Current Demand for Enlisted Nukes?

I read the previous thread, but most of the posts are from early 08. So my question is, if I went to enlist as a nuke, is the demand so high that I could get in ASAP with a good sized bonus? Does anyone know the current bonus? I got an 84 on the ASVAB if that plays any bearing. Also, I have a bachelor's degree in business like 90% completed. Does the bonus for college credits stack with the rate bonus, or do you have to pick one or ther other?

I am just exploring all options. Trying know everything I can before I make a choice. My degree is non-technical, and I am told that calculus and advanced physics is required to be a nuke officer. Also, I know I will need a couple waivers. Maybe because of this I am under-selling myself.

Also, because I'm 26, I feel like i'm getting into the game a little late and want to jump now. From the sound of things, officer processing takes quite some time and often multiple applications. Plus I have little time to work on all of this, as i'm trying to do it on the sly.

I am interested in Nuke also because of the fact, that I would enjoy being a 'helluva learned dude', and such. The enlist bonus could pay my school, and I could start applying for officer while accruing service time.

I still want to becaome an officer, but I'm exploring any imediate options that will get me on my way. I even talked to the enlisted marine recruiter just to see whats up with that side of things.

Nuke officer does require one year of calculus and one year of calculus-based physics. However, you do not need a "technical" degree as long as you've taken those classes.

I came into the Navy to be an enlisted Nuke. It worked out for me (by washing out of the program while learning enough math to kick ass on the SAT, get picked up for ROTC etc), but I would not let anyone I cared about go into that part of the Navy. To say that it sucks would be the biggest understatement in the history of mankind.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me. I can tell you first hand that it's not worth the bonus money and accelerated advancement.

My advice:
1. Finish School.
2. Look at career options in all services.
3. Pick 4 you like the best.
4. Apply to all of them.

If you have a degree 90% complete, then get the damn thing done. Even if you don't get picked up as an officer and have to enlist, that degree will put you on the fast track once you prove yourself.

I'm a prior Nuke Electrician. I was the Nuclear Recruiter for NRD Jacksonville from Jan 07 to Feb 08. We (Region East) along with Region West, meaning the entire nation, were booked for nuke seats for up to at least 6-8 months out. That means you'd have to wait that long to leave.

However, there were usually quick fill seats that would open up an a hot fill basis, i.e. you'd have about a 4-10 day notice before you left for bootcamp.

Bonuses depend upon when you leave for bootcamp. The rates when I was recruiting were as follows: Feb - May - $20k, June - Oct $16k, Nov - Jan $18k.

The bonus for college credit DOES stack up on top of your job bonus. HOWEVER, you will/should get you college bonus money soon after bootcamp. You will NOT get any of your Nuke bonus money until you complete all of the nuclear training pipeline (~ 18-24 months in the Navy total).

You will not need the Navy college fund since you already have alot of college. You can get the Navy college fund on TOP of the GI Bill in lieu of a bonus. DO NOT DO THIS!!!! The GI Bill is plenty of college money along with Tuition Assistance while your in.

On a final note, I was a nuke for 9+ years, I had it fairly easy being in the shipyard most of my ship time. With that being said, i was fully prepared to leave the navy if I were not selected for the officer commissioning program that I'm in currently. I did not want anything to do with Nuclear power from then on. On the other hand, I don't think that I'd be where I am today (straight A's in college and in this commissioning program) if it weren't for the ideals and philosophies instilled in me during my training.

Good luck to you. it's a tough decision.

OC former EM1 Nuke

+1

Good call, but if you washed out you never even made it to the truly "sucky" part. Good for you I guess, because it sucked and the QoL is getting worse all the time. Raising the bonuses just isn't the solution in my opinion. It keeps and attracts unskilled individuals motivated by debt (not directed to the OP or anyone in particular here).

Are you referring only to the nuke program here, or bonuses in general? Just curious, since every URL designator has a bonus available in addition to the latest SRB message which shows 304 NECs eligible for bonuses.

Yes, that has been my experience. The nuke bonuses are handed out like candy to anyone who will sign their life away. There isn't a strict check and balance to ensure quality people are kept on. Nuke enlisted retention seems like it has been an increasing epidemic IMHO and I think that's because QoL is not a real concern.

A few things to address here:

1. A technical degree is not required for nuke officer, but 1 year of calculus and 1 year of calculus-based physics is. These are not "advanced" courses by any means, and you'll find that most Naval officer positions prefer that you have these courses (but they are not necessarily required). Since you're 90% done with college, you should take these courses as electives as you finish up if you are serious about nuke.

