Not to sound cynical, Inno, but my last duty station before I got out of the Navy was the Nuclear Recruiter for an NRD (after two boats and a tender--almost 8 years of sea duty.) It got to the point where if I met the kids on deck at MEPS or at the stations you could line them up and go, "You'll make it, you won't, you won't, you will..." etc.
Certain flags just go up on a person within the first 10 seconds. I don't care if you've got a 99 QT with a 78 on the NFQT--if you don't have MOTIVATION, you're not going to survive. You may not even find the academics in the nuke pipeline that terribly difficult. However, if you're not MENTALLY and EMOTIONALLY prepared, you'll be fighting an uphill battle.
Nukes (at least the good ones) are generally regarded by those outside the community as a PITA--and why? Because we don't just press the, "I believe" button and go on. Imagine me as an ET2, going up to a PN1 and explaining THEIR job to them as to why I should be allowed to take the ET1 test, because I HAD in fact fulfilled the requirements. Maybe that's why the CRF types in recruiting also don't like nukes--they can call BS, and do so often.
So, dear young man, if you think you want this program, you need to do the basic steps; which first and foremost among them is making sure you have the scores to qualify in the first place. I wouldn't even talk to a kid unless they had an ASVAB in hand with qualifying line scores (and if they were borderline, not until after they passed the NFQT.) Civil involvement? Drugs? Grades? All of these are going to play into what you get, or even IF you get.
And if you're fortunate enough to qualify for nuclear power, remember that while there is plenty of help available for those who need it, YOU have to go to THEM, not the other way around. If getting money for school doesn't motivate you, something tells me that coming in at 0500 to study before school and staying until 2300 at night (and on weekends) isn't going to be your cup of tea, so to speak.
