Rank question

[taylongranger]

 I cant seem to find anything on rank so I'll just ask

what would be the average rank of a nuke after there first contract  is up then what would there rank be at 10,15,and 20 year marks? on average or anyone speaking of experience please

[HeavyD]

Based on personal experience, on average a Navy nuke would be, at a minimum, an E-5 at the end of their 6 year contract.  More times than not, it is becoming more prevalent to see a first term sailor separate at E-6.

10 years, E-6.  There is a special thing to consider at this point.  The military has something called "High Year Tenure".  What that means is there is a ceiling set based on rank and time in.  The longest that a sailor can be on active duty as an E-5 is 12 years.  So, if you don't advance to E-6 before then, you get to go home.

15-20 years depends on many factors.  If a Nuke has done the "right" duty rotation, qualified as Watch Supervisor and demonstrated some leadership abilities, they "should" make E-7 during that period.  As a chief (E-7), a sailor can remain on active duty until 24 years.  26 years (maybe 28, can't recall off the top of my head right now) as a Senior Chief (E-8) and then 30 years as a Master Chief (E-9).

My personal experience was E-5 at 2 1/2 years, E-6 at 5 1/2 years, E-7 at 8 1/2 years.  This was all before taking advancement tests early (with only 24 months at the lower rank vice 36 months) and before Nuke specific advancement tests.  I also retired in December 2011 at 20 years. 

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that advancement is based on a sailor's RATE.  So, depending on a sailor's rate, the actual mileage will vary.

[Rod Puller]

http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/enlisted/community/nuclear/Documents/090811%20Nuclear%20Enlisted%20Career%20Brief.pdf

That's the Navy endorsed nuclear career progression.  It starts with a lot of reenlistment and detailing stuff (good information) but the answer to your question starts on slide 16 (depending on rate).  As HeavyD stated, things can vary greatly based upon personal drive and initiative.  I suspect that there are just as many 7 year Chiefs as there are 19 year First Classes.

[taylongranger]

Wow rod puller that slide was amazing I've gone through so many things and I have never seen anybody recommend  that I'm going to bookmark it and share it with people haha , well  also I was wondering if most nuke's go officer and if so when would the best  time to go be? Also on the slide it showed the eleventh year  earning well over 100,000 is why  is that?
and also thank you Heavy D for your input mind if I ask what rank you retired as?

[gsamelon]

Most Nukes do not go officer.  The ones that do go officer usually will do it while at powerschool or prototype and will never get to a boat as enlisted.  There are a few also that enter the LDO community later in life, usually at the E6 rank, however I have seen them go later.  

Just to clarify - the definition of most for my discussion is majority.  It doesn't mean some.  Some do go officer, it's just most don't.  

My #1 word of advice - if you want to be an officer and can afford going to school (ROTC or some other program can usually pay for most of it) then do that and go in as an officer.  You can always go from blue to khaki, but even with the best intentions, the navy can always deal the wrong set of cards and it never works out.  That being said, prior enlisted officers make great officers and I enjoyed serving with some really great ones.

My 2cents!

[HeavyD]

Well, the answer to your question is straight forward and possibly surprising.  I retired as a First Class (E-6).  How I got there from Chief is a story involving me making a single trip into the realm of the galactically stupid (no drugs or alcohol, so that narrows it down for those in the know).  This also happens to be the only regret I have about the Navy, a self inflicted one.  Life lesson for the younger generation out there

Had I not made that mistake, I would have retired in December as a 20 year Master Chief.  That makes me sound like a self promoting braggart, of that I am well aware.  However, I was a damn good Navy nuke.  I was on the "hot runner" path, I didn't kiss @$$, qualified everything, performed well and told people the truth when they asked, though somewhat more politically correct to some (you just don't tell the CO "exactly" what you think, you need to reword it so the conversation doesn't turn one sided).

Anyhoo, the other posts about the officer path are spot on.  I have had great experiences with regular college officers, Academy grads and LDOs.  I also have had bad experiences with all three.  The Navy is simply a small cross section of the civilian world, we had them all.

Your real limiting factor on your rank is going to be.........you.  Your drive, determination, personal pride, personality, people skills, leadership potential, all these things are directly in your control.  They also directly influence your advancement potential.  Study hard, work harder, pay attention, stay out of trouble (trust me on that one) and the sky will be the limit for you.

