When speaking of the underway schedule, you have to imagine that 24 hour days no longer exist. You have to forget that the sun and the clock are on 24 hour rotations...imagine this...
You are a qualified watchstander (this will take you about three months as ELT, a lot longer for ET...you WANT to be a qualified watchstander). You will be on 5 and 15 rotation on (let's say you go ELT - as that's what I know most about) watch in the plant.
"Day one of any random week underway"
0600 - wake up (reveille)
0700 - muster with division for quarters - here you will get the day's plan and work list from your LPO (your boss)
0700-1100 - work on day's work list for division (differs from ET to ELT to MM to EM....)
1100-1130 - eat lunch
1130-1500 - work on day or week's work list (follow directions from your LPO)
1500-1700 - work on other quals, eat dinner (this time is yours most of the time)
1700-2200 - you are on watch in the plant. You do not leave the plant. You take logs.
2200-0600 - this time is yours. Eat again, shower, sleep...
(going, now, into day 2...)
0600- wake up
0700 - muster
0700-1100 - work
1100-1200 - lunch, work
1200-1700 - you are on watch again. You see - you stand watch for five hours, you get fifteen hours off. When you're on watch, the rest of the work day goes on without you - just as the day before, the work day went on without the watchstander you relieved at 1700....
This goes on and on and on and on while underway. You live in 20 hour work days on a 5 and 15 rotation. There are other rotations as well - 4 and 8's (4 hrs on watch, 8 hrs off watch, 4 hrs back on watch......etc.) and 6 and 6's - you get it? with 4 & 8's your day is 12 hours long until it repeats itself, same with 6 & 6's. There's also "Five and dimes" - five hours on, ten hours off...
You can only eat and sleep, etc. when you are off watch (be it 6, 8, 10, or 15 hours...) The normal work day (0700-1500) goes on whether you're there or not - in the background of the watches being stood....
NOW - for in-port explanation...
In port, you work regular work days - come to work at 0700, leave for home at 1500 (assuming you don't live onboard - in which case, you go wherever you want...)
On top of the normal work days, you still need watchstanders...hence, the Duty Section. You will be in a Duty section rotation. If you are in 3 section duty you will have a schedule that looks like this:
Monday - 0700-1500
Tues - 0700-1500
Weds - 0700 until 1500 on Thursday (on this overnighter, you stand watch on whatever rotation the plant needs)
Thursday at 1500 - go home
Friday - 0700-1500
Saturday - off
Sunday - 0700 until 1500 on Monday
Monday at 1500 - go home
On five section duty, you will do the overnighter once every five days...keep in mind, you still have every weekday as a normal work day ON TOP of duty. You will never just chill out for the other days. Ever.
You can take online courses while in port providing you have an internet connection AT HOME. As I said earlier - internet time underway is EXTREMELY limited. You can take these courses at your convenience - at home....
PACE classes are offered at scheduled times underway - the whole ship utilizes them, not just Reactor Dept. If you're on watch at the time of the class that day, however, you will miss that class...