High School Navy nuke in the DEP with a lot of questions.

[Sully8791]

Hey Guys,
This is my first ever post so just wanted to say love the information here! I Recently took my ASVAB and qualified for nuke and have decided to choose this as my rate.  This being said i have a million questions that i don't want to bombard my recruiter with, as well as I'm really interested in hearing from people who have done nuke. Really Appreciate any and all insight!
1.) During basics am i allowed any contact with the outside world? ex: cell phone.
2.) I've heard nukes make a lot of money compared to other rates is this true and if so how much money do they make?
3.) What are the living arrangements for all the schools, and are the schools 7 days a week or are weekends free?
4.) Are cars allowed at any of the schools?
5.) Are you allowed to take leave when in any of the schools?
6.) When if at all are personal electronics(Laptops, Cell Phones, video games) allowed.
7.) What is carrier life like when at sea( living arrangements, meals, time off ship at various ports, free time activities)
8.) If my stationed carrier is at its home port and not deployed can i live off base and receive a rent allowance?
9.) What do i have to do to be able to pick where I am stationed or the ship I am assigned to?
10.) What are the singing bonuses for navy nukes and when do we receive them?
11.) Is there a lot of opportunity to travel while in?
12.) What are practical officer routes if i am going enlisted nuke?
13.) Is life outside of work while ship is not deployed relatively normal?
14.) Do you have a lot of spending money?
Sorry for the amount of questions just trying to understand my future a little bit any help is appreciated!-Sully

[Rerun]

Those are all questions to ask the recruiter

[HeavyD]

First, nuke isn't your rate.  A rate would be MM (Machinist Mate), EM (Electrician Mate), ET (Electronic Technician).  Nuke is simply the general field that you will work in.

1.) During basics am i allowed any contact with the outside world? ex: cell phone.
You can write letters (snail mail), not sure if they allow you access to email (I went to boot camp in 1991), no cell phone.

2.) I've heard nukes make a lot of money compared to other rates is this true and if so how much money do they make?
How much money you make is based off of your rank.  Talk to your recruiter about how the rank structure works.  As a nuke on board a ship/sub, you'll receive a little extra money each money (when I retired in 2011, the supervisor level nukes got $450 extra a month, before taxes)

3.) What are the living arrangements for all the schools, and are the schools 7 days a week or are weekends free?
Single, you live in the barracks.  Married, you live base housing or our in town.  Weekends are "free" in that there is no class.  Homework and studying?  That's a different matter.

4.) Are cars allowed at any of the schools?
If I recall correctly, no cars until Power School.

5.) Are you allowed to take leave when in any of the schools?
During the duration of the actual school, no unless there is an extreme family emergency.  What the Navy defines as extreme for this scenario is probably a little more severe than most civilians will expect.

6.) When if at all are personal electronics(Laptops, Cell Phones, video games) allowed.
You can have that stuff in "A" school and usually aboard ship.  However, cell phone use while the ship is underway (carriers) was strictly controlled when I was still in.  Might have changed since, but not I'm betting on it.

7.) What is carrier life like when at sea( living arrangements, meals, time off ship at various ports, free time activities)
you sleep in a 6 1/2 foot, by 2 1/2 foot, by 2 1/2 foot box, meals are served 4 times a day, you'll probably get 3 day port visits on deployment, with maybe a day and a half for going out in town, until you are fully qualified all of your assigned duties, free time is not a luxury you are afforded. 

8.) If my stationed carrier is at its home port and not deployed can i live off base and receive a rent allowance?
Depends on your rank.  Ask the recruiter.

9.) What do i have to do to be able to pick where I am stationed or the ship I am assigned to?
You don't get to pick.  You get to tell the Navy what you want as far as specific ship and/or port.  Then, the needs of the Navy will determine where you end up (get used to seeing and hearing that phrase, "Needs of the Navy")

10.) What are the singing bonuses for navy nukes and when do we receive them?
Definitely a question for your recruiter.

11.) Is there a lot of opportunity to travel while in?
LMAO (sorry), the Navy will travel you to lots of places.  If you mean traveling while not underway, depends on your ship's in-port work schedule, how much leave you have built up and how good of a chain-of-command you have.

12.) What are practical officer routes if i am going enlisted nuke?
1st question; Why do you want to be an officer?  If the answer is because of better pay, you're already doing it wrong.  Google "Navy officer programs"

13.) Is life outside of work while ship is not deployed relatively normal?
NOTHING is ever normal once you join, unless you consider being at work before most of the rest of the civilian population is out of bed, staying at work overnight once every 3 - 4 days (standing duty) and then working a full workday the next day, being told what to wear everyday, when to shave and get a haircut, etc.  What you'll find happens is that you will come to define "normal" differently. 

14.) Do you have a lot of spending money?
Depends on so many things, specifically how much debt you already have, how much debt you get yourself into and how disciplined you are when it comes to budgeting and saving.

Yes, there are a lot of things here you should ask your recruiter about, that's part of their job.  Hopefully these few answers are somewhat helpful.  They by no means are complete, so you still need to talk to your recruiter.

