Decisions, decisions..

[werd]

(I removed the previous garbage and have replaced it with this.)

My bad. I posted that late last night when I was under a lot of stress. Apologies for that massive body of redundant text.

I am 22 y/o and I don't have much money for college. I can't really get much in loans since my parents' income is a factor until I am 24. Additionally, my parents can't really shell out any money for my education. My job sucks, my car is toast, and I have nothing in the bank. I have over 60 credits toward a computer science degree and I really want to finish my B.S. I am looking to join the navy because I want to finish my degree, and at this point, I really need to blaze my own way to independence.

Originally, I wanted to join the navy as an IT, preferably in network security. However, I got charged with possession of MJ (1 gram) in June of 2007 and this is getting in the way of the Top Secret clearance necessary for the information technology and intelligence jobs that I was originally seeking. I ended up having to complete a 6-month program and eventually got the charge dropped with a verdict of nolle prosequi. I never got a conviction, so I don't really see why this is going to totally brick wall me from doing IT. I am looking for jobs in the navy that will prepare me for what I want to do when I get out, which is IT-related stuff, since I am a computer science major.

However, since this door may be closed, I wouldn't necessarily mind having to deal with hardware and electronics systems if its the closest thing to my ideal job. I'm looking into some of the ACEF stuff (electronics tech and fire controlman) as they seem to deal with computer systems on a regular basis. Is anyone familiar with any other jobs that may be a good fit for me?

The reason I am posting on the nuke form is because I got a 97 on the ASVAB and a 63(i think) on the nuke test. Mostly everyone at MEPS and the recruiting office is strongly encouraging me to do the nuke program, but its not what I originally planned on as I wanted to do IT and am going to try to pull some string to see if I can get around this dropped charge. I am not necessarily against the nuke program either, it seems like a great challenge and a really interesting job. I'm honestly just not sure if I'm up for it since I never planned on doing nuclear stuff when I got out.

For now, I am going to try to get in the DEP program and not leave until probably spring of next year, which will buy me some time to switch jobs if I so desire. I am still not sure which job I am going to sign up for to get into DEP since very few jobs are available except for nuke.

Again, sorry for my previous post.   

[Smooth Operator]

I really want to read this, but I am not, because it makes my eyes hurt.

Please edit and utilize the gentle art of paragraphing.


Update: Thanks for taking the advice.

[retired nuke]

I appreciate where you are coming from - looks like you are investigating options for your future, and Navy is one of them. You are not sure which Navy job would suit you best.

Here is some advice

• Switch to decaf
• Try not to write like an IT person
• Try a search of the discussion boards here about Navy nuke, getting in, etc.
• A lot of the info has already been posted, it will help you
• If you don't switch to decaf, you can still search the discuission board while you play warcraft in another browser window.

Good luck, you sound like a nice, bright, unfocused individual. The Navy has a fair history in producing successful people from that starting point. 

[HydroDave63]

If he goes Nuke, 100 quatloos against.

Go for one of the Gas Turbine rates, it is less challenging (as Marssim pointed out), and there are plenty of gas turbine power plants throughout the US, and more being built. Lots of job opportunities.

[Fermi2]

Actually guys don't get on him too much about being 22 and needing his parents income info for college loans. The way Financial Aid is determined is by FFSA, an online application the kids fill out. Initially the parents fill one out too. After the initial FAFSAs are filed the first year the kids still fill one out every year. They need the parents income until they're either 24 or married. Without it they cannot get any type of financial aid. I know a 22 year old girl who couldn't get financial aid or apply for student loans because her father would not fill out his FAFSA nor would he give her the info so she could file hers, and this is a very good girl.

So don't get on the young man too much about it, it's what the government requires of them.

On the other hand, due to his poor writing skills and lack of paragraphs I too stopped reading after the first couple sentences.

Mike

[Fermi2]

To an extent, but the kids have to know exactly what is placed on a certain line of your Income Tax form, the parents have to have a FAFSA on file even though they don't have to update it. If they refuse to do it, or give the kids the exact number from the tax form, then the kids are screwed. The young lady I know is as about a go getter as it gets, has two jobs and hasn't relied a lick on her parents for anything for over 2 years except that one number. I make certain my son gets the info he needs but some parents simply don't, it's a power play I guess. Many can tell you roughly what their parents earn at their jobs, at least as a base pay, but they have no idea what the final comes with bonuses, OT, dividends, VA disbursements and such.

[retired nuke]

Well kid, looks like you got the blood sugar and caffiene level under control. 

And have a thick skin, and a sense of humility. You'll do OK. 

A previous poster suggested a quick enlistment for a simple job - and concentrating on your degree while in. That could work....

