Going to College(Engineering) vs Enlisting Navy Nuke

[sllon1]

I am interested in entering the nuclear/power industry, and I just wanted to ask a question for those working in the industry right now. If you had to do it all over again, what path would you take? Would you enlist into the Navy Nuke program straight out of high school to get the experience to leverage yourself into the industry, or would you just go straight to college to major in mechanical/electrical engineering and then enter the industry (or possible obtain a commission to be a Navy Nuke Officer)? I have been reading/searching in the forums lately, but I just want to see some opinions of what people would do differently if they were fresh out of high school again. It seems that some people liked/hated the Navy so I want to know what would be the ideal path to take.

[UncaBuffalo]

I am interested in entering the nuclear/power industry, and I just wanted to ask a question for those working in the industry right now. If you had to do it all over again, what path would you take? Would you enlist into the Navy Nuke program straight out of high school to get the experience to leverage yourself into the industry, or would you just go straight to college to major in mechanical/electrical engineering and then enter the industry (or possible obtain a commission to be a Navy Nuke Officer)? I have been reading/searching in the forums lately, but I just want to see some opinions of what people would do differently if they were fresh out of high school again. It seems that some people liked/hated the Navy so I want to know what would be the ideal path to take.

Go to school.


JMO

Full disclosure:  Was not in navy, but worked in shipyard and wasn't impressed with the way the navy treated it's personnel.
Also, six years is a REALLY long time!

[MMM]

I am in the navy, have been for 19 years. Here's my advice: Go to school, get the degree. If you still want to join the navy for experience you'll have more doors open (i.e. officer program) right away. This is assuming you have the drive to do well. Personally, I was somewhat lazy and undisciplined throughout high school, so would not have done well if I had tried college right away (I also couldn't afford it or get scholarships).

[hamsamich]

MMM and Unca are both right.  You may get treated like crap, but if you aren't ready 4 school, it will be a waste of time, so the navy may be the way to go.  It all depends on you.  I might still be lazing on the couch waiting for "it", if it weren't for the Navy.

[Content1]

I am interested in entering the nuclear/power industry, and I just wanted to ask a question for those working in the industry right now. If you had to do it all over again, what path would you take? Would you enlist into the Navy Nuke program straight out of high school to get the experience to leverage yourself into the industry, or would you just go straight to college to major in mechanical/electrical engineering and then enter the industry (or possible obtain a commission to be a Navy Nuke Officer)? I have been reading/searching in the forums lately, but I just want to see some opinions of what people would do differently if they were fresh out of high school again. It seems that some people liked/hated the Navy so I want to know what would be the ideal path to take.

Sign above Boot Camp:"Abandon all hope all ye who enter herein."

      Call the recruiter, tell them you are going to college.  Go there.  I made my life do by choosing the Navy; however, I still regret to this day to not going to college first.  It is only now, at age 57, after being a real estate salesman, paralegal, teacher (special education), etc., I am finally now doing what I want to at near the end of my life.  Unless you have a patriotic vein that can only be expressed by going into the Navy, be an engineer.

[Gamecock]

  Unless you have a patriotic vein that can only be expressed by going into the Navy, be an engineer.

Or, if you are undisciplined and need to gain some life skills in order to succeed later (that in turn will allow you to pay for school later....), you should consider the navy.

I am glad I did not go to college right out of high school.

[spekkio]

OP, your question is difficult to answer without amplifying information. In the end, it's a personal decision so here are some things you should think about:

Career goals:

Enlisting in the Navy, for most ratings even non-nukes, are technician jobs. As a nuke you are committing to being a technician on a nuclear propulsion plant for 4-6 years, depending if you STAR reenlinst. MM/EM/ET will just vary the equipment you maintain and amount of maintenance that you have to do. It has little to no engineering that you are probably thinking about. Additionally, the majority of your time will be spent standing watch (where you take logs, either roving or sitting at a panel) and cleaning.

If you enlist, you are on the Seaman to Master-Chief program. Yea, there are some good perks you can use when you get out, the most notable being the 9/11 GI bill, but the Navy is going to groom you to become a CPO until the day you separate. Basically, when you leave the Navy you are going to have to undergo a career transition. What you do in and after the Navy will depend on how extensive that transition is, but it will be there regardless.

