i recently got my full asvab results, and i scored a 91 on my afqt. i think this is high enough to get into the nuke program, but i really need to know what i am getting into if i sign up for it, and the qualifications to be accepted. would like some SERIOUS from the horses mouth answers

I think you need a 92 actually. As for what is the job like I can say that imho, its one of the worst jobs in the Navy. It is great however for someone who wants to serve 6 years then get out and get a nice 90k/ year job.

You have to play your cards right of course but that path certainly does exist for those who choose to follow it.

quote:

Originally posted by Vizier:
I think you need a 92 actually. As for what is the job like I can say that imho, its one of the worst jobs in the Navy. It is great however for someone who wants to serve 6 years then get out and get a nice 90k/ year job.

You have to play your cards right of course but that path certainly does exist for those who choose to follow it.

And exactly WHAT experience as "Army active duty" (as your profile says) do you have with this?

OP-Scroll down a bit, there is more than one thread devoted to Nukedom (one active right now, actually). Look up posts by veteran or active nukes (me, PO1Kline, dbil, ericbloodaxe, etc etc etc)

While being a nuke on a ship is a tough job, I dont think it is one of the worst jobs in the Navy. You will work longer hours that everyone else. But on the flip side you get paid more (not sure what nuke pay is now).

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I think you need a 92 actually.

Wrong. There is no set score to enlist as a nuke. I put in one kid that scored around 68/69. Eligibility is based on line scores only for the ASVAB not AFQT.

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Wrong. There is no set score to enlist as a nuke.

Im no recruiter but im guessing you are speaking about some extreme case here... Or maybe the policy has changed? When i first joined the Navy my friend and I both enlisted at the same time, and we were going to both go nuke. I got a 99 on the asvab but he only got an 81 and he didnt get nuke. We both took AV instead, though he ended up catching a charge right before boot camp and got the axe.

I have no direct experience as a nuke of course, and your right that its not the worst job in the navy...HT probably wins that award, but in my OPINION nuke is right up there, extra pay and advancement doesnt make up for the horrid quality of life they have to endure.

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Originally posted by dbil:
While being a nuke on a ship is a tough job, I dont think it is one of the worst jobs in the Navy. You will work longer hours that everyone else. But on the flip side you get paid more (not sure what nuke pay is now).

Also get to work with some of the brightest in the NAvy. Standard pro pay is 250 ish now I believe, supervisiory of course is more.

Numbers-William has more than enough experience to state his opinion, it was his job. It goes primarily off line scores so it is entirely concieveable to get a 81 on the ASVAB and not qualify Nuke, as it is possible to score 76 and qualify.

After recruiting for 20+ years and having 2 sons go ET Nuke I can tell you most people here are right in saying it is based on your line scores (I used to know them off the top of my head...getting old )

Anyway, School will be fast paced - expect to receive a ton of data in a short period of time - expect to be able to show proficiently through testing - study, study, study.

On your first boat or ship you will be expected to qualify - you are essentially useless until your qualifications are complete - expect to study and work very hard.

The nuclear industry is once again fixin to take off. Many new power plant build orders have been approved (first time in 30 years) with many of them becoming operational within 6-10 years - there is a serious projected shortage in qualified operators and technicians - the money being offered today is a fraction of what is expected when all those new plants start coming on-line.

Here is one example, I recently got this email;

From: Richard Herrin [mailto:rherrin@triniti-global.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 4:12 PM
To: Dubois, David CIV CNIC HQ, N9
Subject: RE: Positions Available

Mr. Dubois,

Thanks for responding to my email. Triniti-Global has 6 positions
available for the Instant Senior Reactor Operator program. We have a
contract and can place the resumes with the hiring managers very
quickly. We are looking for separating Naval Officers and Enlisted
Sailors (naval nuclear) who possess a Bachelors Degree in Engineering or
a Mathematical or Scientific Discipline (IE; Physics)who are EOOW or EWS
qualified that we can submit.

The position pays a base salary of $85-$95k plus performance incentive
bonus. Typically around $115k (total compensation) first and second year
in the Instant SRO program. Any help you can provide in forwarding this
information to the appropriate submarine bases or TAPS administrators
would be greatly appreciated.

Triniti is a Veteran and Woman owned small business and we have placed
several Naval candidates this year and last year in commercial nuclear
power.

Best Regards,

Richard Herrin
Nuclear Workforce Recruitment


Go Nuke if your eligible and expect to work your butt off, consider it your initiation into one of the highest payed sectors of society.

NCCM USN(ret)

What Todeka says is true about money on the outside, however pay close attention to a few key points in his post.

-EOOW/EWS are advanced quals that lead to better pay

-Even if you are a nuke they want to see a degree to get more money.

