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Offline WK95

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Questions about becoming a Navy Reactor Engineer
« on: Mar 21, 2014, 08:33 »
Hi everyone, I'm currently a freshman Mechanical Engineering major with a 3.78 GPA and I'm toying with the idea of becoming a Navy Reactor Engineer so I have some questions that I'm hoping the knowledgeable folks here can help me with.

1) In some places, the same role is called both a Reactor Engineer and a Navy Nuclear Machinist Mate. What is the difference if any or is it just a matter of title?

2) With the goal of becoming a navy reactor engineer, would NRROTC or NUPOC be the better choice? From my research, the main difference is that NRROTC is run through schools whereas NUPOC is not which is great since my college does not have it's own NRROTC program.

3) Could I apply to a 4+1 program (Get a B.Eng and a Masters in 5 years) for Mechanical Engineering or will service commitments prevent this? This wouldn't be a deal breaker by any means but it'd be nice if I could get a Masters before commissioning (Am I using the term correctly)

4) What exactly does one do to be a Nuke? Some Nukes are high school graduates while some others are required to have a college degree. I think tht to be a reactor engineer, one obviously must have a college degree right? I think thats a requirement.

5) What are your reactions to this? http://www.cracked.com/article_20871_6-things-movies-dont-show-you-about-life-submarine_p1.html

Thanks everyone.

Offline spekkio

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Re: Questions about becoming a Navy Reactor Engineer
« Reply #1 on: Mar 21, 2014, 09:00 »
Reactor engineers don't work on submarines.  They work in DC on Naval Reactor design and procedures.

1) MMs are enlisted sailors who maintain ship's machinery. A lot of their preventative maintenance is cleaning/greasing stuff and making sure fluid can go from A to B. The nuke MMs get to do it with an ELT standing over them to ensure they don't spread contamination. Completely unrelated to NRE.

2) I don't have a 100% answer to this. With NUPOC, you can guarantee that what you interview for in DC with the 4 star admiral is what you get. With NROTC, there's a service selection process, so you could end up being a SWO. Having said that, there might not even be any NROTC slots available for you as a freshman already.

3) Not if you are already committed via NUPOC or NROTC.

4) Again, there are different flavors of 'nukes.' If you want to be a NRE, talk to an officer recruiter and apply for that position.

5) My reaction is that it's irrelevant to you because as a NRE you wouldn't serve onboard a sub.
« Last Edit: Mar 21, 2014, 09:04 by spekkio »

Offline WK95

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Re: Questions about becoming a Navy Reactor Engineer
« Reply #2 on: Mar 21, 2014, 09:04 »
Oh wow. I'm embarrassed at having gotten it all wrong. Oops.

Thanks for clearing things up.

Offline spekkio

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Re: Questions about becoming a Navy Reactor Engineer
« Reply #3 on: Mar 21, 2014, 09:08 »
Oh wow. I'm embarrassed at having gotten it all wrong. Oops.

Thanks for clearing things up.
It's cool. The official recruiting posters can be confusing.

If you want to be an NRE, go to an officer recruiter and tell them so. They'll give you further info. All the districts have someone who specializes in recruiting nukes. Don't let them sell you on subs, though -- that is NOT reactor engineer.

Offline maroon

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Re: Questions about becoming a Navy Reactor Engineer
« Reply #4 on: Mar 22, 2014, 09:07 »
Just to be clear, Naval Reactors Engineers at NR headquarters in DC don't actually do any of the design or research themselves.  They are more of a liaison between the labs, contractors, fleet, and shipyards providing the government oversight and approval of the entire process.  They need to have a very strong engineering background in order to understand the concepts behind the design and operation of the reactors, but the actual research/design work is done by civilians, not military officers.

Also, for NUPOC, you need to be within 18 months of graduation for a bachelor's, or 12 months of graduation for a master's to apply for the NRE position.  So, while you could do a 4+1 program, you would have to wait until the last year before starting your application.  If you are interested in Subs/SWO-N/Instructor, you can apply as early as 30 months from graduation for a bachelor's or 12 months for a master's. 

You also need to make sure to keep your grades up throughout college, as NR likes to see a 3.8+ GPA for the NRE candidates, and even then they are still very selective on who is invited to interview for the job.

Offline WK95

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Re: Questions about becoming a Navy Reactor Engineer
« Reply #5 on: Mar 22, 2014, 12:25 »
Just to be clear, Naval Reactors Engineers at NR headquarters in DC don't actually do any of the design or research themselves.  They are more of a liaison between the labs, contractors, fleet, and shipyards providing the government oversight and approval of the entire process.  They need to have a very strong engineering background in order to understand the concepts behind the design and operation of the reactors, but the actual research/design work is done by civilians, not military officers.

Also, for NUPOC, you need to be within 18 months of graduation for a bachelor's, or 12 months of graduation for a master's to apply for the NRE position.  So, while you could do a 4+1 program, you would have to wait until the last year before starting your application.  If you are interested in Subs/SWO-N/Instructor, you can apply as early as 30 months from graduation for a bachelor's or 12 months for a master's. 

You also need to make sure to keep your grades up throughout college, as NR likes to see a 3.8+ GPA for the NRE candidates, and even then they are still very selective on who is invited to interview for the job.

Oh that's no problem. I wouldn't expect a person fresh out of college to be able to get any serious research or design work in the first place.

As for the 3.8+ GPA. Yikes, that's far tougher than I had thought. I doubt I can maintain those grades in higher level courses. My current GPA is 3.78 for the intro science courses.