Joining the Navy is the "long way around" to your ultimate goal of working at a civilian nuclear power plant and your experience as a nuclear technician on one, while valuable, may not give you the experience that you are looking for. You are looking at a minimum 10 years until you can enter the workforce for what you actually want to be doing.

Educational Benefits:

What is your plan to pay for college? If your plan includes the GI bill, bear in mind that enlisting in the military in any job brings the same educational benefits. If nuclear power really is your passion, then be a nuke. But if you are joining the military to pay for school or get some "real world' experience, you can get that in almost any job and I encourage you to find one that you would enjoy. Then, when everyone else is getting stoned or drinking themselves silly in college, take half of that time and go do some internships/make connections in your new chosen career, which you'll have to do even if you're a nuke.

On top of that, a buddy of mine is applying to schools and it is blatantly obvious that graduate universities don't know or care what the nuclear power program entails, and I would bet that undergraduate universities behave the same way. They will generally view you in the same light as any other military servicemember.

Family life:

The Navy is going to take away a lot of your time, particularly if you are a nuke. What are your goals for family life? If you get married and have a child while in the Navy, it will be very difficult for you to finance attending college even with the GI bill. Avoiding both until after college puts you at a minimum of 28 years old. Does that jive with you?

Discipline:

How motivated/mature are you? Do you see yourself as someone who can get distracted if you have a few roommates who drink every night and only go to class to take tests, or can you stay focused and make your education wortwhile? The Navy will provide you with a lot of structure. If you're someone who needs it, that's a good thing. If not, you'll feel like you're being treated like a 12-year-old and it will get old, fast.

[sllon1]

I appreciate the quick feedback, and the general consensus not only from you guys, but from others that I have asked as well said just go to college first, if I think I can do well. Here is the little bind that I am in though.

I do have the drive to do well in an engineering program as I have always had an aptitude/interest in math and science (as well as mechanical/electrical aptitude, I'm a big car guy). I always got As in high school math/science classes, as well as some of the classes I took at a junior college (got an A in calculus). But, with that being said, financial issues are my biggest concern as of now, and here is why.

If I go to college right away, not only will I not be making money, I will be paying a lot of money to go to school. I do understand the payoffs are a lot bigger down the road, but it is something that has been bothering me. Why not enlist as a navy-nuke, and get paid to learn a trade in the nuke industry (from what I have read, much easier said than done)? Then I have the option to go to school via GI Bill and/or enter the nuke industry right away. I guess my confusion is, how valuable/transferable is the experienced gained as a navy nuke as opposed to just finishing school first then getting experience? It seems that you can make a lot of money in operations, but being a navy-nuke may allow me to only do that afterwards, as opposed to getting an engineering degree and having more versatility as far as job choices. I've also read about how hard being a navy-nuke is on family life and your own life in general. It would suck to suffer for 6 years doing something I may hate doing (although I am interested in math and science), and end up going into a completely different field. Are the job prospects and money in the nuke industry worth it in being a navy nuke?

Also, from my understanding, having an engineering degree is a little bit overkill to work in operations. Am I right? For those with engineering degrees, which department(engineering, operations, maintenance etc) do you work in and why?

Given this, what do you guys think? I have also been thinking about joining the guard or reserves of any of the armed forces branch to help finance my education as well so does anyone here have any experience with that?

[spekkio]

So let me get this straight...

You are someone who:

-Gets good grades in all high schol courses, and since you do well in math/science you want to pursue a technical career field.
-Worried about the financial burden of college, but can find an alternate plan without the GI bill.

Therefore, you will probably be able to attend a decent/good university, and if you stay focused will probably find gainful employment in whatever field you may choose.

So...

1) In terms of enhancing your value to potential employers looking to hire someone with an engineering undergrad degree, the Navy is not going to be "valuable" to you at all, since you are someone who can be competitive in the job market without it. As stated above, all Naval service will do is delay your entry into your actual desired career by 6 years, nuke or not, and good luck going back to college calculus after 6 years of barely doing math.

A few years of doing things like taking hourly log readings on meters, hooking multi-meters up to 1980s electronic equipment (ET), diving into the SSMG to clean carbon dust off the commutators for 6-8 hours every other week and fixing the laundry drier because people can't empty their damn pockets (EM), or clean/inspecting a radiological filter (MM), all of which are very closely monitored by officers and outside entities, do not substitute for a college engineering degree.