On the flip side, if you skate by and are a dirtbag nuke like my little bro, your options are slim on the outside of the Navy.

quote:

Dubois, David CIV CNIC HQ, N9

BTW, I'm not him ^^^ I just get emails from connections and TAP class.

I got a AFQT score of 87 and my Navy liaisons at MEPS said I didn't qualify for Nuke unless I took the NAPT (Nuke Test). My Nuke score was 246 and I needed 252. I got a 55 on my NAPT and now I'm happy to say that I got Nuke. I know a lot of hard work in the future, but I'm up to it.

As I've learned through my experiences and through those of fellow DEPers, everyone is usually different as far as what they require.

I had a 99 on the AFQT, and a 270 Nuke line score.

I had college credit that I thought totally expunged my status as someone who had a GED, which most of the Navy personnel at MEPS told me it did and it didn't.

So I had to take the NAPT anyway, luckily I did pretty well on that otherwise I might not have gotten into the Nuke program either.

All I have to say is if you want to go Nuke, prepare for possibly jumping through some hoops.

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I had college credit that I thought totally expunged my status as someone who had a GED, which most of the Navy personnel at MEPS told me it did and it didn't.

Not for Nuke but for everything else you are considered a HS diploma grad.

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Originally posted by william969:

quote:

I had college credit that I thought totally expunged my status as someone who had a GED, which most of the Navy personnel at MEPS told me it did and it didn't.

Not for Nuke but for everything else you are considered a HS diploma grad.

You know, that's odd because all of the MEPS people seemed convinced I was alright until they sent my info through the system.

I guess it's something they don't run into every day.

quote:

Originally posted by Mazawrath:
I guess it's something they don't run into every day.

You're right. NR is it's own entity with its own set of rules, that are at times hard to keep track of.

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would like some SERIOUS from the horses mouth answers

Ok, horses mouth here... (or the other end, depending on what you think of my answers).

I got somewhere in the mid 90's on my ASVAB, and high 60's on my NFQT. (I enlisted DEP in June of 1983, active one year later). I was taking AP classes in high school. (Math and Science).

I went to BEE and EMA school in Great Lakes. Nukes had to finish in the upper xx% of the class. (I don't remember what is was.. maybe 10, 20, 30%?). Lots of people dropped right there. After that it was Nuke School in Orlando. It was a cake walk. Very easy, BUT, most of it was review. I alreay had exposure to heat transfer and fluid flow, I had a year of calculus. I never did extra hours. It was a 8-4 job Monday - Friday. Most of my friends were on mando hours. (Mandatory hours of extra study after classes were over in the afternoon).

I was that guy in High School who never took his books home. I did my homework between classes and at lunch. Most of what I learned came to me relatively easy.

After Nuke School was prototype. I went to Castle Greyskull.. I mean S1C in Connecticut. That was an eye opening experience. EVERYONE was on minimum 12 hour days. Rotating shifts. With alternating schedules. It was rough for me, because I wasn't used to spending that much time at work. Some of my friends from Nuke School were relieved, because they were only working 12 hour days now

There was a bunk room on site. I spent many a night there. (It was easier than driving home and having to return 4 hours later). Most of the theory of learning was gone by this point. Now it was drawing systems, how they interconnected, interlocks, backups, and alarms. Basically how things worked, and an introduction on how to really stand a watch.

That all took place in from 1984 to 1986. Once I got to the boat (I was subs) it was easy compared to prototype. Get your first qual done, and you feel sooooooooo good. (Cause you are not a uselss dink nub any more. Heck, they even let me rewind the movies after I got my first qual - and I am not talking on a VCR or BetaMax either)

My experience was very similar to Lamedog's. After boot i went to BEE school (basic electricity and electronics). A self paced school - I graduated a month early. Then to ETA school. My class was all nukes and we only lost 1 or 2 guys.

I went to nuke school in Orlando in 85. It was fast paced but I ended up doing failry well. But as a class we lost ~50%. I went to prototype in Idaho. I went to A1W also called "alice in wonderland". It was a prototype based on the carrier Enterprise. Needless to say i had a hard time there. I had to learn a very different plant (carrier vs sub) and the staff were all burned out. We also ahd a bunkhouse - i spent many weeks there - putting in 16 hour days just to keep up. (even so i did manage to fall behind and fail a watch).

Overall my point is some people do well in classroom others do better hands on.

