Newbie Navy Nuc Program Questions (DEP)

[taterhead]

Depending on the degree program, there are BSAST degrees out there that require an extra 6-8 classes to get the degree.

To become an instructor at NPS, you should be a Watch Supervisor qualified First Class sea returnee or above.  To go to Prototype, you need only be a second class qualified Senior in rate sea returnee (unless you are a staff pickup, but that is a different thread).

[Bighouz107501]

When will I receive a chance to be one of these? Because I would really like to take part in this.

[BuddyThePug]

you'll find out when you get there. No point counting your chickens before you even get to bootcamp....

[taterhead]

When will I receive a chance to be one of these? Because I would really like to take part in this.

Take part in what?  Instructor duty?

After you complete your first sea tour, which is 3-5 years after prototype.  Like Buddy said, you have many hours of midwatch to stand before then...

[Rad Sponge]

Its great that you want to engage in a career path now.

There are many variables behind the scenes that you as a trainee will have no direct control over in terms of what will happen to you in the pipeline in regards to nuke life:

1. Your rating (MM, EM, or ET). Now, when I joined there was a shortage of MMs so I could guarantee MM during boot. However, you will find out if you can choose any particular rating during your boot camp in-processing. One day, all the nukes in your boot camp division will be marched over to some office to do some nuke paperwork. All the rating stuff will happen there.

2. Your class start date. Ok, you graduate boot and are whisked off to beautiful and balmy Charleston, South Carolina to begin your A-school training. If a class of A-schoolers just started, you may be doing none-nuke training until the next class forms up (waiting on more arrivals from boot camp). This none-nuke training will most likely involve cleaning something and being bossed around by none-nuke enlisted building managers who have nothing better to do then be mean to nukes that willmost likely be of equal rank to them in less than 2 years time.

Caution: During this down time you may feel antsy, nervous, ready to start nuke training, bored, pissed off, FTNed, or in close proximity to bad nukes who are on restriction and quite possibly on the way out of the nuke pipeline en route to a life of scraping and painting various metal things. During these times many potentially good nukes find themselves in bad nuke situations and due to lack of foresight, become bad nukes. Therefore, of you find yourself in the wrong crowd, leave the crowd.

3. Your class starts. Yea, have fun and study. Graduate, get your chevron, go to Petty Officer Third Class Indoctrination training. Pat yourself on the back, you deserve it, get ready for round 2.

Caution: Time for more cleaning. See you may either be the last graduating A-School class to form up with the other graduated A-school classes to form up an entire Nuclear Power School class OR you may be waiting for more A-school classes to graduate. So basically there could be a week or lotsa weeks between graduating A-school and starting NPS. It all depends on timing. So, more cleaning possibly and other infrastructurally necessary duties to keep the big machine turning.

I was doing this for about 7 weeks. Keep sharp. Keep motivated. Stay out of trouble.

4. NPS begins. Yea, have fun and study. Try and graduate in the top 50% or better. Graduate. Pat yourself on the back, you deserve it, get ready for round 3.

No more barracks, gotta find an apartment or a house to rent either in SC or NY depending. You by now have formed a close relationship with a few guys that you can trust. Become roommates or find your own place.

5. Prototype. This is where the choices begin that will make or break your chances to be an instructor. The first step was actually making it to prototype having graduated in the top half of your NPS class. Now its time to seperate the wrench turners from the theory-jockies. You better impress the heck out of your been-there-done-that-used-to-fish instructors. You may ask, "How do I do that?". "Well, for 19.95...." No, seriously, its really quite easy:

1. Be 15-20 minutes early for everything scheduled.....coming to work, classes, small group exercises, 1-on-1 training.
2. Work tirelessly to stay ahead of "The Curve". The curve is this imaginary monolithic structure that make apes pick up bones and kill each other  The curve is just a projected level of completeness you need to be at in relation to your specific prototype class of MMs, EMs, ETs respectively. You want to be at least 10% or more ahead of "The Curve". Think of the curve as a savings account. The farther you get ahead of the curve, the more money you have in the bank. Maybe one day you lose your job or in relative turns, the prototype reactor has to shut down for some reason and the training progress slows too. Well, if you had no money in the bank and lost your job, life would suck. If the training tool goes away and you are straddling the curve, you will soon be "NEGATIVE". Don't be negative, ever. Being negative is like being financially in the red.
Bad ju-ju.