2. The officer application does take some time, but part of that depends on you. You could have all your paperwork completed and turned in in a week if you were motivated enough to do so. The biggest waits come from waiting for your application to go to the board and such. FYI, the age limit is 27 for pilot, but 29 for NFO and IIRC it's higher for SWO and Nuke officers.

3. Your post sounds like you can enlist and immediately start an application for OCS. This is false. Once you enlist, your service record will be the #1 determining factor on your selection for commissioning. That means that you have to stay in long enough to build up a good resume. If you think that the application process for OCS can be lengthy as a civilian, then you're going to really hate how long it will take if you enlist. Enlisting is the longest route to a commission, and enlisting with the intent to use it as a stepping stone to commissioning is usually not a good idea. Not only that, but you're probably going to be really pissed off as you clean the officer's bathrooms in the Rickover Center knowing that you could've applied directly for a commission.

4. Don't pick a job for the money. You'll be miserable, and your job performance will most likely suffer (which will be counter-productive to your plan to apply for OCS).

My suggestion: look into BDCP, finish college, research all your options, and pick what's best for you. Don't be lured by the money.

This isn't directed at you specifically, but it always astounds me how sailors and officers in today's Navy have the gall to complain about QoL. Maybe it's just cuz I've spent too much time in the same room with a bunch of 22 year olds fresh out of college, some of whom actually complained about using their leave for a two week vacation over Xmas. But I digress; life on a sub isn't the most luxurious thing in the world, but you're not stuck in northern germany in the winter cut off from food and lacking cold weather gear, now are you? To make a more "apples to apples" comparison, I recommend you visit the USS Cassin Young in Boston; destroyers pre-dating 'Nam were smaller than our submarines, and some enlisted guys worked in spaces where they'd have no idea whether or not the ship was about to sink. Maybe small boys are still like this today, but not being a SWO I'll let someone else take that one.

There are things the Navy can do to make QoL "better" (there is rumor of 4 section watch rotation for officers on submarines floating around), but I can't in good conscience ever say I have it "bad" when I think about what conditions men before me have thrived.

Maybe I didn't really explain my position...its not so much a complaint about QoL but rather a complaint regarding the tactics used for retention.

If you want to increase retention of highly qualified motivated people then it seems to me you should increase the QoL instead of throwing milllions of dollars of the taxpayers money randomly at sailors. I just think the system is broken and it encourages the wrong people to stay and in turn pushes out good people who might have stayed. I met a few people over the years who had a clear vission of what I'm talking about and hopefully they make it high enough to cause some change within the community, otherwise God help the future on Naval Nuclear power. Don't worry you'll see what I'm talking about when you hit the fleet and get to lead some young nukes.

In that case, I fully agree with you. JO retention is an issue in a few communities, and the current solution is to just hire an overload of Ensigns and throw a ton of bonuses at them. At the end of the day, that's not really fixing the issue. Most of the LTs getting out at nuke school have reported that they are simply burnt out from their DIVO tours...70+% op-tempo, 3-section duty, etc. They can make just as much, if not more, in civvy land doing 50% of the work, and never have to leave their families.

And I certainly do not envy the life of the enlisted sailor.

You sure claim to know a lot about issues that...well...you know nothing about. You are a student, right? You have never been a division officer. You have never been in charge of a group of young sailors, and you have have no real idea what the issues that you are going to face other than the case studies that you did during leadership and ethics your senior year.

Living on a sub is not the lap of luxury. WOW!!! What amazing insights. Did you pick that up on your midshipman cruise? How long were you underway? Two weeks?

When a junior sailor comes to you because the roof of his military housing is leaking, he can't get it fixed, and there is not enough money to make ends meet...just try coming at him with "I can't believe you have the gall to complain about your quality of life."

Let us know how that goes over with the COB and your department head and XO.

I'm checking out of recruiting on the 6th. Unless the MILPO made a mistake, enlistment bonuses for college credit are a thing of the past. We had a message come out about a month ago saying it will not be offered anymore. Bummer you would have been looking at 7k+

I am not a Nuke and I don't mean this as a knock against any but I have never met a nuke that did not complain about his/her job. I think it's the trendy thing to do in the community.