The Navy might have advertised that it will "accelerate your life" not too long ago, but it is not a vocational civilian job training program. If you go in with the expectation that 4-6 years of Navy service will net you an instant 6-figure job coming out without having to go to college, prepare to be very disappointed. It takes, on average, 5 years for a prior servicemember to earn a salary that equals their military pay and benefits when they left.

2) In terms of serving your country, providing some "real life" experience, and getting you some semblance of financial independence, the Navy is extremely valuable. All rates. But you don't mention any of these in your posts as motivation for enlisting.

3) In terms of building a disciplined work ethic, responsibility, and working with some of the brightest the Navy has to offer, nuke is very valuable, but so are some other rates. You will get discipline regardless of rate but the "bright" part not necessarily.

4) In terms of helping you pay for school, the Navy is somewhat valuable to you as you have an alternate plan. If you are worried about the quality of life as a nuke, you can do a myriad of technician jobs that don't require as many hours as nuke. Have you also looked into USNA, NROTC scholarships, or the NUPOC program? From a purely financial perspective they are better than enlisting.

Your posts make it sound like #1 is the most important factor to you, followed closely by number 4, with almost no mention of #2 or 3.

From your previous posts, it sounds like you don't actually know what people really do in any of these fields, it's just something you're going after because you're good at. I really think the next step is you need to do some research on jobs available to one with an engineering undergraduate degree, in addition to everything that's available to you in the military. It sounds like your decision is tough because you don't really know what you want to do or what any of these jobs actually entail, you're just defaulting to your comfort zone.

[GLW]

.....It takes, on average, 5 years for a prior servicemember to earn a salary that equals their military pay and benefits when they left...

Things have mightily changed,...

I trumped my E6 over 8, sub pay, nuke pro pay, sea pay, BAQ, etc., in the first six months after EAOS,...

circa 1988,...

[spekkio]

Yea, well, in 1988 you could grad high school, go to full-time work and make enough to support a family in about 5-10 years. Not so anymore barring some kind of exceptional circumstance. Also, military pay and benefits have risen considerably in the last 20-30 years while civilian pay has decreased on average when adjusted for inflation.

If you compare the pay and benefits for someone with a comparable level of education, military compensation is higher.

[Content1]

Yea, well, in 1988 you could grad high school, go to full-time work and make enough to support a family in about 5-10 years. Not so anymore barring some kind of exceptional circumstance. Also, military pay and benefits have risen considerably in the last 20-30 years while civilian pay has decreased on average when adjusted for inflation.

If you compare the pay and benefits for someone with a comparable level of education, military compensation is higher.

You will make more then you would post-high school in the Navy.  But at what cost!  You don't know the freedom you lose in the Navy.  If you are married it gets worse.  You sacrifice the best years of your life for a guaranteed paycheck.  You can't get them back later.  I spent the rest of my life playing "Catch up" trying to make up for lost time.  I ended up having to work full time and go to school full time, even with the GI bill.  Life becomes a blur and you never have time to be thorough at anything.  It was not until 8 years ago I was able to start doing what I wish I was doing at 20.  I find I was continually in the pursuit of jobs and money verses what I really wanted to do.  I am even stuck as an RP; I carefully now use my off time to better myself and I am close to producing a second income stream.  If I had gone to college an finished I would have spent years doing something I enjoyed.  The Navy is not a shortcut to anything, just a diversion unless you love the place.

[hamsamich]

I have looked into the lives of some of the guys I graduated with in HS.  Alot of them tried college.  A few succeeded, but most aren't doing too good it seems.  Don't discount the military, not for everyone, but watch out for people who try to give you advice based on their experiences and opinions solely.  There are two sides to this no matter what some people say (pros and cons).  I am very happy with my life today and it was my Navy education and experience that got me here.  I didn't like most of my Navy time though.  I went to college at a later date and got way way more out of it than I would have when I was 19.  Anytime someone has fully polarized themselves they usually have a hard time realizing the true pros and cons of any situation.  Our own U.S. Congress is a great example of this.  There are quite a few posters on this forum that do that as well.