Best of luck!

[Tylor]

Here's my input as a current Navy nuke. I went through the pipeline 2013-2015. Just added on where I could to what HeavyD has said.

1.) During basics am i allowed any contact with the outside world? ex: cell phone.
An update from 2013, still no phones or e-mails. All snail mail.

2.) I've heard nukes make a lot of money compared to other rates is this true and if so how much money do they make?
Your base pay is based off of your rank, so everyone in the Navy makes the same. Nukes don't really make rank all that much faster than other rates. What nukes do get are big re-enlistment bonuses, which come with yearly installments. As well as pro-pay, potentially instructor pay, and nuclear supervisory pay. As a nuke who hasn't re-enlisted and doesn't have a supervisory NEC, you'll be making the same as everyone else.

3.) What are the living arrangements for all the schools, and are the schools 7 days a week or are weekends free?
Single, you live in the barracks.  Married, you live base housing or our in town.  Weekends are "free" in that there is no class. <- That's all true until you hit prototype. Prototype doesn't have barracks, so everyone receives BAH and lives in their own houses. Also their schedule is a bit more confusing, as they work rotating shiftwork. It will make more sense to you at the time, but it's 7 days straight of 12 hour shifts, with 2 day weekends in between. Every 5 weeks you get a 4 day weekend. If you do well in school your shifts can go as low as 8 hours per day.

4.) Are cars allowed at any of the schools?
Yes, although for the first month of A-school you won't be allowed to drive it.

5.) Are you allowed to take leave when in any of the schools?
You can take leave in your hold periods between schools, and you may get the chance during holiday periods. Other that that you won't get a chance until you're done with school. Unless you have to take emergency leave..

8.) If my stationed carrier is at its home port and not deployed can i live off base and receive a rent allowance?
Yes, if you're an E-5, or married, or if you're an E-4 with over 4 years in the Navy.

9.) What do i have to do to be able to pick where I am stationed or the ship I am assigned to?
If you do exceptionally well in school, and get lucky, then you can be selected as a staff pickup in prototype. You'll have to re-enlist, but you can teach students for 2 years after school, and then you'll get a little bit of a choice when it comes to orders, but it's still mostly needs of the Navy. Otherwise as a student you'll be given a "dreamsheet" out of prototype where you select where you want to go, and it seems completely random that you'll actually get anything like that.

10.) What are the singing bonuses for navy nukes and when do we receive them?
Singing bonuses? The Nuclear Navy doesn't care about your musical abilities. Signing bonuses vary. When I joined the enlistment bonus was 11,000 dollars, payable when you finish all your schooling (about 2 years) and the re-enlistment bonuses are currently 100,000 for every submariner, and 75,000-100,000 for surface nukes.

12.) What are practical officer routes if i am going enlisted nuke?
You have several officer routes before going enlisted, if that's what you want to do. I'd look into the ROTC program. Once you're enlisted, you can apply for the Naval Academy, STA-21, or if you already have a degree you can go through OCS. Additionally, once you've been in about 8 years you can apply for the LDO program.

[MMM]

1.) During basics am i allowed any contact with the outside world? ex: cell phone.
Snail mail and getting to use pay phones was it in 1994. You got to call home I believe 2-3 times and had 20 minutes.
2.) I've heard nukes make a lot of money compared to other rates is this true and if so how much money do they make?
Most of the money comes from faster advancement and reenlistment bonuses. The SDAP (special duty assignment pay) was $150 for 335X/8X and $350 for 336X/9X (supervisors). $450 was for instructors.
6.) When if at all are personal electronics(Laptops, Cell Phones, video games) allowed.
Answered above, but no cell phones on the NPTU sites.
7.) What is carrier life like when at sea( living arrangements, meals, time off ship at various ports, free time activities)
8.) If my stationed carrier is at its home port and not deployed can i live off base and receive a rent allowance?
If you're married or E-5 you can request BAH, which, if you're single and get decent roommates can help you financially.
9.) What do i have to do to be able to pick where I am stationed or the ship I am assigned to?
Right out of NPTU you have no say. As you move to different commands, you have a little more input, but as was stated, needs of the navy come first. Typically, if you want Norfolk, you can get that. If you want to go to a carrier, don't volunteer for subs.
10.) What are the singing bonuses for navy nukes and when do we receive them?
I hate all of you and your reenlistment bonuses. 20 years and I got a total of about $90000 for reenlistments.
11.) Is there a lot of opportunity to travel while in?
I took a 2 week vacation in New Zealand after NPTU back in 1996, so if you're frugal, and don't want to visit family/friends back home, yes, you can take leave and travel. Typically with 30 days leave per year (that includes weekends/holidays), most people go visit family.
12.) What are practical officer routes if i am going enlisted nuke?
STA-21, Naval academy if you have no dependents, OCS if you have a degree, LDO
13.) Is life outside of work while ship is not deployed relatively normal?
No.
14.) Do you have a lot of spending money?
Depends on how smart you are with your money. Early on, not so much.