When I went through in 86, NFAS was just starting up. In fact, me and a bunch of guys who were waiting to class up helped set up the Radar lab when we were smurfs, then we started school... that was kinda fun. We lost maybe 20% in A-school. Then they sent a bunch of us to the USS Sam Rayburn (then SSBN-635) for a while, between A School and Power School. Very eye opening. Back to Power School in Orlando. We lost ~50% going through there. Then another maybe 10-15% in Prototype. I went to the ketchup bottle for Prototype (S5G). It was a rough program. I did pretty well, but I studied my Bhuuutox off. The Nuke program is rough. It's drinking from a fire hose. You don't have time to actually dig in deep and understand everything, some stuff you just have to push the "I Believe" button. You have to WANT to make it through the program. If you don't want it, you won't make it. Period. Expect to spend a LOT of time studying. Also its ALL at school, because of classified materials, so you will spend at least 10 hours (if you're a hot runner) to 16 hours per day at school. The staff will be able to tell the difference between someone whose just going through the motions, and someone whose really trying to make it. Those really tryin will get help, those wasting time... well not so much.

Simple fact, it's EASY to get dropped from the program. Any fool can do it. You can rock out (Academically), you can fail in Military Bearing, you can be a dirt bag. You can have discipline problems. Or you can have Medical Problems (Acne... yes, it's one of the biggest things Nuke wannabes have to worry about.) So do NOT miss your Derm appt. and take ALL your meds AS PERSCRIBED, else wise you get the dirt bag drop (failure to obey a lawful order). You can also get dropped for "Demonstrated Unreliability". Meaning, you LIE. NEVER LIE! EVER. Even on small $**t, TELL THE TRUTH. It's all about Integrity. You are only as good as your word, if your word is worthless, so are you.

Going through the Nuke pipe line was the hardest thing I've ever done Academically. Compared to the Nuke pipe line, college was a snap, even with Calculus x4, Differential Equations, Stats, etc. (and I hated math). Expect it to be rough. It WILL teach you to study, and to manage your time. If you fail to learn those two things, you will fail school. Guaranteed.

Oh, yea... forgot to add... it doesn't get better when you get to the fleet. It just gets different. You WILL work harder than the cones. You WILL NOT get geedunk medals and Admirals letters for just doing your job... YOU are EXPECTED to perform better than the non-Nukes. Expect to be the first guys to the boat, and the last ones to leave. Expect to work LONG hours, when all the cones are on the beach getting drunk and chasing skirts. It's a hard life. So what's the benefit you say? Well, you work with the BEST people in the Navy. Should you stay in for your 6 or do 26, you'll never regret the people you worked with, the things you did. You will also have skills that are very useful on the outside. FAR more so than the average knuckle dragger, wire biter, or twiget.

Well here is my experience so far....

I have been in the NAVY since Feb 2007... Currently i am about ~2 months from graduating from S8G prototype in Ballston Spa... so for starters yes it is a lot of school. I have had approximately 30 days off, maybe, and the rest has been school. Weekends included for homework or mandatory study hours, and what not

I guess I am part of the New breed.. but i went to A school and Power school in Charleston. A school wasn't too bad for me, i was motivated so i tried, and as a mechanic A school only consisted of three classes, just basic, "hi, this is a hammer, blah blah" and "wanna know how water boils?" type classes...

In Power school it was more, remember what you started to learn and thought was hard... well here are some actual applications we used to use, and here are some of the principles behind how it works (RP was my favorite class)and I can't lie, honestly by the third or fourth month I started losing the motivation, or just realized how and what to learn in order to pass, i still graduated with a 3.3something.... so when the qualified speak this fact it's the truth... gotta find that internal motivation to keep pushing, even if your motivation is just not wanting to be in that wonderful building thirty to thirty five extra hours a week on top of classes...

Once you graduate there, you get maybe 14 to 17 days of leave and you start prototype. For me it was like a culture shock for 8 months of school you have some one telling you, study this, learn this about this and then you get to prototype, it is more, "Hello, welcome, here are your books, study, figure out an RPM and then come to me to see if you know enough" Totally self paced and plenty of room to hang your self... I had to figure out, what is important, what is not so important and hmmmm, should i learn this random fact? But i got the hang of it, as does everyone else, and honestly I have more of a sense of accomplishment when I get a 3.2 on an exam in prototype then when I got my 3.85 on an RP exam... There is a lot more pride in learning your job and somewhat understanding what the heck is going on, for me at least, then memorizing a grading period and regurgitating it verbatim. Also it depends on your personality.

Prototype re-energized me to some extent once I got burned out from sitting in lectures for 7 - 8 hours a day... I kinda like the 12 hour days, just because you have more time to yourself....

But remember it is different for everybody else.... If you have any questions just ask...

Oh also in A school and Power school, you have guided notes, where you just fill in the blanks on paper from an overhead projector as your instructor clicks away... apparently the saltier nukes didn't have that...

quote:

Originally posted by NewNuke07:
Oh also in A school and Power school, you have guided notes, where you just fill in the blanks on paper from an overhead projector as your instructor clicks away... apparently the saltier nukes didn't have that...

Only started that about 5 years ago. Not really a "salty" nuke thing