[cheme09]

If you compare the pay and benefits for someone with a comparable level of education, military compensation is higher.

Might be true on an per annum rate.  How about if you take into account actual hours worked?

[cheme09]

1) In terms of enhancing your value to potential employers looking to hire someone with an engineering undergrad degree, the Navy is not going to be "valuable" to you at all, since you are someone who can be competitive in the job market without it. As stated above, all Naval service will do is delay your entry into your actual desired career by 6 years, nuke or not, and good luck going back to college calculus after 6 years of barely doing math.

Not so fast.  First of all, just because you get good grades in HS does not mean you will get good grades in college.  I got good grades in high school and my first 1 year of college was one big party.  It was so good that I "decided" to repeat that year...you get my drift.

Second, I do agree that it seems as though the OP would be able to find gainful employment in whatever they choose, however saying that being in the Navy will add no value to the OP's resume coming straight out of college is incorrect.  If an individual can demonstrate that has has spent 6 years in the Navy (or any job), displayed good work ethic, leadership skills, motivation, self-improvment, etc. and then separates from the Navy (quit any job) to go to college and successfully completes an undergraduate engineering curriculum, then I don't see how that individual has wasted any time.  Nor do I see how that individual has added zero value in terms of being competitive for a career after college. 

A few years of doing things like taking hourly log readings on meters, hooking multi-meters up to 1980s electronic ... do not substitute for a college engineering degree.

True.  It does not substitute, but it most certainly does supplement a college degree.  Because of the market, employers can be picky with applicants.  A college student with good grades and zero work experience could be passed over for a job in favor of a student with good grades and some real world work experience and/or leadership experience.  I understand that if the OP decides to enlist then go to college, he would be looking at a job market upon graduation which could be vastly different than the current job market, but the same lesson still applies.

Also, from my understanding, having an engineering degree is a little bit overkill to work in operations. Am I right?

I wouldn't say overkill.  The ACAD says you really only need a high school degree, but the standard practice now is that they are hiring people with Navy ops experience, people with college degrees, or people who have had plant experience in other depts.

For those with engineering degrees, which department(engineering, operations, maintenance etc) do you work in and why?

I work in engineering because I wanted to put my engineering degree to use, which is ironic because I don't really use either of my degrees.  But unless you're in design engineering or reactor engineering you won't be using much of what you did in school anyway.  At nuclear power plants, engineers generally are utilized for their analytical thinking more so than for how well they can solve the Navier-Stokes equation.  Granted, we are expected to know how to solve equations and stuff - thats what the engineering degree tells the company - but it's all about making sure that any evaluations we do are technically rigorous and we're adhering to our licensing commitments.

I eventually want earn a spot in a license class and after my time in ops, it's really up in the air as to which dept I end up in, I suppose.

Personally, if I were in the OP's position, I would enlist.  I was definitely not mature enough or disciplined enough for college right after high school.  I had a lot of fun and made some life long friends during my early college years, but that time certainly did not help my career progression at all.

[spekkio]

Might be true on an per annum rate.  How about if you take into account actual hours worked?

You make on average triple of what a high school graduate median income is as a nuke E5/E6. You don't work 120 hours a week (cue someone trying to convince me that time spent sleeping/burning flicks on the boat is 'work'); depending on the boat's schedule and what's broken, it's typically somewhere between 60-80 hours of actual work on an SSN, including watchstanding, and on a SSBN or CVN I'd imagine it's better hours than that. Let's also count that you got paid as an E-4 to attend a year and a half of training in order to do this job that makes 3x the median civilian salary of a high school graduate.

I am not saying it's undeserved compensation, I'm saying it's much higher than someone with only a high school education and no job experience whatsoever would earn.

Not so fast.  First of all, just because you get good grades in HS does not mean you will get good grades in college.  I got good grades in high school and my first 1 year of college was one big party.  It was so good that I "decided" to repeat that year...you get my drift.

Are you trying to disagree just to disagree? I mentioned the discipline/self-control aspect in both of my previous posts as reasons in favor of joining the military.

