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Is the nuclear propulsion program a good program to get into? I recently talked to a recruiter and I'm really convinced I want to join the Navy. However, before I sign any contracts I would like the input of service members who are/have gone through it.
Is the nuclear propulsion program a good program to get into? I recently talked to a recruiter and I'm really convinced I want to join the Navy. However, before I sign any contracts I would like the input of service members who are/have gone through it.
It's a tough (mental) program. I was in the program in 1990 when the first two schools were in Orlando. The first school, Nuclear A school, is an academic test to see if you're smart enough to continue the program. If you pass the program, you're promoted to E-4 or petty officer third class and you're in the Navy for 6 year enlistment. Next school, Nuclear Power School, is a high stress high pace school. All books and personal notebooks are classified as confidential. All study is done in class after class time. Most students are on mandatory study hours. You walk into class, show class proctor your I'D, he signs you in with the exact time, you leave the class or sleep and he signs you out with the time. Depending on your grades, you may have to put in 25 to 35 hours of study per week in the classroom. If any books are missing, the base goes on lockdown. The purpose of this school is to put you under high stress and see how you handle the stress while trying to get passing grades. If you pass, you move onto the nuclear power plant. There you must study and qualify to operate a real working nuclear power plant. This school does not have people pushing you. It's a self pace class. Danger is if you don't qualify by a certain time period, you fail. The purpose is to see if you're a self starter who can work responsibly with little to no supervision.
If you pass all three schools while keeping out of trouble, you're a nuclear engineer of one of three ratings. I was Machinist Mate. It's a mechanical rating involving steam turbine engines/generators, water pumps, AC compressors, air compressors, Fire fighting, and other machines. I didn't make it through the second school. Graduating the first school automatically made me an MM3. The skills I learned helped me get my current job working in a hospital boiler room. My wife's nephew graduated the program. When he left the Navy, he went to college to be an engineer. Some of his Navy courses counted as enough credit for associates degree. Being a Navy nuclear engineer means you can work at a power plant, including a nuclear plant.
Also, remember that there are no guarantees on the job you will have in the military. It's about what the service needs, not what you want. Be careful what you sign up for.
........ All books and personal notebooks are classified as confidential. All study is done in class after class time. Most students are on mandatory study hours. You walk into class, show class proctor your I'D, he signs you in with the exact time, you leave the class or sleep and he signs you out with the time. Depending on your grades, you may have to put in 25 to 35 hours of study per week in the classroom.........
Not to detract from that program, but that may be how it is in a lot of programs. I remember returning to the electronic warfare officer school many a nights after midnight to study, of having many, many classified books in a two drawer file cabinet, of looking at the book and then writing the missile-radar matrix on a blackboard as far as I could, erase, repeat, until I could do the entire thing. My notes followed me around, from one ship's radio room to the next. Told the last command, when I was shifting from sea duty to law enforcement shore, to destroy them.
A and B. A: One may find a lot of programs in the Navy with a lot of secret books that they are responsible for, a lot of things they need to know in their head.
B: There will be someone looking over your shoulder, one way or another. Some branches are more strict than others, but there will be someone, somewhere watching you at least some of the time. I mention this because on the inside, it is just something that one expects, accepts but I found to those on the outside, they were aghast that such things go on in the free world.
Not to detract from that program, but that may be how it is in a lot of programs. I remember returning to the electronic warfare officer school many a nights after midnight to study, of having many, many classified books in a two drawer file cabinet, of looking at the book and then writing the missile-radar matrix on a blackboard as far as I could, erase, repeat, until I could do the entire thing. My notes followed me around, from one ship's radio room to the next. Told the last command, when I was shifting from sea duty to law enforcement shore, to destroy them.
A and B. A: One may find a lot of programs in the Navy with a lot of secret books that they are responsible for, a lot of things they need to know in their head.
B: There will be someone looking over your shoulder, one way or another. Some branches are more strict than others, but there will be someone, somewhere watching you at least some of the time. I mention this because on the inside, it is just something that one expects, accepts but I found to those on the outside, they were aghast that such things go on in the free world.
Good luck!
While I was at Nuclear Power school a textbook was missing. All students were sent back to their dorms and the dorms were under guard. Every dorm room and locker was searched. No one could leave their dorm until given the all clear. When you dropped out or graduated your notebook was collected and destroyed in an incinerator.
