Trying to understand process and options

[fats39]

Hello,

I am a 15 and a half Senior Chief seriously contemplating getting out at 16.  I know all what benefits I could be sacrificing and am not interested in someone explaining them to me.  I have a son who will soon be entering college and 2 others that I am tired of not being as much a part of their lives as I would like to be.  I am currently a Leading Crew Chief at prototype and am qualified EOOW.  What I am trying to understand is what my options are for employment and what the process is.  I have thought long and hard about the potential 16k a year for the rest of my life and the medical.  I am just trying to understand if the quality of life outside of the Navy is good enough to leave that behind?  I do understand that in 4 years these same opportunities would be available, but if I stay in I will do 1 and a half more years at NPTU (sea duty at shore) and then 3 more years at sea, which causes my family to move again.  I am not sure I am ready to do that anymore.

Any help in trying to make this difficult decision would be well appreciated.  Thanks

Sincerely,
Stuck between a rock and a hard place

[GLW]

There are no guarantees out here.

RP, SRO, happy house job, love the folks you work with, awesome supervision and management, never need to move again, plant will be up and running and paying paychecks till you retire, etc., etc.,....

Nothing,....

Okay, you can pretty much guarantee you will never go to sea again,....

That's about it,....

All those options you ask bout it have been spelled out ad nauseum in the boards around here, look 'em up,...

It's your choice Senior Chief, you gotta live with it,.....

[Higgs]

You'd get scooped up for direct sro easily. I got out at 9 and haven't looked back. That is a lot different than 16, but yes, the quality of life is, well, awesome.
Justin

[MacGyver]

Hello,

I am a 15 and a half Senior Chief seriously contemplating getting out at 16.  I know all what benefits I could be sacrificing and am not interested in someone explaining them to me.  I have a son who will soon be entering college and 2 others that I am tired of not being as much a part of their lives as I would like to be.  I am currently a Leading Crew Chief at prototype and am qualified EOOW.  What I am trying to understand is what my options are for employment and what the process is.  I have thought long and hard about the potential 16k a year for the rest of my life and the medical.  I am just trying to understand if the quality of life outside of the Navy is good enough to leave that behind?  I do understand that in 4 years these same opportunities would be available, but if I stay in I will do 1 and a half more years at NPTU (sea duty at shore) and then 3 more years at sea, which causes my family to move again.  I am not sure I am ready to do that anymore.

Any help in trying to make this difficult decision would be well appreciated.  Thanks

Sincerely,
Stuck between a rock and a hard place

Senior thank you for HONORABLE service.

Good advice here.  I will add that in four years we can`t guarantee that thes opportunities will be the same.  I am not saying you would not have future opportunities. 

My advice is family means everything and (other than initial training) our quality life is great.

[drayer54]

Good luck to you in what surely is a tough decision.

I'm sure you'll be succesful either way.

[Higgs]

There is a point to make about quality of life and training. You will need to be very dedicated for nearly 2 years to succeed in an initial license class. You'll still get to go home every night, but youll be studying a lot too. So remember that when making your decision about getting out or not and what kind of career you want on the outside.

I have to stress that you will be studying a lot. 16 years in the navy doesn't guarantee success in a license class. The only people besides non nukes that I've seen not make it so far is long term navy folks that didn't think they needed to put in the effort. There are a bunch of newly licensed ex senior navy folks that check in here and they will confirm that effort is required.

I'm sure you realize that though, I just wanted to make it clear that a license class is quite the task in and of itself.

Thanks for your service.

Justin

[fats39]

I really do appreciate all of the feedback.  It is great to see that people actually take the time to read these posts and respond with excellent feedback.  I think I understand that when you get to a higher position in the Navy, your expertise starts to dwindle because you don't use it as much.  What I mean is that we start to stand less watch, and we concentrate on the people that work with us, and making sure they have the tools they need, vice sharpening our own tools, so I can definitely see how people who were long term Navy could have a harder time based on the asymptotic slope of nuclear knowledge (use it or lose it).  I guess I am just tired of the life, and am looking for something a little different.  Most of the responses where about going into SRO and the liscensing.  What I am curious about is the other options involved with supervision.  Does every supervisor type position have to get filled by someone qualified SRO, or are there the same type options like there are for getting into the liscensing classes (i.e. a substitution of nuclear experience as PPWS/EOOW) that allows for some of the other positions to be filled?  Also, is six months enough time to get set up with a job prior to me getting out?

