Pilot or NUPOC

[danepennell]

Hey everybody, I am just looking for some advice on what to do in my current predicament. I am currently a junior @ UNCC pursuing a degree in electrical engineering with a gpa of 3.41. My ASTB scores were 5/5/5 49 so not to impressive. The dilemma is that I want to fly planes in the navy either through pilot or NFO in BDCP but I am not sure if I will get picked up for pilot and if I dont I will have to wait atleast 3 months until I can even apply for the NUPOC program. Basically, my recruiter seems very confident of the nuclear route and sort of "iffy" about the aviation route especially since I don't have a private pilot license. I dont want to wait 3 months and get rejected for aviation and then it take another 3 months before I can get on with NUPOC. Does anyone have any suggestions on what would be a wise move or comments or estimated probabilities for getting a pilot slot? Does anyone know of anyone who has recently obtained a pilot slot with scores close to mine? Thanks for your time.

 

[gstapes12]

go for pilot, you'll probably always regret not going for it later in life...

my 2 cents

 

[craftingraptor]

3 months is a short time in your life. If you can spend that 3 months getting over your re-direction onto something different/better, I'd say you're getting out ahead of the game.

Also, I think your recruiter is feeding you lines, because last I checked NUPOC is not easy either. The line for interviews is almost as long as the time it takes for the post office to call you back about a job for which you applied.

Heck, you might even find that you can improve your ASTB score with some studying, and whaddya know, you'll have increased chances for both Pilot AND NUPOC.

 

[HAL Pilot]

If your recruiter is telling you that you have a better chance of pilot or NFO with a private pilots license, he's wrong. This has been beaten to death on this forum many times.

All recruiters will push you toward NUPOC. They get more brownie pints for signing up nukes because it is a hard billet to fill. Not many want to be a geek on a sub crammed asshole to elbows with the other geeks.

You will enjoy aviation much more than being a nuke. 3 months lost pay and longevity is a small price to pay for the chance of many years of greater job satisfaction and fun.

Also, I may be wrong but I think you can apply for 3 designators and they are all looked at for approval separately. You than can accept or refuse any for which you are choosen. So why not apply for all and if accepted for both aviation and NUPOC, make the choice than?

 

[twobecrazy]

Hey everybody, I am just looking for some advice on what to do in my current predicament. I am currently a junior @ UNCC pursuing a degree in electrical engineering with a gpa of 3.41. My ASTB scores were 5/5/5 49 so not to impressive. The dilemma is that I want to fly planes in the navy either through pilot or NFO in BDCP but I am not sure if I will get picked up for pilot and if I dont I will have to wait atleast 3 months until I can even apply for the NUPOC program. Basically, my recruiter seems very confident of the nuclear route and sort of "iffy" about the aviation route especially since I don't have a private pilot license. I dont want to wait 3 months and get rejected for aviation and then it take another 3 months before I can get on with NUPOC. Does anyone have any suggestions on what would be a wise move or comments or estimated probabilities for getting a pilot slot? Does anyone know of anyone who has recently obtained a pilot slot with scores close to mine? Thanks for your time.

I say take a step back and research the two options vigorously. In a week ask yourself which job is more important for you right now and in the future. Currently your GPA and degree are fine for either. Your ASTB scores could be better but if you re-take they could be worst as well. I personally wouldn’t make this decision until I have talked it over with friends, family, and researched. Why can't you apply for both?

 

[Spekkio]

If your recruiter is telling you that you have a beeter chance of pilot or NFO with a private pilots license, he's wrong. This has been beaten to death on this forum many times.

All recruiters will push you toward NUPOC. They get more brownie pints for signing up nukes because it is a hard billet to fill. Not many want to be a geek on a sub crammed asshole to elbows with the other geeks.

You will enjoy aviation much more than being a nuke. 3 months lost pay and longevity is a small price to pay for the chance of many years of greater job satisfaction and fun.

Also, I may be wrong but I think you can apply for 3 designators and they are all looked at for approval separately. You than can accept or refuse any for which you are choosen. So why not apply for all and if accepted for both aviation and NUPOC, make the choice than?

+1.

Your OP sounds like your mind is made up -- you want to be a pilot. To increase your chances, browse the 'net for ASTB gouge. Study and improve your scores. You're still a junior, so you have plenty of time before graduation.

