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I wanted to be a nuclear machinist mate. Made it through the first school but not the second. Went to the fleet as a machinist mate, worked with boilers, steam turbine engines & generators, and oil & water purification. This training helped me to get my current job where I've been for 11 1/2 years. Look for a rating that offers job skills that easily translates to a good civilian job.
I'd try to meet or at least correspond with someone that does the job you are interested in ..... find out what the day to day is actually like, it might be very different than what the recruiter tells you ....
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Look for a rating that offers job skills that easily translates to a good civilian job
FWIW, I launched fighter jets in my USAF career. but I found my self wishing I could've done it from a carrier deck instead of a concrete ramp that went on for miles...
I have no idea what a rate is. I'll probably be just starting out enlisted, with a high Asvab score.
Don't do that. Rate is a navy job type. Each job name may sound confusing or strange but if you do your research and ask questions here, it'll help you to narrow down your choice of Navy jobs. If you go in with no idea, you'll end up a lowly seaman apprentice whose assignment will be where ever the command thinks they need you. If you sign up for a particular job, then you stand a very good chance of going straight from bootcamp directly to a school where you'll learn the basics of that job. Once on a ship, if you find you don't like the job they stuck you with or don't like the job you choose, there are ways to switch to a different job. It's not easy and it requires some study and hands on training in your off time which, depending on your assignment, may be very little but it can be done. You can learn weather forecasting, how to run a ships engines and generators, a hospital corpsman(medic), a fire fighter (damage controlman), plumber/welder (hulltech), aviation mechanic, electrician, AC/refrigeration, hydraulics, and many more. Keep in mind that on Navy rating can include job training for multiple civilian jobs.
Do yourself a favor and make up your mind before you join. If you go in undesignated as a deck seaman you'll be doing sh*t work until you're eligible to test into a rate (a job) as an E-4. Meaning: after you've made your way up to E-3 and have been there for a little while, only then will you get to pick your job by taking the test required to be an E-4. If you're going in as an E-1 it could be a while.
I was a Gunner's Mate and I have no regrets. It didn't translate into a job as a civilian and I struggled for a while after I got out, but I used my GI Bill and got my bachelor's degree. You could be a diesel mechanic, but those guys rarely see the light of day. Do something topside so you can at least get some fresh air and see the sea. With a high ASVAB you could get Radioman or Fire Controlman, but you're looking at an enlistment greater than four years on account of their school being so long. Don't let that deter you though - the time flies by. I highly suggest RM or FC.
- and let me add, both jobs spend most of the time in nice, cool air-conditioning because of the electronics. You think the engine room is air-conditioned?
Last edited by Eastern Roamer; 04-28-2011 at 02:04 PM..
- and let me add, both jobs spend most of the time in nice, cool air-conditioning because of the electronics. You think the engine room is air-conditioned?
And don't forget; the business end of a jet engine is toasty warm on a cold day...
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