Hello,
Currently i'm a senior in high school and have an interest in a career in the Navy. I have ambitions of becoming an officer in the navy in the nuclear field but I have become very confused on which path would be best for me to get there. My recruiter summed it up for me having two basic options. One being the NUPOC program and the other being the enlisted option through nuke school and trying to get into STA - 21. Which option is more viable? With the NUPOC program no college where I live offers it so I have no idea how I would pay the out of state tuitions. My understanding of all this is very rudimentary so please correct me if I have some information wrong.
What should I do?
~ Monty
To start, why do you want to be an officer? Do you know what they actually do? Next, why specifically nuke?
Now, for your questions. For viability, both are viable options, but neither is guaranteed. If you want to be an officer, don't enlist, get the degree and go that route. I believe there are more options than just NUPOC for the college route (e.g. Naval Academy, NROTC). As far as paying, I expect you pay for out of state tuition the same way as in-state, scholarships, loans, jobs, etc. At some point, NUPOC would start paying.