Hopefully this helps, in more ways than one.  Best of luck! 

[Rod Puller]

Wow rod puller that slide was amazing I've gone through so many things and I have never seen anybody recommend  that I'm going to bookmark it and share it with people haha , well  also I was wondering if most nuke's go officer and if so when would the best  time to go be? Also on the slide it showed the eleventh year  earning well over 100,000 is why  is that?
and also thank you Heavy D for your input mind if I ask what rank you retired as?

I don't know that you can make a blanket statement about nuke's going or not going the officer route.  In my experience it's a matter of drive and desire.  I'd venture to say that a larger percentage of nukes are capable of being adequate officers than most of the other enlisted communities.  However, most nukes are lacking either the drive to pursue a commission or the desire to do the job of an officer.  Since my Dad retired from the Navy as a Captain (prior enlisted), I had always thought that I would get a commission at some point.  Two key events changed that for me.  The first was going to my boat.  Although I think it would be an AMAZING experience being Officer of the Deck while submerged and on mission or Surface OOD while returning from deployment, it simply isn't worth the pains JO's have to endure to get to that point.  Just my personal opinion.  Second was making Chief.  Being a Chief was the most rewarding experience of my life and one of my proudest accomplishments.  One of the best quotes I've heard summarizing the differences between Chiefs and JO's came from a MMCS at prototype with me.  He told me: "Chiefs have jobs.  Officers have careers."  It's very true.  As a Chief your primary responsibility will be to ensure your division/crew/department is accomplishing everything they need to accomplish on a daily basis.  And, from day to day, each of these tasks will change.  In a single day I've qualified someone Reactor Operator, done a spot PMS check, visited a hospital to comfort a mother who's son was in a motorcycle accident, and ate chili dogs with my crew.  Officers, on the other hand, focus more mission tasking.  They're more the thinker types.  Abstract thoughts and such.  They set goals (realistic or not) that we make happen.  It's a good relationship that's worked for a very long time but I'd much rather be on the enlisted end.  It's also nice knowing that you're the one developing these future CO's and XO's.  For every good Captain there were dozens of Chiefs helping to mold him into the leader he became.  Sorry for the diatribe but it's something I'm very passionate about.  Keep in mind that I'm obviously biased and what's right for me won't be right for everyone.

To answer your question about the 11 year salary jump: it's because that slide show has you Zone C reenlisting at your 11 year point.  That won't be the case for everyone.  As the zones and multiples are changed so too will the bonuses and the timeframes.  I can tell you that a lot of guys are looking at a short term paycut to some degree if they pursue a commission after their 6 year point.  You'll have to weigh your options.  I'm glad that I waited since I'd have jumped into a job that I wouldn't have enjoyed nearly as much as the one I found myself doing in the end.  However, there's no denying the benefits of getting a commssion sooner rather than later if it's what you truly want to do.

Good luck to you.  I hope that everything works out well as your progress through your nuclear journey!

[DontGoToNPTU]

I don't know that you can make a blanket statement about nuke's going or not going the officer route.  In my experience it's a matter of drive and desire. 

From my experiences that is a very accurate statement. He wasn't saying anything about drive/ desire. He was just saying that most do not go officer,  and that is a very true statement. Out of all the enlisted people I have worked with and know, less than 5 percent went on to be an officer.

[Rod Puller]

From my experiences that is a very accurate statement. He wasn't saying anything about drive/ desire. He was just saying that most do not go officer,  and that is a very true statement. Out of all the enlisted people I have worked with and know, less than 5 percent went on to be an officer.

I wasn't disputing gsamelon's remarks.  I didn't realize I gave that impression.  I quoted the OP's question, not gsamelon's reply, because I was attempting to give a response to his inquiry that provided insight into career progression rather than just a blanket "no, most stay enlisted."  I agree completely with everything gsamelon said.  The majority of nukes stay enlisted; the military structure requires there to be more enlisted than officers.  But I wanted to make sure that the OP realized that going officer is a choice that some make, not a goal everyone desires to achieve.  I spoke more to what I felt the intent of his inquiry was rather than his specific question and felt he could use some information regarding the distinction between the two career paths.

[gsamelon]

I completely agree with Rod too!  So I think we are all the same page