage you from applying to USNA; rather, that your plan to enlist and send an application off somewhere between boot camp/a-school/NNPS is more complicated than your enlisted recruiter might have told you.

There are other factors to consider, too. Yes, NUPOC can be a competitive program (and much moreso for NRE), but oftentimes recruiters will claim a program is harder than it is to discourage applicants from even trying and encourage them to take the 'easy' way out and enlist.

Applying to NUPOC will guarantee that you work in whatever designator the Admiral accepts you into. Applying to the Naval Academy will guarantee that you do NOT work as an NRE or Instructor (USNA only commissions line officers with some exceptions of people who get medically DQ'd after being selected for a community but are still fit for service in another), and you also only get a dream sheet. You might get picked up for nuke, you might not. It depends on the needs of the Navy, and at that point you're at their mercy.

STA-21 is a great deal, and thus is very competitive. You typically need to build up some good evals and show top-notch performance in the Navy to get accepted.

[MMM]

I believe once you're enlisted you can get a Naval Academy recommendation from SECNAV or your congressman. I don't know about pre-boot camp, but once you enlist, if you submit an officer package, you won't transfer until the results are out.