Also, remember that there are no guarantees on the job you will have in the military. It's about what the service needs, not what you want. Be careful what you sign up for.
In the nuclear program, if you sign up for a particular nuclear rating then you will go to that rating's nuclear A school. If you drop out the first school then you don't get that rating. If you graduate from that school but not the second then you keep the rating but not nuclear. Unless things have changed, the nuclear ratings were MM, EM, & ET. If you sign up for the first two and dropped out the first school then you'll still be in an engineering field as a Fireman or E-3.
The lowest ranks of enlisted in the Navy (E-3 and below) are divided up in three categories. They are fireman, airman, and seaman. The the fireman falls in the engineering ratings. These include ratings like machinist mate, electricians mate, damage control (fire fighting), hulltech (welders and plumbers), and several other ratings. In these fields you can work as an electrician, diesel generators, industrial refrigeration, gas turbines, steam turbines, hydraulics, and many other jobs. As an airman you would fall in the aviation ratings. This means working on the flight deck and or hanger bay. The advantage of these two is you're field is narrowed compared to if you enter as a seaman. As a seaman you could be anything from deck department, supply, cook, or any number of ship board jobs. You'll go where ever they tell you to go. Once there, good luck getting the rating you want. It can eat done but it isn't easy.
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It's a very high wash out rate program, and you're kidding yourself if you think the Navy doesn't know this. Countless kids have joined that program only to end up with a wire brush and paint brush in their hand cleaning corrosion and painting. Any kind of disciplinary problem or academic problem, and you're a painter. I can't tell you how many people just in my experience washed out of that program. I don't see the draw of the program truth be told. How applicable can this job be to the civilian world other than a few select places?
If you're a bright kid I would consider the Air Force unless you really have a desire to be stuck under the water for how ever many months at a time with a bunch of smelly seaman. The Air Force has by far the better educational opportunities and mostly better duty stations. I was able to get myself half way to a B.S. degree by the time I did my four years, and then was able to finish quickly after I got out.
Truth be told, you won't listen to this advice, because those Navy recruiters must be really good. But good luck to you regardless. It's a tough program that very few complete in the end.
It's a very high wash out rate program, and you're kidding yourself if you think the Navy doesn't know this. Countless kids have joined that program only to end up with a wire brush and paint brush in their hand cleaning corrosion and painting. Any kind of disciplinary problem or academic problem, and you're a painter. I can't tell you how many people just in my experience washed out of that program. I don't see the draw of the program truth be told. How applicable can this job be to the civilian world other than a few select places?
If you're a bright kid I would consider the Air Force unless you really have a desire to be stuck under the water for how ever many months at a time with a bunch of smelly seaman. The Air Force has by far the better educational opportunities and mostly better duty stations. I was able to get myself half way to a B.S. degree by the time I did my four years, and then was able to finish quickly after I got out.
Truth be told, you won't listen to this advice, because those Navy recruiters must be really good. But good luck to you regardless. It's a tough program that very few complete in the end.
Those who enter the program to be MM or EM do not end up in deck department if they drop out. They enter engineering department. Plenty of jobs available for people who know how to work on such systems. Most electrical power plants work off steam turbines. Nuclear power ships use nuclear as the heat source to generate steam. There are many other aspects of the job.
I served with a lot of nucs. As a retiree I am still in contact with a few of them.
The nuclear power program is a good community to be in.
Within the submarine community Nuc-school drop-outs were mostly auxiliary men [commonly called A-gang]. They work on a wide array of equipment. Splitting sea water to make O2 for us to breath. Atmosphere scrubbers that remove CO2 and hydrocarbons from our air. High pressure hydraulic plants that operate many of the systems on a sub. They have a small machine shop where they can fabricate repair parts. A-gang are all highly skilled men.
Don't let these guys scare you with stories of how bad it is if you drop-out. Even the alternative career path is still not a bad path.
Every Nuc has fantastic job opportunities later when they leave the Navy. Whether they succeed through Nuc power school, and even if they drop half-way through. The only ones who truly 'fail' are those who become disciplinary problems [fighting, too much drinking, or too lax with security]. Never take any photos of anything that is classified.
Nobody has anything but respect for nucs.
ET1/SS
USN retired
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