But how do I get ahead of "The Curve"? Really easy.

a. By working tirelessly to get check-outs, by putting in extra hours, by setting the example for your peers, by impressing your instructors, by bringing candy to check-outs.

Aside from the candy, all the preceding stuff will motivate your instructors to facilitate your qualifying ahead of a more shit-bag type trainee.

3. Uniforms: Keep them inspection ready. Have a uniform you don't mind getting dirty "On the boat". Have seperate uniforms you wear in the off-hull building. Maybe you are covered in grease because you just got off watch, but is that the presentation you want to make in the training environment to people that may think you just look like shit rather than knowing you just got off watch?

4. Now, following all that advice, you have done EVERYTHING in YOUR power to make yourself look good for: Officer programs, being selected for staff training right after graduation (staff pick-up), or an extra school if you are an MM (Welder or ELT). You've kept your nose clean, studied hard, shown respect, maintained a nice uniform, qualified early, stood watch, gave a sea-returnee time off watch because you qualified to stand his/her watch, and are now a useful nuke. You are done.

But you were not selected for anything? Why? Who knows, maybe there is a new ship needing extra manning, maybe a bunch of senior guys at sea got discharged, maybe there were candidates better than you. Who knows. These are all those intangible behind the scene things you are not privy to and have no control over. Do you become imbittered? No, you take your ethics to sea and keep on plugging. A nuke like you is bound to succeed and become a stand-out somewhere.

Acting the same way at sea will make you eligible for all the special programs you want.

There are many things I have not covered, but its beyond your level of concern right now. So much of th pipeline is situational and cultural that I could not begin to describe the finer points in a way that it would make any sense to you. Just follow my advice and you will easily figure the rest of out for yourself.

Good luck.

[graydragon67]

AMEN to brother JMK!

You forgot the whole drinking and drug lecture but, other than that it was fabulous!

[Rad Sponge]

Short and Sweet Drug Lecture

by JMK

Chapter 1: Drug Use

a. Legal Drugs-You better have a current prescription and a documented reason for taking them and the prescription better be a Navy Prescription and it bettter be documented in your medical record
b. Illegal Drugs- Zero tolerance for use or association with users

Chapter 2: Alcohol

a. 21 or over- Drink responsibly, never show up hung over or with alcohol breath, never drink around those under 21
b. Under 21- Zero tolerance for underage drinking, never even hang out around legal drinkers drinking.

The End

[Bighouz107501]

jmk thank you very much for all the details. now i have a much better idea of everything. I realize that i have much time before this comes, but I like to be prepared. I thikn its the fact that I do not want to fail, and i want to be as great as my potential will allow.

[Rad Sponge]

You are most welcomed.

I was once you, clueless, but motivated.

I however did not have a website like this to prepare me, however I did have excellent mentors to keep me on the straight and narrow through "proactive and reactive leadership".

If you have any more questions, let em rip.

Keep me posted as your nuclear saga unfolds.

[ccarpenter5423]

Whats cracking dennis,
I currently have been in the program for five and a half years. 
I am just going to make this short and sweet. 

1 They give you a chance to pick,  usually everyone wants to either be an ET or MM.  I might be a little biased here, but i actually think EM is the way to go,  keep in mind that things are different depending on if you go subs or surface.  I think that every rate has its goods and bads,  I will say that as far as getting a degree you get more credit for a wire biter rate.  Even though they let you pick, I'm not sure how exactly they decide. 

2  As far as classes go, I would say that they have very little to do with math, some physics, and some chemistry.  Mostly the school goes into engineering principles on subjects such as what your in-rate will be, heat engines, reactor theory, and radiation.  You will learn what they all are,  the school is ten hours long a day,  you will usually have three to four hours of homework.  Sometimes you will have mandatory study hours, even if you have no homework.  The hardes part is that its just alot of cramming of info all at once.  Im not going to lie its not going to be fun. 

