I am going enlisted and have done some minor research on the matter, however, I still have a few questions regarding getting picked up for OCS.
Well, it was kinda silly to research something AFTER you committed to it, ye-as?
First off, I have a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering. I personally felt that the thermo, heat transfer, etc. theory that I obtained while in school will help substantially. My main concern is whether or not I will be required to finish the nuke pipeline if I do get picked up for OCS.
You will not be eligible to apply to OCS until you get to your first sea command because you can't be within 6 months or 1 year of transfer (I can't remember which, but you can google the enlisted OCS application instruction). All of your training schools are at most 6 month orders.
Then after that you need to be onboard long enough to qualify and get the CO's endorsement (and I mean a real endorsement, not the standard faint praise 'xxx is recommended for commissioning,' which means being around long enough to get EPs on evals and raise your hand for leadership opportunities and big-boy collateral duties.
Realistically you're looking at 3-4 years of service minimum to finish schooling, get qualified, prove you're a hot running Sailor, and get the required recommendations. Then you have to be young enough to apply (under 27 waiverable to 29 with prior service for aviation/nfo, 29 waiverable to 31 with prior service for swo/subs).
If you want a commission, you should see if there's any way to back out of your enlistment, find an officer recruiter, and apply for a commissioning program directly assuming you meet the minimum GPA requirements.
I understand that I need to submit my package for OCS as soon and often as possible. From what I've gathered from other posts, though, it seems that once I'm in OCS that I will basically abandon the pipeline from the point I got accepted. As a nuke officer would I really not finish all the required enlisted school? And if so, does that mean I would have zero field experience as an officer?
If you get picked up for nuke officer, you will go through power school a second time. You'll probably be one of the guys who doesn't have to put in any extra study hours and plays a lot of golf while being at the top of the class. Some of the stuff will be new material and go into college level theory, but a lot of it will be repeat knowledge, particularly the operational stuff.
Most officers don't have 'field experience' as you put it, which I think you mean sea duty experience. The only areas where it would really help are 1) you wouldn't be going through the Navy culture shock while trying to also learn a new job 2) you'll have experienced some more CPOs/DIVOs and have an idea of what leadership techniques work/doesn't work from the deckplate level and 3) you'll have a little more street cred with the crewmembers as an Ensign/LTJG. By the time you've got a gold warfare device for about 6 months, though, it won't make much of a difference and people would only know you're prior enlisted if you told them.
It's not well represented in popular media, but there are two career tracks in the military (enlisted and officer). You can think of it as an officer is on the executive track at a company whereas enlisted Sailors are the 'doers' and can move into a foreman/branch manager type job eventually. There is a lot of institutional inertia that prevents moving between enlisted and officer; it's not something you get promoted to because you were doing a really good job. You have to put in an application and essentially leave your current career track, which is the Seaman to Master Chief track, to start over at square 1 in a new one as an Ensign. It is certainly doable, but if you already meet the criteria for a commission now, you are making it harder for yourself because you're going to have to now demonstrate being a top Sailor for a couple of years to get someone to sign off on your package.
Were you eligible for STA-21 and got picked up in prototype, you'd transfer to your university without completing prototype and attend college for 3 years, then start over in the nuke training pipeline once commissioned. But you're not eligible for the program because you already hold a degree.
Also, if I do get picked up for officer, how long should I expect to be deployed? I've read that it's a 2 year sea tour (which will really piss my fiance off) followed by a 3 year shore tour. I may be mistaken on the length of time, but then again that's why I am asking.
Enlisted sea tour is 52 months, followed by 36 month tours if you reenlist and keep going with approximately 2 year shore duties between them where you have to do an in-rate job (read: usually prototype instructor) to stay competitive for promotion. Officer tours for subs are 32 month divo, 32 month DH, 18 month XO, 24 mo CO, with approximately 2 year shore duties between them where the post JO shore duty can be anything, but post DH/XO/CO jobs you are expected to start doing squadron and staff jobs to stay eligible for promotion and learn how 'big Navy' works. Conventional SWOs have a split divo tour where they transfer you after 18 months when you qualify and you do a big-boy JO job for 24 months (as a nuke SWO you attend power school inbetween those tours and the 2nd tour will be a nuke DIVO job on a carrier/standing watch in the plant), total of 42 months for a divo tour. Shore duties work essentially the same for SWOs as far as 2-ish years between sea duty tours. I'm not sure how the DH and above sea tours work (I believe there is a split in there as well), but if you go SWO you'll find out eventually and can make a decision to stay in the pipeline or not. You also attend tactical schools prior to reporting as DH, XO, and CO.
These are 'nominal' sea tour times and can vary depending on the mission and manning, with much much more latitude to change enlisted timing. The officer timing can only vary by a few months because you have to keep hitting your career milestones by a certain time in service to be eligible for promotion.