Nuke will train you in a different area than IT - but it will be good traiing. And your current IT eduaction will not go completely to waste - there are computers in nuclear power....

I did the easy enlistment to pay for college - then got sidetracked into commercial nuclear health physics.... It's easy to get distracted at a young age....

Good luck, spend time reading the forums - there is a lot of info there amongst the digressions.

[heywaitfourme]

I'm no expert, but won't the fact that you can't get a security clearance for IT also be a factor in you not being able to obtain one for being NUKE? Also, if you think you are stressed now, wait until you join the military. I did 6 years in the Army, 2.5 of them overseas, and not currently working with the Navy. Good luck, but remember, you will be booted from Nuke for anxiety, and stress related issues and problems. I talked to one the other day, booted for anxiety. he is leaving in three days for the CTI program. Good luck

[HydroDave63]

I'm still gonna stick with my advice for a Gas Turbine System Tech, Electrical ( GSE ) because:

1. It won't require Secret, which I'm doubtful the poster will get

2. As we see in https://www.navycollege.navy.mil/roadmaps/gse.html there are plenty of computer apps, blueprint reading and electrical theory taught in the progression path.

3. Wider range of ships/ports the poster can see and experience.

4. After doing a shorter tour as a GSE successfully, with computer apps background and experience on LM2500s, the poster could either go Ops at a gas-fired combined cycle plant and/or SCADA tech at same.

4a. After having done any of those for more than one year, the poster could also go into Grid Ops if you want less outdoor time, and more SCADA time. Or you could bid for Shift Supv. at the combined cycle plant. Either of those, from day 1 of bootcamp , could be achieved within 10 years. There are some nuclear stations where hire-to-license classup has exceeded 10 years.

5. Glory is what you make of it. Yes, some of the senior posters here have achieved some awesome things, due to luck, nuclear experience, good people skills/networking and hard work. There are also thousands of people who went to the Navy thinking they were going to be glorious nukes, that you will never meet here, because they didn't have the critical mass of all 4 qualities when it counted. A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush...being a Shift Supervisor at a well-run plant at age 35 isn't "failing to be a nuke", it's well on your way up a different corporate ladder.

[werd]

I already got approved for the secret security clearance necessary for the nuke program. I filed a waiver a week or two ago and found out today that it was approved. I wonder if I can get Top Secret. I'll still settle for secret since the IT rating only requires secret.. and seems to be the only one that doesn't require Top Secret in the Cryptologic Community. The other jobs are Cryptologic Technician - "insert specialty here". They require Top Secret while Information System Technician only requires secret. And the bastards at MEPS told me that I had very little if any chance of getting into the crypto or intelligence jobs. True, most of them are top secret, but not all.

[werd]

Cheap wine must be on sale at BevMo.

What? I posted this, even though it was a little redundant, in response to the guy who recommended Gas Turbine because he thought I couldn't get the clearance necessary for nuke, which I already have done.

[JustinHEMI05]

I think what he is saying is that you don't actually understand how clearances work.  

Good luck with your decision, keep us posted!

Justin

[Samabby]

" Also, my parents really suck "

Time to Man Up, Son. This is YOUR life and YOUR problem. 

[co60slr]

Originally, I wanted to join the navy as an IT, preferably in network security. However, I got charged with possession of MJ (1 gram) in June of 2007 and this is getting in the way of the Top Secret clearance necessary for the information technology and intelligence jobs that I was originally seeking.

Another fine example of how well the DOD Security Plan works.

Thank you for sharing.

Good luck.

[werd]

Argh, I just got off of the phone with my recruiter who insisted that the IT position was Top Secret as well. graaaa

[Fermi2]

A pile of straws and a drowning man.

[werd]

I'll just take my questions elsewhere. Perhaps I'll go some place where people are more concerned with offering advice than being an English teacher.

[JsonD13]

Werd,
   Youre recruiter is probably being biased.  They get credit for two recruits for every nuke they put in the Navy.  This is probably why the recruiter may be steering you towards nuke.  Look into this yourself (i.e. use google frequently) and find the requirements for the IT program.  You have to take control of your own destiny (even though it may seem very complicated and like you are trying to find a needle in a haystack).  Most of the people on here who have responded to your post are not completely aware of the current requirements of the Navy recruiting program (I am not either as I havent been recruited into the Navy since 2001).  This is why you have to look for yourself to verify your recruiter isnt filling you with some other ideas. 

A good idea might be to tell your recruiter that you arent joining (or youre going to another service) if you cant get the job you want.  Usually they will bend to your will if they see that their prospect for recruiting you is in jeapordy.


Jason

[werd]

Thanks, Jason. Good call. I figured the recruiters weren't just trying to help me out by pushing me to go Nuke so hard.

