i have an offer as a machinist mate in the navy and would like to know if i should sign up or stay on the waiting list,,,i do not know what the job involves and i m afraid there will be not much choices...

please help

Up to you. What are you looking for out of the NAvy?

MM is a very hot and dirty job. If you dont like working hard, sweating and working in a never ending thankless job. However, the training you get will be good, and you will have a good skill when you are out.


Machinists Mate

There are now 5 different subdivisions of the MM rating. They range from nuclear power plant operators to torpedo technicians. It would be helpful to know which of these occupational fields you have been offered.

If it is for Nuke MM, I was one myself. The job is hot, sweaty, often thankless.

Here's the straight and level on it. You go nuke MM on a sub(no clue about surface life) then you will work hard, very hard infact. You'll be the first on board for deployments, and the last off the ship for liberty. That is the bad news. The good news is that we play hard as well. you'll find people of great interest on any ship, and particularly in the nuke department. Submarine nukes do not eat their young, though we do jack with them a fair bit, on the other hand, we don't let non-nukes(in general) jack with our new guys.

As a submarine nuke MM, you work with steam, water, oil, you name it, you work on it. You will have more information stuffed into your head than you will know what to do with. The training is rigorous and often merciless. Expect to spend 12 or more hours a day in classes and studies while in nuke school. Then, when you get to a ship, expect longer days.

Also, there are two other things you can do as a nuke MM, Emergency Welder(self explainatory) and ELT(Engineering Labratory Technician) which deals with chemistry, radiological controls, and much more. The job of the ELT, as my first chief expressed it is to "Stop Work", and radioactive anything that is being worked on, you are there, you get involved, and you call the shots, if you say do "x", they do it, if you say "stop" then work stops until you say continue.

Again, the work is hard, the days are long, the weeks are short, and the parties are bar none the best in the fleet.

well i was on the nashville a machinist mate , yea its hot and long hours but its only as bad as you make it, for me i got to work in the pit and in a-gang where i got lucky to go to ac/r school where i got really good training, i got out after my first enlistment, but with my air conditioning and refrigeration and universal epa card which they navy gave i have no trouble finding a good hvac job even in the down economy, plus with the machinist mate background you can get industrial maint jobs , its up to you i really have no compliants about being a former machinist mate, good luck

Stay on the waiting list. MM advancement is horrible and it's a thankless job, in my opinion. If you like mechanic work, go EN or one of the Seabee rates. Yeah, if you get a C school, maybe you could get a good job. But, you'll probably have to reenlist to get a C school. I had some good times, but it was great motivation whenever I was having a hard day in Dive school and EOD school. Good luck.

EOD2

quote:

Originally posted by Gator28:
Stay on the waiting list. MM advancement is horrible and it's a thankless job, in my opinion. If you like mechanic work, go EN or one of the Seabee rates. Yeah, if you get a C school, maybe you could get a good job. But, you'll probably have to reenlist to get a C school. I had some good times, but it was great motivation whenever I was having a hard day in Dive school and EOD school. Good luck.

EOD2

I can tell ya, if youre interested in a good after navy job. Then a main space MM, either nuke or conventional, is the way to go. AC&R, while theres plenty of work, the pay isnt really great and these skills can be learned in any civilian tech school. Same with diesel engine repair.

But, operating/maintaining a steam powered power plant, those skills are pretty much only learned in the navy. Granted you will make a tad more money working in a nuke plant, but you have to deal with about 9000% more BS. A coal and or a combined cycle plants are very good livings too.

quote:

AC&R, while theres plenty of work, the pay isnt really great and these skills can be learned in any civilian tech school.

News to me. The pay isn't bad if you've got the electronics control background. Most new building and a lot of old one have systems controling all the mechanical and electrical equipment. Learn how those systems work and you'll never be out of a job.

Plenty of work...hmmm..I seriously doubt it. The only people I know that got any work out of this was maybe doing some valve work in the shipyards or something like that. If you want to work with packing on steam valves or changing out handwheels, then go for it. But, I'm telling you, that maybe if you reenlist with a C school you MAY get some useful skills. Like maybe AC and R school. The advancement is HORRIBLE. I got EP's, scored well, and was an E4 for a lot longer than any of my friends in other rates. That matters, because in the fleet, E5 is where you start getting to lead others and have more responsibility. Good luck.

EOD2

quote:

Originally posted by Gator28:
Plenty of work...hmmm..I seriously doubt it. The only people I know that got any work out of this was maybe doing some valve work in the shipyards or something like that. If you want to work with packing on steam valves or changing out handwheels, then go for it. But, I'm telling you, that maybe if you reenlist with a C school you MAY get some useful skills. Like maybe AC and R school. The advancement is HORRIBLE. I got EP's, scored well, and was an E4 for a lot longer than any of my friends in other rates. That matters, because in the fleet, E5 is where you start getting to lead others and have more responsibility. Good luck.

EOD2

I cant tell you how many ex-navy MM's(Both nuke and conventional) I know who make over 100K/yr running or maintaining plants. This is first hand knowledge not a "heard it/read it/or my buddies told me".

Im not saying that life in the navy was/is good as an MM, all I was saying is that when you get out, there are good opportunities. But they are for the guys who acually learned the rate(IE spent time on an actual ship, and learned that steam plant) and have half a clue.

You win. Go ahead, sign a contract as a MM. Do your years on an amphib or carrier (like I did) and let us know how many amazing job offers you get with no C school. Good luck.

EOD2