3.  The civilian outlook.  Well this is where about 75% of people get lossed in the program, usually they all forget about there original goal.  Most guys after finally getting to the ship and becoming senior just want to party.  You should definately have as much as fun as you can...... as long as it does not interfere with you getting out.  Be weary of the dreaded re-enlistment bonus, THEY will usually try to get you to bite right out of the "the pipeline" promising you that you will make much more money in the long run.  The civilian outlook depends on what you do.  Just make sure you pursue school as soon as you can.  This will probably be once you get to your ship or boat and have qualified a few watches.  Make sure you save up enough money to support you for like six to eight months.  probably like fifteen thousand.  The average jobs i see people getting start 45k to 50k.  If your hard charging and have qualified "Watch Supervisor" and have completed a degree, you could start at 60k to 70k.  Keep in mind these are all starting pays and jobs also come with benefits, bonuses and allowances.  If you have any questions just let me know.

[Rad Sponge]

CC is absolutely on target with the salaries...

All those stories about nukes getting out making 6 figures or high 5 figures are misleading to a point. Does it happen? Yes. However...

The biggest money for a nuke is civilian nuclear power. Is there a catch? Yes.

You start as an Non Licensed Operator or Auxilliary Operator for maybe 21-27 ish/hour depending on location. Still not bad money, but does that equate to big big money? No, you need to factor in overtime. You won't be making the big nuke bucks without putting in some serious hours.

Eventually you move up the ranks and if you want, move into Reactor Operator and eventually Senior Reactor Licensing. Now we are talking big bucks but we are also talking 4-8 years after starting as an NLO.

Now, its possible to bypass NLO and move straight into RO/SRO qualifications. Yes. But it depends on the company and your background. You will need a 4 year degree in preferably a technical/engineering type program, been qualified EWS/PPWS/and-or EOOW/PPWO and unless you are Gods gift to nukes, that will take you longer than your basic 6 year nuke contract to accomplish. Can you complete a 4 year degree and be qualified EWS/PPWS without ever re-enlisting? Yes, seen it, but it is the exception.

Are there other places for nukes to make big money? Sure.

Pharmaceutical, manufacturing, bio-technology, I/C, the list goes on. I have found that many major companies like nukes because we are so damn trainable. We know how to think and act methodically and proactively.

Based on hiring conferences I have attended, the starting salary for nukes like me (degree, supervisor, 8-10 yrs, Frst Class) is between 50K - 65K base. These were non-nuke companies (Pharma, Manufacturing, Semi-Conductor) looking for nukes.

I say base salary because its just a starting base salary. Think of it as minimum wage. You don't expect to stay at minimum wage, its just a starting point. More importantly are the benes! Healthcare, Insurance, retirement: That is serious stuff to consider. 45K w/ full benes is worth a hellava lot more to me than 60K w/o full benes.

To sum up, the money is there for those nukes with the right credentials. If you get out at your 6 year point with only the minimum qualifications required of you (Warfare (if sub), Senior in Rating Watch qualified) you better have no delusions of grandeur when it comes to salary proposals.

Every extra thing you achieve means more potential starting salary: Instructor qualified, Master Training Specialist, Watch Supervisor, Leading Petty Officer, and of course higher ranks, and obviously a degree.

But to do the extra stuff, you will most likely be going past 6 years in the Navy, probably an average of 8-10 years to achieve all that...and then what's the point of getting out then (this is a whole new discussion  ).

And lastly, my take on choosing a rating.

If given a choice I'd go ET and learn as much extra stuff about ET repair, PLC, etc. Its the future of manufacturing! Robotics, PLCs, Liquid Plasma input doohickies).

But I chose MM and became an ELT and set myself up fot three distinct job fields: Operations, Chemistry, and Health Physics. The catch is that you can't choose ELT. Its a roll of the dice, another one of those intangible things that happened to fall in my lap AFTER I followed all that advice I gave you. Also, only MMs can become ELTs.

If given a choice from Day 1..MM, EM, or ET. I'd choose ET.

[Bighouz107501]

thank you all. i am extremely happy with the possible degrees i can receive after schooling.Ill be sure to keep every one posted about my experiences. i do not leave until july but ill be a regular on this forum.

Thank you

[Bighouz107501]

as promised i am keeping every1 up to date. well i had a meeting with my guidance counselor and she called me the dumbest piece of blank for enlisting... she is upset that i didnt take the medical path, which she told me i would never get into anyways...ha showd her, i got accepted to j.hopkins...but i feel i made the right choice by going nuclear...for now.