[tingler25]

Nuke recruits do not count for 2!! Nuke is a wicket (like SEAL or Reserve) that a NRS gets goaled with finding. For example, station is goaled with finding 3 new recruits, plus 1 nuke and 1 SEAL. The station needs to find only 3 recruits, if 1 is a nuke and 1 is a SEAL. But would need to find 5 if they have 3 regular recruits, 1 nuke and 1 SEAL. Points wise for a recruiter nuke means squat, however they do receive bonus points for higher ASVAB scores and diversity. Most quotas are filled for the fiscal year, so I doubt your recruiter will care if you take some time to figure out if you really are committed to joining. You may also find that the Intel/Crypto/IT communities have more job openings after 10/1, but given your legal status, it may not matter as the Navy is now going for more quality than quantity with the downturn in the economy.

[JsonD13]

Nuke recruits do not count for 2!! Nuke is a wicket (like SEAL or Reserve) that a NRS gets goaled with finding. For example, station is goaled with finding 3 new recruits, plus 1 nuke and 1 SEAL. The station needs to find only 3 recruits, if 1 is a nuke and 1 is a SEAL.

This is definetly an example of how they count for two, how can you say that they do not given this example??

My source of knowledge for this was my own recruiter 8 years ago when I was recruited.  I'm sure things can definetly change in that amount of time. ;-)

Jason

[Fermi2]

I'll just take my questions elsewhere. Perhaps I'll go some place where people are more concerned with offering advice than being an English teacher.

Grow up, you came to a forum of professionals, so act professionally. In my opinion you came here in search of self validation. You get answers, then you rephrase the same questions hoping you'll get that pat on the head or the magical "out" you seem to think you so richly deserve.
Maybe I'm a purist, but this is NUKEWORKER, not I'm having problems not getting the rate I want worker. I'd have lost my patience with you a long time ago, the fact anyone is still trying to answer your babble shows how patient some guys are. If a member here says use better English, then USE it, he's proven yourself, you haven't.

Mike

[werd]

Grow up, you came to a forum of professionals, so act professionally. In my opinion you came here in search of self validation. You get answers, then you rephrase the same questions hoping you'll get that pat on the head or the magical "out" you seem to think you so richly deserve.
Maybe I'm a purist, but this is NUKEWORKER, not I'm having problems not getting the rate I want worker. I'd have lost my patience with you a long time ago, the fact anyone is still trying to answer your babble shows how patient some guys are. If a member here says use better English, then USE it, he's proven yourself, you haven't.

Mike

Thanks for the great advice Mike!

And mutant too! You've spent more time criticizing my posts and giving me a hard time than actually answering any questions! And you complain about being too busy.

Thanks to those who actually answered my questions, I appreciate it. I know my posts were redundant and full of too much information. Really though, thanks to those who actually answered some of the questions I asked rather than complaining about them.

I requested to have this topic deleted because it seems to have caused more stress than anything else.

This site really is full of good information and could definitely go without this mess of
"long post" -> "grammatical criticism" Mutant and Mike, you won't have to worry about me tainting the forums again. I've learned my lesson. 

[Fermi2]

Don't do that, I doubt anyone here wants you to do so, spelling and grammar is important. Everyone knows mistakes are made and that is accounted for. To be honest if you can't take the minimal amount of criticism you've been exposed to here how do you think you'll do in the Navy?
Every bit of input you've been given involves something under your control. In the Navy, and especially in nuclear if something is under your direct control you're expected to address it and improve and the learning curve is immediately. Guys like me, mutant and others have survived and thrived in just such a world, we've both seen men and women who are younger than you do the same. The difference between them and what I see in you is they accepted the input, got better, then found other things on which to improve. You simply recycle the same questions hoping to get a different answer. Fact is, you'll find that doesn't cut it here, or in the real world.

Mike

[werd]

The fact of the matter is, I have a lot of questions. I realize that I am recycling them and pretty much re-posting my previous text. I'm just at a point where I feel like I need as much information as possible, and am not 100% sure how to get it. So, I guess I scrambled and completely over-typed on this forum. Bad idea.

I'm just really curious about the whole Navy process/world and am coming to guys that have gone through it before. I guess that I need to post more concise and clear questions. Its not that I can't take criticism. I just didn't expect such a high level of criticism of over the form of my questions on a web forum. I figured that it'd be pretty informal here, but I have clearly underestimated the level of professionalism on this forum. For that, I am authentically sorry.

Enough about the poor form and criticism of my posts. What I really want to to know is how much you guys can tell me about Nuke vs. AECF. Any other advice regarding the countless paragraphs of tripe that I've spilled here will also be appreciated. You know my situation all too well by now, so I'll just shut up and let the replies come in.

(and mutant.. I was being sarcastic, though I am glad to see you got some satisfaction)