Thanks again for all the feedback it is much appreciated.  I understand that I am owed nothing just by typing in a question, and appreciate any answers.

[DDMurray]

Our plant hired lots of ex-Navy for numerous positions in QA (think NRRO monitor watches), training,  and some in maintenance.  The vast majority of these were officers (ex-NRRO LDO) and a few were ex-enlisted.  Of the enlisted, I can't think of any that were not E-6 EWS/PPWS.  A lot of the hiring was through networking.  For example, NPTU, NNPTC and Kings Bay seem to be a hot-bed for our plant hiring ex-navy along with NRRO.  I was in Groton when I got hired, but my initial contact was through someone at NPTU NY via Nukeworker and a previous tour we did together.  I started my interviewing process about six months out and ended having to choose between 3 nuke plant jobs, a civilian nuclear-support company, and a renewable energy company.   A funny thing happened to some of the guys hired in training.  They didn't want shift work so they opted not to go the SRO route and got SRO-certs.  Now that they are teaching, they are having to work backshifts and weekends due to the number of license classes going on right now.  So to answer your question, you'll have lots of options in civilian nuclear power.  Your EOOW opens more doors.  There are lots of other industries that like hiring nukes as well.  Get your resume ready early and go to some job fairs, if possible.

I don't know your exact situation Senior Chief, but I was in a similar situation a few years ago.  I did not do a tour at NPTU, so I have not walked in your shoes.   I don't know if you're surface or subs; but an EDMC on a sub whose heart is not in it is destined for failure and will negatively impact the lives of lots of nukes and non-nukes for that matter.  I resigned myself to getting out at 20 when I was at my 12 year point because I had no shot at E-8.  I made E-8 at 18 and then E-9 at 21 and ended up doing 24.  That 16K a year turned into 36K a year, but I loved being a submariner, CPO, and a nuke.

[retired nuke]

Here is a view from outside the nuke navy....

OPS is rotating shift.... forever. Or until you find another position.

Maintenance (esp supervision) is generally dayshift, occasionally nights for major evolutions (a week at a time, a few weeks for refuel outages)

As a 16 yr Sr Chief, either option is open - look into both. More positions available in OPS.

Thanks for your service. When weighing the options, always add 10 pts for family... 

[jams723]

Here is a view from outside the nuke navy....

OPS is rotating shift.... forever. Or until you find another position.

Maintenance (esp supervision) is generally dayshift, occasionally nights for major evolutions (a week at a time, a few weeks for refuel outages)

As a 16 yr Sr Chief, either option is open - look into both. More positions available in OPS.

Thanks for your service. When weighing the options, always add 10 pts for family... 

One other thing to consider... If you earn a SRO, it is very hard to leave Ops. But, I enjoyed the challenge of commercial operations.

[Higgs]

I don't think I saw your question about 6 month being enough time answered..,

Yes, it is, but you need to get hot squaring away your resume and searching for jobs.

Plenty of people here to help with whatever you need.

[CT-Mike]

I put in my 20, spent time as a regional manager for a telecom company until getting laid off when the dot.com bubble burst. Started at the local nuke plant in the fire brigade, went to NLIT training, was on shift for 6 months as a PEO and was selected as a direct SRO candidate.

Not blowing my own horn, but I was top 10% at NNPs and #1 in my class at prototype. Never had to study, didn't really know how. Was on unfamiliar ground when I failed a couple initial license exams and had to go to a TRB (think Academic Review Board) tom determine if I would be allowed to continue in the program. My point is, if you decide to do the direct SRO route, be prepared for long hours, a lot of time studying, and stress.

It obviously can be done, but it takes effort and dedication.