CEC requirements

[navy_or_bust]

I am interested in the CEC. I am up for review this month as a BDCP candidate for SNA SNFO and SWO, but would prefer to go CEC over SWO. I have two questions. First if i get picked up for SWO and took it for now, how hard would it be to switch to the CEC? Now the more difficult question.

I am majoring in a degree called Construction Engineering Management that is accredited by the American Council for Construction Education or ACCE. If anyone is familiar with the CEC you need to have a degree that is acredited by AABET/ NAAB (for Civil Engineers and for Architects respectively) in oder to join that community. My recruiter has talked to his contact and they feel I am not eligible, but it would seem my degree would exactly mirror what a CEC officer would be doing. So my question is does anyone know someone who is in the CEC that does not have a degree acredidted by AABET/ NAAB and what route should I take if I would like to try to join the CEC? My brother who is in the reserves feels that if you ask enough people in the Navy, someone will eventually say what you want to hear. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[dbatt005]

Your best bet is to research the instructions pertaining to what you want to do instead on relying on people "telling you what you want to hear". Check out https://portal.navfac.navy.mil/portal/page?_pageid=1254,5824623&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
This should answer your questions about the CEC. My advice is that you try for the scholarship program that will pick you up in the CEC once you graduate. I have a B.S. in Civil Engineering and happen to now be a NFO. I had a guy in my senior design class have this scholarship. It's a good deal and no transfer/redesignation necessary. Also, you must have a degree which will allow you to obtain your PE (i.e. civil, mechanical, electrical). If you want to see your chances or redesignating from SWO, check out the past results at
http://www.npc.navy.mil/Boards/Administrative/ActiveDutyTransferRedesignation/

 

[Jeff29]

Who is your recruiter's "contact"? The link above directs you the CEC Accessions page. If you click 'contact us' you will be directed to a page that lists recruiters and accessions officers based on your location. If your recruiter is not talking to a CEC Accessions Officer, then direct him to the right person, if he is, then the answer you received is probably the final answer. In this case, however, you might want to talk to the accessions officer just to make sure he understands your exact situation.

There are many Lat Transfers in the CEC (mostly SWO's and Aviators). I don't know how competitive it is, but generally you need to wait until the end of you committment to apply for the transfer (4 yrs for SWO, 6-8 yrs for aviator). Technically, it is possible to apply for a Lat Transfer 24 months after commissioning, but this requires your current community to release you (I don't see this happening with the SWO community).

Your biggest obstacle, however, is the accredidation. If they won't accept your degree now, there is no reason to expect that the will accept it as a Lateral Transfer.

I was in the CEC BDCP program several years ago and then actually Lat Transferred out of the CEC to Aviation (at that time, the first person to transfer out of the CEC in over 15 years). The CEC is one of the best kept secrets in the Navy. Good Luck.

 

[seabeescw]

Obtaining an ABET accredited engineering degree or a NAAB architectural degree is a requirement for joining the CEC. You wouldn't be able to lateral transfer from SWO later on without the right degree.

But you are right, your degree does mirror a CEC job, however they will not budge on the ABET thing. Trust me, I've been there. It doesn't matter who you talk to, the regulations will be the same. I have never met a CEC guy in 8 years that didn't have an ABET/NAAB degree. There are a few Construction Engineering (not management) programs out there that are ABET certified, but that's not what you are getting so your only option would be to switch to Civil if you could. Or maybe looking into getting a Master's that would qualify...then you might be able to lat transfer. How hard would it be for you to switch to an ABET program? It would be worth it, even if it delays your graduation. I think anyone in their right mind would be much happier in the CEC than as a SWO!

 

[wink]

Not only is the ABET thing hard and fast, as part of your career progression as a CEC you are expected to become a certified Professional Engineer. That would not be possible with your degree. The reason for the requirement is because CEC does more then just build as SEABEES. There are times when they have to make engineering judgments worth millions of dollars or put lives at stake. The ABET/PE requirements simply establishes a profession knowledge base and competency so they can assign any CEC to most any post.