Do NOT apply for NUPOC because you think it's a safety net into the Navy. You will have an extremely miserable 5 years, and have next to no chances of lateral transfer into pilot after your JO tour.

 

[HAL Pilot]

^ And Spekkio is a nuke submariner.....listen to him!

 

[Thisguy]

So why not apply for all and if accepted for both aviation and NUPOC, make the choice than?

NUPOC is a different beast. You'll find out if you screened to interview, not if you got the slot. Once you go to the interview and pass, you basically have to decide there right on the spot if you're going to take it, and not many people turn down the big novelty check they like to whip out. Chances are you won't have a confirmed pilot spot in your hip pocket at that time either.

Like HAL said, recruiters like pushing anyone with an engineering degree towards NUPOC because it has stricter academic requirements than other designators. Also, don't let $$$ blind you. If you don't get picked up for pilot the first time, try again. The lost BDCP $$$ would be well worth it if you ultimately get what you want.

 

[Spekkio]

NUPOC is a bit of a different app process, but you can apply to other designators simultaneously. It typically takes a few months to get to the interviews, particularly because they have to schedule a tour of a SSBN for you.

On top of that, you have 30 days to give your final answer after the interview. However, if you decline you can never be a nuke.

I didn't mean to imply that the sub officer job sucks incredibly no matter what (although it can if your CoC is poor), but it's long hours and hard work...if you're not 100% dedicated to that, you will be miserable.

 

[LazersGoPEWPEW]

NUPOC is a bit of a different app process, but you can apply to other designators simultaneously. It typically takes a few months to get to the interviews, particularly because they have to schedule a tour of a SSBN for you.

On top of that, you have 30 days to give your final answer after the interview. However, if you decline you can never be a nuke.

I didn't mean to imply that the sub officer job sucks incredibly no matter what (although it can if your CoC is poor), but it's long hours and hard work...if you're not 100% dedicated to that, you will be miserable.

Any job can suck if that is true.

Do what you want to do. If you don't want to be a submariner then don't be one.

Consider this though, there a lot of jobs out there and sometimes you need to jump through some special hoops in order to put yourself in a better position to obtain those highly desired jobs. Just think about jobs you could qualify for on all potential career paths and make your choices. Another thing you may want to consider in respect to aviation is go grab a little flight time just to see if you really like it if you haven't already. I've seen more than a few friends who didn't ever fly before and ended up not liking it at all and moved onto something else.

Good luck with whatever you do and don't be pressured into making a decision that you don't want.

 

[danepennell]

That was my assumption but the recruiter said that NUPOC has priority over all other divisions so... he said they would snatch me up before the aviation sections even got a look at me.

 

[danepennell]

I was leaning toward pilot before I posted and every one of you said what I had wanted to hear, after reading all of your posts it seems that it would be a good idea to go with the aviation route so that is what I am going to try for. Also, for the person saying to maybe increase my ASTB scores, I have tried that. I studied very hard for a good month and took the ASTB two times and made the same exact score both times. The math section, mechanical comprehension, and the plane attitude/orientation sections are very easy, but the reading section I honestly had no answers for and those historical questions about the navy, and various types of questions such as types of bomber planes used in WW2, etc... left me dumbfounded. So if anyone knows where I can find any reading comprehension study guides or any naval/aviation history I would appreciate it. Anyways, thank you all for your input.

 

[twobecrazy]

That was my assumption but the recruiter said that NUPOC has priority over all other divisions so... he said they would snatch me up before the aviation sections even got a look at me.

That is why you have priority in your selection of jobs.

 

[twobecrazy]

So if anyone knows where I can find any reading comprehension study guides or any naval/aviation history I would appreciate it. Anyways, thank you all for your input.

There is good info on this site that can help with you with this stuff. You could probably find a blue jackets manual on amazon. You could also look at the Arco Officer Candidate School study book. I believe there is a vast amount of information out there if you look around. Good Luck.

 

[Spekkio]

That was my assumption but the recruiter said that NUPOC has priority over all other divisions so... he said they would snatch me up before the aviation sections even got a look at me.

NR can't "snatch you up;" you can always decline the position, even if you get a yes at the interview. Your application would be going to two separate entities if you applied for pilot and nuke, and I'm fairly sure that they don't call each other to say "don't take this guy he's ours!"