There is a reason that they throw all that money at nukes. $18K enlistment bonuses plus reenlistment bonuses of how much these days (I think >$50K)? It is a great field to work in with some of the best, brightest, and most well screened applicants. That being said, you will work your ass off non-stop for your entire time in the Navy. It is long, arduous work on top of constant studying, qualifying, drilling, and being evaluated. You will be expected to perform all this with little sleep and little time for family. It is blood money, plain and simple.
I am not down on nukedom at all. I wasn't one, but once lived among them and still have many close friends and family who are sticking around and taking the bonuses. I am just trying to allow you to get full disclosure prior to taking the plunge. It isn't all the recruiters might be selling you.

I was set for nuke in the DEP program until I was picked up for SWO BDCP. I was signed for 16k bonus. To make your decision easy the cut-off age is 24 for enlisted nuke, I noticed you said you were 26.

Ok....here's a point...

Why is it that when QoL comes up in the Navy, or anywhere for that matter, we always here the argument, "Yeah, but its not bad when you consider how bad "X" has/had it."

Guess what? We aren't soldiers in WWII, Roman Centurions in Gaul (although I bet those guys had it crappy too) or anyother lousy time you care to bring up. I'm a Naval Aviator and my duty rotation/deployment cycle/liberty policy had not a damn thing to do with what some trooper in the 82nd Airborne went through and not a damn thing to do with what some NUC JO goes through either.

This thinking gets used as an excuse constantly to not better the surroundings, practices and policies in many Navy commands and it needs to stop. If you aren't doing everything that is reasonable to make the work envirionment, living conditions and off duty time of your people as pleasant as you can, then YOU are F^&*ing up. Period.

I think what et1nuke was referring to was how a lot of individuals whom have had their tld taken away (meaning they can't stand watch or even go down to the plant) can still manange to be able to re-enlist for $45k+. Can you explain how that can happen? These people (I forgot to mention) got their tld taken away for "psychological issues!" I know more that one person who got this deal. They (big Navy) are giving money to keep the numbers up, NOT the best or even a person who can contribute to the mission. In the end, it pisses off the real workers and makes them pick up the slack and therefore become disgruntled and they get out.

tlsarles, my advice to you would be to ignore people who consistently moan, bitch, and complain about the NUC program, especially those who intentionally abuse the NUC-pipeline as a means to another end; that speaks to poor character and to poor judgment.

It's a voluntary program and is one that you should go into with your eyes wide-open. Actually, you should go into any voluntary program with your eyes wide-open. By that, I mean research it and understand what you are getting yourself into from the best case scenario to the worst case scenario.

If you do desire to volunteer for the NUC program, my advice - which I am sure others here will disagree with - would be to strive to become a NUC officer, specifically a submarine officer. There are pros and cons for each pipline (i.e., surface vs. submarine), but I personally feel that submarine officer is the way to go.

I knew plenty of NUC's on my submarine who liked their jobs and who all made the best of it; they were positive and took things in stride. Heck, one of them was a fellow diver and got to do some pretty cool stuff when we were performing SDV (SEAL Delivery Vehicle) ops.

I also knew NUC's on my submarine who were miserable and did nothing but moan, bitch, and complain about how the Navy "screwed" them. They were always negative and rarely, if ever, did anything to improve their situation. I found that they were the ones who did not fully understand their decision to volunteer for the NUC program (read: eyes wide-open) and often regretted it.

The NUC-program is like all other programs in the Navy: they can be highly rewarding and are what you make of them.

Ultimately, it's your choice. And remember, do not let anyone try to convince you that you chose poorly, that's for you to decide, but only after giving 110%.

I realize the nuke program is tough. I am interested in working my ass off. Altho I will note that one thing that interests me about the navy is going overseas and visiting places. Does a nuke ever get some time to check things out when in port?

Also, I had never really considered sub as an option for myself, altho lately I'v given it more thought. Do subs still go on East/West Pack and such, and do all the regular stuff you would do on a surface ship? I'd be interested in some more info on sub life.

Carriers yes, subs it depends. SSNs you will get overseas but if you end up on an SSBN you will most likely see Guam and Hawaii and your homeport. Of course just because your ship pulls in to a port you as a nuke are always the first on the ship and the last off and if there is no shorepower than there is probably little liberty for you. Not nonexistant but for example I've been to Korea twice and both times my liberty was counted in hours not days.

This is not completely true. Out of all the foreign ports I have been to the nukes were the first ones off the ship. When we were pulling in just as a liberty port the coners were always first off. When we were going to pull in because something was broken (always a coner issue) the nukes were first off. Those were the good ones because those ports were turned into liberty ports. The command decided to ask for about four days in each port just to give people time off after fixing things.

But the general rule was first on last off, I was just lucky.