[Rad Sponge]

 

Holy Cheese and Rice Little Mr. Nukie.

You got accepted to John's Hopkins?

PM me, please.

Oh, and tell your lack of guidance-counselor to kiss my big white hairy....

I was probably making more money than her by my 2 year point.

[tigger]

Good luck no matter which route you choose.
I am going through a nuke program right now.... in the civilian world. It is probably the hardest thing I have ever had to do. They crap so much information into your head, give you a test on it at the end of the week and move on to something new. As soon as you have one thing memorized, they are cramming something else in there, and expecting you to remember what the last thing was too, plus everything before that. Then you get to oral boards, and have to spit it all out at rapid rates of speed or they assume you don't know it.
My back ground is in nursing, and I had an opportunity to go to medical school. Did I make the right choice in choosing nuclear power? I don't know and I may never know. I had applied at Johns hopkin's hospital to the research facility and was accepted, but life circumstances prevented me from going there. It would have been an opportunity of a lifetime for me. They offered to let me attend their medical school classes for the cost of the books.
As for this nuke program, start practicing memorizing technical BS quickly. If you can do that you should be fine. Right now we do 4-7 systems a week and some have absolutely nothing to do with anything else you are doing.
If you can memorize and remember the small details with the big ones they throw at you, you should do fine.
Oh, the reenlistment thing, if you decide to go that route, do it in a tax free zone if you can. Make the bonus that much nicer.
Good luck no matter what. Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders and should do well.

[Bighouz107501]

Tigger,

Thank you for the support. Yeah my Johns Hopkin's chance wouldn't favor me due to family situations and stuff like that. But I think it may have been a bad route for me anyways. I've already met great people who have become mentors somewhat and give me great compliments such as yourself. I look forward to possible work beside any of the people on this board. Yes, the reenlistment seems nice, I figure I'd only be 26 after. It seems like a nice amount to put on a house , but who knows. Thank you for the help.

Dennis

[Bighouz107501]

hey everyone, I have another question. I was curious to know if any person knew if the dorm room or sleeping facilities had high speed internet?

[longball4414]

Please say yes, please say yes

crossing fingers

[taterhead]

High speed internet?

When we were in school, we drank beer for fun.

Those of us who were of age and weren't on mega-hours, that is....

[WarKrisMagic]

Please say yes, please say yes

crossing fingers

Ditto.. my computer is much less a seperate entity, and much more something growing off of my body.  I need it.

[taterhead]

...for the times, they are a changin'...

-Bob Dylan

[Bighouz107501]

well i severly hope so, do to the fact that I want to purchase an alienware comp. for gaming and stuff of that sort. If not then I assume I will have more time for tennis, surfing and scuba diving. well that is if I do not have to study too much. Yeah i have another 2.5-3 years until I can legally drink, so thats out of the picture.

[longball4414]

Lol same reasons here Bighouz and warkrismagic

[Fermi2]

well i severly hope so, do to the fact that I want to purchase an alienware comp. for gaming and stuff of that sort. If not then I assume I will have more time for tennis, surfing and scuba diving. well that is if I do not have to study too much. Yeah i have another 2.5-3 years until I can legally drink, so thats out of the picture.

Why are NUBS worried about playing computer games before they've spent even one day in boot camp.

Just worry about getting out of boot first.

Mike

[visserjr]

Taterheaed and mike are right. Shoot, I don't recall anyone even owing a computer when I went through. Hell, only a handfull had a tv and vcr. As for the beer. Aw to be in orlando, when boot camp was still open. I digress. I personally, would leave computers and the such at home while in nuc school, and buy a calling card. Mike is right though. Worry about boot camp first. Thouhgh it is significantly easier now, it is still designed to challenge who you are and what you are made of. Many people wash out of boot camp for the silliest things(a guy with lower intestinal problems, a guy with severe athlete's foot, and the all inclusive wizz quiz) Many people who start your training with you from bootcamp through nuc school won't make it. My BC company had twenty nucs, five made it to the fleet, and two of those lasted less than a year there. Ramble, ramble, sorry. Look, there will be plenty of fun to be had but remember you are being paid to do a job, and that job will be to pass school. Take it one step at a time and best of luck.