Becoming a Navy Nuclear Reactors Engineer

[sfinnswim]

I am a sophomore Mechanical Engineering student at Carnegie Mellon University.  I have always been interested in joining the navy and after learning about the program, I am interested in becoming a Navy Nuclear Reactors Engineer.  I currently have a 3.76 GPA and have had a decent amount of leadership experience.  I am also a swimmer and am fairly active.  I was wondering if anyone knew if I had a good chance of being accepted into the program.  I met with a recruiter and they thought I would be somewhat competitive.  If anyone who has been accepted or in the program has any information they could share, I would greatly appreciate it! 


Thanks,
Shannon

[Matt]

Based on your GPA, school, and major you are fairly competitive for the program.  To get a definitive answer have your recruiter submit you for an "academic prescreen", all he will need is your college transcripts and SAT/ACT scores.  The academic prescreen will come to my office and we then forward them to Naval Reactors (NR) for review, the process usually takes less than a week.


To become a Naval Reactors Engineer (NRE) you will need to be within 18 months of graduation, so as a Sophomore and assuming you graduate in May 2019, you will need to wait until December 2017 to join the program.  If you decided to join as a Submarine Officer, Surface Warfare Officer, or Instructor you could be accepted in to the program 30 months prior to graduation, which would be this December.


Once you are accepted in to the program you will become an active duty member of the military and start receiving $4,312.99 per month (E-6 basic allowance for housing (BAH) in Pittsburgh: $1,509, E-6 base pay: $2,435.70, & Enlisted basic allowance for subsistence (BAS): $368.29).  While in school your only obligations would be to continue making good grades, not do drugs, and pass a physical fitness test twice a year.  After graduation there is a five year commitment.

Please review my offices website (https://nupocaccessions.blogspot.com) to find out more details about the program.  If you would like to discuss the program with me over the phone please PM me your contact info.

Disclaimer: I am one of the Program Managers for the Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate (NUPOC) Program at the Navy Recruiting Command Headquarters.