 

[Jeff29]

I have never met a CEC guy in 8 years that didn't have an ABET/NAAB degree.

Really? When I applied for the program (10 years ago), my recruiter told me that they would accept Math, Physics, and CM majors. It looks like they have changed the requirements since then.

 

[navy_or_bust]

With my major in my state I am allowed to take the FE exam and become a PE. This was one of the initial reasons my recruiter said I wasn't qualified because he didn't think I could become a PE, but once he found out I could he was just as unsure as I am as to why they wouldn't consider my degree. Yes I know I could switch to civil and be ABET, but that would add another year of school which at the moment is not the most exciting thought. I guess for now I will see if I get picked up by aviation and then go after the CEC if I can only get accepted by the SWO board. And hey, if I did switch to Civil Engr under that program they would at least pay for the 3 more year of school

 

[seabeescw]

Jeff29--

I think there's a good chance your recruiter lied to you. Which is weird, because that never happens!

 

[Thisguy]

Really? When I applied for the program (10 years ago), my recruiter told me that they would accept Math, Physics, and CM majors. It looks like they have changed the requirements since then.

It's possible. I worked with a retired BU1 in China Lake who said when he was in he had a Company Commander that was a math major from USNA.

 

[Scoob]

With my major in my state I am allowed to take the FE exam and become a PE. This was one of the initial reasons my recruiter said I wasn't qualified because he didn't think I could become a PE, but once he found out I could he was just as unsure as I am as to why they wouldn't consider my degree. Yes I know I could switch to civil and be ABET, but that would add another year of school which at the moment is not the most exciting thought. I guess for now I will see if I get picked up by aviation and then go after the CEC if I can only get accepted by the SWO board. And hey, if I did switch to Civil Engr under that program they would at least pay for the 3 more year of school

If you really want to go CEC, avoiding an extra year of school is a ridiculous reason to pass up the opportunity to let the Navy pay for literally everything you'd need to be set for life. Pay for your BS, pay you to get your MS on the govt's clock, heavily encourage and support getting the PE cert, and give you way more experience way earlier than you would ever see in the private sector. A good portion of the MILCON and maintenance contracts we're doing here are through companies owned by former CEC officers.

Flying is awesome, but no program sets you up like CEC.

 

[SaraLee]

The CEC is one of the best kept secrets in the Navy. Good Luck.

I noticed a few other posts with similar statements. My husband is transferring to CECs right now (Public works) from aviation. So I'm kind of interested to know what you mean in a bit more detail. Thanks!

 

[Thisguy]

I noticed a few other posts with similar statements. My husband is transferring to CECs right now (Public works) from aviation. So I'm kind of interested to know what you mean in a bit more detail. Thanks!

I'll throw my 2 cents in on this one:

It's a small community of roughly 1,250 officers, and the two areas with the most amount of billets (construction contract management, and facilities management) have civilian counterparts.

It used to be that you could do a contract tour and a facilities tour and get out without ever deploying, or it was easy to do 20 with only one sea tour. Both of those scenarios are changing however, with IAs and the new detailing method that gets all officers within their first two tours to the Seabees (the CEC's only Sea Duty). IAs are Navy wide, and it's a little funny to see CEC officers pissed that they may have to deploy. Nonetheless, the CEC is still probably one of the more family-friendly communities in the Navy in regards to time away from home. The only downside is that it's difficult to home-base it in one area for a while which means moving quite a bit, but let's face it, there are worse things than PCSing from shore duty to shore duty.

 

[seabeescw]

I noticed a few other posts with similar statements. My husband is transferring to CECs right now (Public works) from aviation. So I'm kind of interested to know what you mean in a bit more detail. Thanks!

1. He will probably never go out to sea on a ship
2. Because of #1, he will never have to wear coveralls and come home smelling like a ship
3. Guaranteed free graduate education opportunity
4. Like Thisguy said, the work he does in the CEC is highly transferrable to the civilian job market
5. Even with the deployments, he will end up spending more time at home on shore duty than most other people in the Navy
6. Last but not least, he will get to spend some time with a great bunch of guys known as the Seabees who will always look after him on deployment