Additionally, the biggest indicator of future college performance is grades in high school. It is not a perfect correlation, but it is a strong one. Suffice to say, people like you are the minority and blanket pushing someone to enlist because of your discipline problems is not good. I did not tell OP to go one way or the other, I merely provided points to consider as good and bad reasons to join the Navy. I also tried to keep it neutral and keep out some of the more cynical facts, like port/stbd inport SRO in a 3-section duty rotation or 4am Friday morning field days so the boat looks spiffy for an Admiral. The decision is up to him and is a personal one.

If an individual can demonstrate that has has spent 6 years in the Navy (or any job),[/u] displayed good work ethic, leadership skills, motivation, self-improvment, etc. and then separates from the Navy (quit any job) to go to college and successfully completes an undergraduate engineering curriculum, then I don't see how that individual has wasted any time.  Nor do I see how that individual has added zero value in terms of being competitive for a career after college.  

Emphasis added and the basis of why I said the Navy is of little value to him in terms of future employment. He can get that experience from anywhere. Let me be clear: for a person like OP to join the Navy for the PRIMARY PURPOSE of gaining job experience to BOOST A CAREER IN ENGINEERING, his enlistment has little value.

Additionally, even if the Navy could offer him a job reference that could not possibly be obtained elsewhere while attending college, why go nuke? Why not be an STG, try to get on a DDG, work on more advanced components than the nuke plant, complain when the ship goes 6-section duty, and enjoy more port calls?

I recognize that you work in an industry which has historically taken a lot of its employees from former Navy enlisted nukes, so naturally to you nuke = post-Navy gainful employment. But venturing outside of nuclear power, there are many employers who don't know or care to know what a nuke does. A former Sailor is a former Sailor. And I'm not quite sold on OP's heart being in nuclear power.

Because of the market, employers can be picky with applicants.  A college student with good grades and zero work experience could be passed over for a job in favor of a student with good grades and some real world work experience and/or leadership experience.  I understand that if the OP decides to enlist then go to college, he would be looking at a job market upon graduation which could be vastly different than the current job market, but the same lesson still applies.

I'm not advocating that OP spend is off-time in college getting high/drunk. He can certainly find something more useful to fill his time with. It's just that he doesn't need to put college off for 4-6 years to commit to the Navy in order to receive the boost.

[GLW]

Yea, well, in 1988 you could grad high school, go to full-time work and make enough to support a family in about 5-10 years......

Not true,...

No more then as now,...

In 1988 nuke plants and oil rigs you could work hard and be there in 5 to 10 years,...

Grocery stores and retail work,...not so much,...

In 2013 nuke plants and oil rigs you can work hard and be there in 5 to 10 years,...

Grocery stores and retail work,...not so much,...

Plenty of roustabouts and roughnecks making large coin in Dakota these days,...

McDonald's "Fries with that sir?",...not so much,...never was,...

[spekkio]

Plenty of roustabouts and roughnecks making large coin in Dakota these days,...

Your example is an exception that proves the rule. I agree that one can make larger sums of cash if he is willing to make concessions like living in the middle of nowhere vice a more desirable location where employers have a much wider choice of applicants.

[cheme09]

Additionally, the biggest indicator of future college performance is grades in high  Let me be clear: for a person like OP to join the Navy for the PRIMARY PURPOSE of gaining job experience to BOOST A CAREER IN ENGINEERING, his enlistment has little value.

I totally agree.  But your previous statement didn't say "for the primary purpose of..."  You said, "In terms of enhancing your value to potential employers looking to hire someone with an engineering undergrad degree, the Navy is not going to be 'valuable' to you at all."  That is an incorrect statement; technical experience does add value to an undergraduate engineering degree.

Additionally, even if the Navy could offer him a job reference that could not possibly be obtained elsewhere while attending college, why go nuke? Why not be an STG, try to get on a DDG, work on more advanced components than the nuke plant, complain when the ship goes 6-section duty, and enjoy more port calls?

I agree with you about ratings as well.  Technical experience can be acquired in non-nuclear ratings and on other platforms and 3-section duty on a sub doesn't sound ideal, nor does being stuck 8 levels below deck on a carrier in the engineering or reactor spaces, being first on/last off, or restricted to certain ports.  But hey, some people just want to go nuclear.  Like you said all we can do is point out some areas to think about.

