Looking at your options I say go NFO... why? Because if you do and like it, theres options for you to become a grad student while getting paid by he Navy. Oh yeah, theres that leadership, travel, flying and adventure stuff thrown in there too.
If you do it, and don't like it- you can always get out with more money for grad school thanks to the GI bill and your Navy experience is only going to make you more marketable for jobs afterward- engineering or otherwise.
Once you complete training, get wings and get through the FRS and off to your first squadron you'll be given collateral duties (aka ground jobs) to do while you work on becoming proficient at employing your weapon system (the aircraft). The more junior you are the more menial and simple the ground jobs will be because your primary job will be flying and not getting yourself and crew killed. If you mess up those ground jobs, sure someone will give you shit and your pride will suffer but It not the end of the world in the squadron. As you become more skilled in your aircraft and more qualified the ground job difficulty level increases (Division Officer jobs Maintenance [multiple junior JO's Chiefs and tens of enlisted sailors working for you], Assistant Operations Officer [helping run the day to day routine of the squadron and keep the Hinges heads from getting stuck too far up their ass] etc.)
The Navy is predictably unpredictable. Theres patterns and you learn when to expect things to pop up, even if your not entirely certain when they will. You will work long hours many days, and some short hours on other days. I'm one of those land based guys so I can't paint a picture of life on the boat from my own experiences...
Sea tours around about 36-42 months where you'll be assigned to a squadron. Shore tour jobs are about 30-33 months. You can go back to the FRS to instruct in your platform. Go to be a flight school instructor, go to non flying jobs anywhere around the world depending on whats available (including overseas staff tours in Japan if you didn't make it out there for your shore tour).
Officers do go to bored for promotions. With the economy tanking right now they are getting a bit tougher, but that can all change by the time your up for one, if you decide to stay the long.
Bottom line, the NFO gig is too good of a deal to pass up given your other prospects. I don't mean good deal as in easy life with everything handed to you... I mean good deal as in one of the greatest adventures you'll ever be presented with- one where you'll be challenged, work hard, feel a great sense of accomplishment, meet great people whose lives depend on you and vice versa, travel and have some really cool stories to tell from it all and one that will make you marketable for life in the outside world if thats where things take you.
I don't know everything, but I know what decision I would make in your shoes.
