I happened to enlist under a different rate, with the promise of being re-rated to nuke afterwards. It did work out like promised, with a caveat. But now that I’m aware of how the military works, I realize that was one of the stupidest, most risky decisions I ever made.
What’s so simple about the matter is there’s truly nothing preventing a recruiter from telling you -whatever- it is you need to hear to sign an enlistment. After you’ve enlisted, any dispute you have will get resolved by the Navy in terms of rank - and you don’t outrank your recruiter.
The caveat of how my enlisting worked out, is that I enlisted for the SECF rate. When I did so, I was told that whole contract would be shredded and replaced with the nuclear rate contract. Which was *mostly* true. They decided to keep the Submarine Volunteer slip from that first contract. I did not discover this until halfway through bootcamp.
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As far as rates go - there are three. Mechanics, Electricians, and Electronic Technicians. You can research those on your own - but your decision will be limited to indicating order of preference. After that point, the Navy takes the pieces of paper and proceeds to assign people however they want. Really, it’s not a decision that’s in your hands or something to worry about.
I have heard hints that the rate assignment is influenced by ASVAB scores, so having a high score in the mechanical/spatial section may help you get into the Mechanic (default) rate. If you want one of the other two rates, make sure you get your highest scores in the electrical knowledge section? (For the probability you influence this, it’s probably not worth the effort of retaking an ASVAB.)