[sllon1]

From a self-discipline/motivational point of view I really don't have much of an issue, but I can imagine I would definitely gain something after being through a rigorous 6 year enlistment. I know I failed to mention this, but I have been looking for some more life experience to have a different/better prospective on things as well as camaraderie, since life has been I guess "boring". I guess one question I would have to ask is: how valuable is it to learn the nuke trade? I've heard the technology you learn is old, but the payoffs when you get out are huge (but not necessarily in engineering right?). I know I may be told to "search" but what exactly is in store for the future in nuclear power? Also, would I be better of joining the reserves vs active duty, and just go to college while drilling?

[Gamecock]

At nuclear power plants, engineers generally are utilized for their analytical thinking more so than for how well they can solve the Navier-Stokes equation. 

Good points, but there are no stable solutions to Navier-Stokes   

[cedugger]

I guess one question I would have to ask is: how valuable is it to learn the nuke trade? I've heard the technology you learn is old, but the payoffs when you get out are huge (but not necessarily in engineering right?).

I'll be nice and say that the technology you'll learn is "time tested"...with a LOT of time! Some of the equipment and technology you'll deal with is aged, but the fundamentals are solid and forever (my opinion). I spent 11 years in, been out for 9 years now, and the fundamentals I learned are still with me, just being applied in a different way. It wasn't that I was bored with nuclear power, just that I accidentally stumbled on a different application of radiation safety and got hooked. I work around radiation safety personnel from different backgrounds (Army, Air Force & civilian medical), and I really feel as though I have the most solid foundation.

You have a wealth of good advice here on your thread. Unfortunately, it's not all in agreement, which leaves you with some decisions to make. The difference between engineer and technician has been spelled out and the path you choose will put you on one side or another. That doesn't mean that you're stuck on that path forever. My opinion...you can spend 6 years in the Navy as an enlisted Nuke, and decide whether to pursue the engineering degree either while in or shortly after separating. I cannot, however, see those 6 years as holding you back from anything in any way. What you learn as an operator may not directly apply to what you decide to do in your post-Navy life, but it doesn't mean that you won't benefit from the many lessons learned. I haven't directly applied my skills as a nuclear operator in years, but those fundamentals, problem solving skills and questioning attitude are with me every day.

Best of success to you!

[spekkio]

I totally agree.  But your previous statement didn't say "for the primary purpose of..."  You said, "In terms of enhancing your value to potential employers looking to hire someone with an engineering undergrad degree, the Navy is not going to be 'valuable' to you at all."  That is an incorrect statement; technical experience does add value to an undergraduate engineering degree.

I think you didn't understand what I meant and I didn't state it clearly enough. But we understand each other now. My speaking of usefulness was in terms of whether or not you could obtain that experience elsewhere without delaying college.

I guess one question I would have to ask is: how valuable is it to learn the nuke trade?

You've asked this question like 3 times and it's been answered even more. I'll assume for now it's because you're not getting the answer you are looking for rather than just ignoring people.

Unfortunately, there is no quantitative number you're going to get out of this, and it all depends on your life priorities and goals (which come across as ambiguous, and rightfully so at your age). Also, consider your audience: You are asking a bunch of people who committed their careers to working in nuclear power if experience as a Navy nuke is valuable. The prior nukes will tell you yes because they view the experience as one of many that lead them to their success. The guys who never did Naval service will tell you not to bother because they got to their positions without it. Additionally, there seems to be varied consensus on this board regarding the quality of a former nuke; some will say it wasn't what it used to be, some think they do okay, some think they generally suck.

Ask the same question to a board of people who decided to go into a different career path post Navy nuke, and you will probably hear a general consensus that their experience helped them grow personally and helped them pay for college, but did not significantly increase their professional earning potential.

I'm telling you that there are many ways to skin a cat and if you make good use of your time in college, you don't need to be an enlisted nuke to succeed in whatever it is you do. It won't make you a special superman where employers grovel to hire you. It's "career neutral" in lieu of other possible experience. As stated before, though, there are other benefits and drawbacks to enlisting that you need to consider. What really matters in your decision is how those other factors weigh. One thing that is blatantly missing from any of your posts is any sense of patriotic duty or service; you seem entirely interested in the Navy for your civilian employment benefit and without some motivation to serve your country you will have no job satisfaction to extract from the long hours and time at sea.

