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Technical Major Incentives
- Thread starter snizo
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WannaBEaP3gal
Registered User
Yeah we had to do these surveys about that last week. Honestly, I wouldn't change my major unless it was a lot of $$$. I love my current major, psychology, and I want to pursue it more if I decide I don't want to stay in the Navy forever. Majoring in something you don't want to for 4 years is just depressing. But for those who want techinacal majors, more $ is a good deal, but I think they should only pay you after you have completed the degree, like a commissioning bonus or something.
We had to fill out that survey on Tuesday. No way in hell I'd want to be an engineer.
snizo
Supply Officer
The purpose isn't necessarily to get people to change from ____ to engineering. It is probably more to keep engineers in their place and attract new students to engineering degrees. It wouldn't make sense to get a Psych major to change and have to take all the requirements for an engineer from the beginning.
The numbers I heard were $300-$400 per month ... not bad....
The numbers I heard were $300-$400 per month ... not bad....
I took the survey as well. I think it is utter BS. I'm an engineering major but I'm not in it for the money. With this new incentive we'll have a lot of money loving tech wannabes who are unsatisfied with their studies. Do it for the Navy/Marine Corps and do it because you want it. If you wanted to make the big bucks you'd be a finance major.
Thisguy
Pain-in-the-dick
Zoltan04 said:
Hey Zoltan,
I agree, but you're gonna run into a bunch of greedy SOBs in your classes if you haven't already. A lot of engineers don't really like it, but they know they'll be able to get a good job after graduation. I was an ME at PSU (not ROTC), and I heard so many times people asking other people how much their offer was(which to me, is extremely rude), or "I just wanna make 50,000 when I graduate." I also knew one guy who decided on a job offer because in his words: "It's ALL about the pay."
vegita1220
User
Hey, I'm not turning down free booze money if it's knocking on my door.
nfo2b
Well, not anymore... :(
Um, what? I really hope this was sarcasm. Kinda hard to tell.NozeMan said:
As for why the Navy wants more engineers and other tech majors, well, let's employ a little deductive reasoning and logicto ponder this little quandary. What are the ONLY classes that every one of you is REQUIRED to take, regardless of your major (not counting NS courses)? Why, Physics and Calculus, of course! And why do you think this is? I'll tell you--it's becuase the Navy, like the world, is becoming an increasingly technical environment. Even the once savage art of warfare is now fought by tiny masses of transistors embedded in silicon--a.k.a. 'puters. We no longer employ the tactics of "put as much ordinance on target, and hope you kill 'em." Now we say, "Which bodily orifice on the target would you like the Tomahawk to fly into, sir?" Even our friendly neighborhood desk jockeys in the Admin and Disbursing depts. have to deal with the onslaught of technological advancement (can you say "Smart Card System"?) And Doc's aren't immune from this either--many, many Doc's are now learning advanced computer assisted surgery systems. Technology has left noone untouched. Of course, the argument can be made that the inherent "ease of use" or "user friendly" aspects of this technology that has made a modern warship something that can be operated by trained monkeys, so what is the value of having Officers with technical degrees? Well, I'll tell you: while this technology has certainly made most routine tasks easier to perform, it is the very nature of this technology that has made the modern warship (and warplane) a VERY technically demanding environment. And while trained monkeys can perform the individual tasks they've been trained to do, they don't integrate well, can't coalesce all of the information they're recieving into a coherent big picture, and, due to a lack of a more in-depth understanding of the systems and environment within which they're operating, may not be able to adapt or improve if part of the system is broken or not operating satisfactorily. So what's better than a trained monkey? A REALLY well trained monkey, or a well-trained officer. But here's the crux of having nothing but a bunch of "well trained officers" in modern warfare: what if the things get "outside the box" of your training? Will you have the intimate understanding of how the individual systems work, how they connect and interrelate, and what you can do to continue the fight despite the shortcomings of these systems? Perhaps. And yes, I'm sure that MANY might even be able to do this quite well without a technical degree. But the real truth is that technical majors, for the most part, will almost always be able to employ a more in-depth, technical understanding of the systems they operate, and thus would be able to handle most "outside the box" situations better than someone without this thourough "nuts and bolts" understanding. The Nuke community has known this since day one, which is why they're required to be tech majors. And it has worked well for them--a spotless record--no serious incidents (no significant release of fission products to the environment). It all breaks down to the fact that if you understand how your systems work, then you'll be better able to adapt and overcome more rapidly and efficiently. Sheez, I could write an entire thesis on this. Sorry.
Now I'm not saying that every Naval officer should have a tech degree. Quite the contrary--techies don't always handle the management and administrative side well, and thus almost always need grooming by non-tech types to be a decent officer. I've seen this time and time again in my Nuke experience. But the fact is that the Navy just doesn't have enough technically oriented warfighting officers out there. They want more, no, they NEED more, so I guess they're offering incentives for them. And just viewing the comments here, it'll take more than a couple hundred bucks to lure enough in.
Lastly, please understand that I'm not criticizing or slamming ANY type of officer here, nor am I opining on what I think more officers should major in. I've been in long enough to know that it takes ALL types. The Navy just needs more of the tech majors to meet the demands of an increasingly technical and complex warfighting era.
Ya dig?
nfo2b
Well, not anymore... :(
True, so let me clarify my point: STA-21-Nuke options are REQUIRED to be pursuing technical degrees. And Midn., OCS OC's, and any other Nuke-officer-to-be, while not required to be pursuing a tech degree, must have not only have taken the Calculus and Calc-based physics that all future Naval Officers must have, but if they did not do well in these classes, our 4-star up in DC will not look too favorably upon them at their interview that all Nuke candidates must go to. So while it's true that not all Nuke officers have to have a technical degree, MOST DO, or are at least technically oriented, as evidenced by their performance in the aforementioned classes. Yes, there will always be exceptions, but these assertions I just presented come from what I have observed and experienced in my Naval career as a Nuke. But now we're getting a little off track from the original topic...nate@olemiss said:
BTW, nate, are you a nuke/prior nuke? I knew a guy at prototype named nate who got STA-21 that I thought went to ole miss.
I took that same survey last week. While it seemed pretty focused on money, I'd do it in a second if certain majors were given preferential treatment when service selection time rolled around. That was another option mentioned in one of the questions.
More money would not make me want to switch back to engineering because I enjoy my major, but I know a lot of people who'd put up with hating all of their classes in exchange for a better shot at flight school.
More money is always cool with me, but for most people the existing stipend already covers the bar tab and then some.
More money would not make me want to switch back to engineering because I enjoy my major, but I know a lot of people who'd put up with hating all of their classes in exchange for a better shot at flight school.
More money is always cool with me, but for most people the existing stipend already covers the bar tab and then some.
Thisguy
Pain-in-the-dick
nfo2b said:
That's a good point. I think the reason ROTC and USNA require the physics and calc is to make you qualified for all the URL options. I've heard of English/Poli sci guys getting nuke out of the academy, but rest assured, if you're a non-technical major with the required calc and physics applying for NUPOC, you're not going to be competitive.
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