Offline klj3827

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Re: Questions about becoming a Navy Reactor Engineer
« Reply #6 on: Mar 22, 2014, 01:36 »
Oh that's no problem. I wouldn't expect a person fresh out of college to be able to get any serious research or design work in the first place.

As for the 3.8+ GPA. Yikes, that's far tougher than I had thought. I doubt I can maintain those grades in higher level courses. My current GPA is 3.78 for the intro science courses.

That's not a hard limit, but it's a good target. The quality of your university also factors in to the screening process.

One other thing to note, assuming you were to get selected, there is no guarantee you would be working in the field of mechanical engineering. Your initial job at NR is dictated by the needs of the Navy. You could end up following environmental, safety, and health programs at the Labs (for example).

I don't say this to discourage you, but to make you fully aware. I've seen a lot of people show up to NR expecting it to be something it's not, and they spend the next 5 years being miserable. In my experience, people who never worked for Headquarters don't have a good understanding of what it's like to work there. 

If you ultimately want to work at NR, keep your grades up, keep out of trouble, and don't let the recruiter try to steer you a different route.

Offline Gamecock

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Re: Questions about becoming a Navy Reactor Engineer
« Reply #7 on: Mar 22, 2014, 03:04 »
That's not a hard limit, but it's a good target. The quality of your university also factors in to the screening process.

One other thing to note, assuming you were to get selected, there is no guarantee you would be working in the field of mechanical engineering. Your initial job at NR is dictated by the needs of the Navy. You could end up following environmental, safety, and health programs at the Labs (for example).

I don't say this to discourage you, but to make you fully aware. I've seen a lot of people show up to NR expecting it to be something it's not, and they spend the next 5 years being miserable. In my experience, people who never worked for Headquarters don't have a good understanding of what it's like to work there. 

If you ultimately want to work at NR, keep your grades up, keep out of trouble, and don't let the recruiter try to steer you a different route.

And you forgot to mention that an NRE is not guaranteed to be offered a permanent position after the initial five year commitment.  Something to think about, since there are good folks now who want to stay that have been told they cannot... Didn't use to be that way.

Job is good experience, but you don't make much money until you make LT at your four year point.  You will likely do better in regards to compensation elsewhere. 


I worked there; if you want some real insight, drop me a PM.

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Offline WK95

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Re: Questions about becoming a Navy Reactor Engineer
« Reply #8 on: Mar 22, 2014, 03:46 »
That's not a hard limit, but it's a good target. The quality of your university also factors in to the screening process.

One other thing to note, assuming you were to get selected, there is no guarantee you would be working in the field of mechanical engineering. Your initial job at NR is dictated by the needs of the Navy. You could end up following environmental, safety, and health programs at the Labs (for example).

I don't say this to discourage you, but to make you fully aware. I've seen a lot of people show up to NR expecting it to be something it's not, and they spend the next 5 years being miserable. In my experience, people who never worked for Headquarters don't have a good understanding of what it's like to work there. 

If you ultimately want to work at NR, keep your grades up, keep out of trouble, and don't let the recruiter try to steer you a different route.

When you say that the initial job is determined by the current needs, would it also be the case that people are shifted around departments based on need?

I'm still interested in working at NR.

Offline klj3827

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Re: Questions about becoming a Navy Reactor Engineer
« Reply #9 on: Mar 22, 2014, 08:35 »
When you say that the initial job is determined by the current needs, would it also be the case that people are shifted around departments based on need?

I'm still interested in working at NR.

Yes, but that is rare, particularly for a junior engineer (<5 years).  NR wants you to be the Program's expert in what you own and that takes time.
« Last Edit: Mar 22, 2014, 08:36 by klj3827 »

Offline WK95

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Re: Questions about becoming a Navy Reactor Engineer
« Reply #10 on: Mar 22, 2014, 11:38 »
Yes, but that is rare, particularly for a junior engineer (<5 years).  NR wants you to be the Program's expert in what you own and that takes time.

Ok thanks. That makes sense I suppose as shifitng people to unrelated fields would mean wasted training in some cases.

Offline WK95

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Re: Questions about becoming a Navy Reactor Engineer
« Reply #11 on: Mar 23, 2014, 05:17 »
I'm confused now.

So through the NUPOC program the NAVY says that officers from that program either become Nuclear Power School Instructors, get put on ships, or get put on subs.

So just where does Nuclear Reactor Engineer at D.C. factor into NUPOC?

I'm getting a variety of information from different people.

Offline klj3827

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Re: Questions about becoming a Navy Reactor Engineer
« Reply #12 on: Mar 23, 2014, 06:36 »
I'm confused now.

So through the NUPOC program the NAVY says that officers from that program either become Nuclear Power School Instructors, get put on ships, or get put on subs.

So just where does Nuclear Reactor Engineer at D.C. factor into NUPOC?

I'm getting a variety of information from different people.

You can become an NR engineer via NUPOC.  A sizable portion of incoming engineers come from NUPOC.

http://www.navy.com/careers/nuclear-energy/reactors-engineer.html

Samabby

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Re: Questions about becoming a Navy Reactor Engineer
« Reply #13 on: Mar 24, 2014, 08:35 »
" I'm confused now."

Mr. Gamecock has reached out to you. Take him up on his kind offer.

Offline WK95

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Re: Questions about becoming a Navy Reactor Engineer
« Reply #14 on: Mar 25, 2014, 12:53 »
" I'm confused now."

Mr. Gamecock has reached out to you. Take him up on his kind offer.
I already have. I'll think through things more and see if I'm still interested in the program in the future then I'll be back.

 


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