I have been looking for some more life experience to have a different/better prospective on things as well as camaraderie, since life has been I guess "boring".

If you are looking for excitement don't enlist as a nuke and I dare say don't enlist in the Navy. We aren't involved in full-scale engagements and outside of a select few rates your day-to-day job underway will be to rove around and take logs on gauges or sit at one of various panels/workstations. As a nuke you will only know what is going on tactically when the JO standing EOOW fills you in (the days of nukes going to control on a sub to maintain the time/freq and fusion plots are gone with modern combat systems). The most exciting thing you will do as a nuke is react to something that breaks, which will subsequently result in you getting very little sleep as you figure out how to fix it. Even if you go a tactical rate, you will be too junior during most if not all of your initial commitment to be on a battlestations/GQ watch that one would consider exciting, IF you are even on a unit that happens to lob TLAMs at someone. Finally, as a nuke you will have less liberty in foreign ports than your peers, and if you are on an SSBN you will not leave the US, so the 'adventure' outside of your duties is diminished.

As you are probably 16-18 years old and haven't really investigated what you want to do, you need to do your research OR take a path that leaves you with as many options as possible. You are probably bored because high school is easy for you and school is all you know. There is life beyond that, even in the civilian world. If you really are into nuclear power/nuclear maintenance and know that's where you want to go, then enlist or look at NUPOC for some experience and don't look back. But if this is something that you are considering among a myriad of other possibilities, a college education will keep your options open. You can always enlist (or commission) after college.

Also, would I be better of joining the reserves vs active duty, and just go to college while drilling?

Again, have you looked into USNA, NROTC scholarships, or NUPOC?

I know I may be told to "search" but...

Yes, because a good part of being a successful Navy nuke is being able to research the correct answer. That is the #1 useful life skill that being a sub officer has taught me. I even beat the IRS with it when they tried to charge me $1950 in taxes that I didn't owe, and I didn't need to pay hundreds for an accountant to do it. Part of making an educated decision is researching all of your options and what they entail. All it takes is typing a few words into Google, so there's no excuse.

[Content1]

From a self-discipline/motivational point of view I really don't have much of an issue, but I can imagine I would definitely gain something after being through a rigorous 6 year enlistment. I know I failed to mention this, but I have been looking for some more life experience to have a different/better prospective on things as well as camaraderie, since life has been I guess "boring". I guess one question I would have to ask is: how valuable is it to learn the nuke trade? I've heard the technology you learn is old, but the payoffs when you get out are huge (but not necessarily in engineering right?). I know I may be told to "search" but what exactly is in store for the future in nuclear power? Also, would I be better of joining the reserves vs active duty, and just go to college while drilling?

While working as a nuke prior to the invention of computers or Internet I would go on weeklong exercises and longer and take with me entire subjects from the local library. I had so much time on my hands along with speed-reading I read the entire subjects. I had decided I wished to be an investment real estate salesman when I got out. The only comment of the Broker who hired me was, "You have a thorough knowledge of the subject except your knowledge seems to end about six months ago, can you explain?" I explained it takes a little time for current books to be published.
     In addition, following up with the boredom factor, I nearly completed a course in electronics engineering on my own. It was these factors that led me into other jobs and careers after I got out. With the exception of simply getting more experience in drills, taking logs, and repairing things, my training in the Navy ended effectively a year after arriving at my sub.  The Navy experience on a resume helped me get my first rad con job but, in reality, it was only a tiny portion of my accumulated knowledge at that time.  If I had a chance to do it all over I would have still joined the Navy, but taking a program where I can get out in two years versus six.

[sllon1]

And I'm not quite sold on OP's heart being in nuclear power.

I am not going to lie, one of the main reasons I was looking into enlisting nuke was because of the money. It seems that working in operations is very stable on top of a great hourly wage plus OT. As I've read you can make more being an operator vs an engineer (although I have been planning on being an engineer for awhile now) because of the OT that is offered to work. I come from a middle class family with aspirations to make a high 5 figure/6 figure salary eventually, so money is important to me as well as job satisfaction (working in a technical math/science field).

Ideally, who's is better shape for gettin a job in operations. A 6 and outer nuke, or an engineering degree holder? Additionally, What career progression is offered to those with engineering degrees vs those with navy ops/technician experience?