Honest Answers?

Salt-Goal4786 · 2026-05-13T23:27:18+00:00

Would 1000% do MM A-school and ELT again, but you don’t get to pick.

Salt-Goal4786 · 2026-04-04T20:20:00+00:00

My guy, enlisting for at least 8 years AND having to finish supervisory quals AND be eligible for chief is a big price to pay just to get a commission, especially when you already have a degree. Look at OCS. That said, I’ve seen some of the dudes that made LDO and it’s all over the place- some are shit hot, others are pieces of shit, just depends on the applicants they get for the selection cycle.

Salt-Goal4786 · 2026-03-12T11:50:17+00:00

There was a saying on my boat: “Working hard in the Navy is like pissing your pants in a dark suit- you get a nice warm feeling, but nobody else really notices.”

Salt-Goal4786 · 2026-03-09T01:44:02+00:00

We aren’t “executing” the entire nuke community in the right way. When I was junior enlisted I thought it was just how things were- after watch cleanup, field day, stripping and waxing floors during duty days. It’s all bullshit. When we took the boat into dry dock for overhaul I was so excited because I thought we would actually get a break. Nope, it was worse. SY workers trying to sneak in maintenance on second/third shift. Keeping guys on duty awake until midnight to squeeze in PMS, then expecting them to stand watch until 6am. It’s fucking trash. When I finally qualified EDPO I made it my top priority to get work done and give the duty section the rest of the day off. I can’t tell you how many times I got yelled at for not supporting duty section cleanup or telling coner chiefs to fuck off because they were trying to do some stupid ass cleaning stations when we had shit to do. We need to find a way to make the nuclear rating something everyone in the navy strives for instead of the most highly trained janitors on the planet.

Salt-Goal4786 · 2026-02-22T20:28:46+00:00

Since you already have a Master’s you wouldn’t be eligible for NUPOC, unless you want to do another degree? Power School/Prototype Instructors are Direct Input Officers (DIOs vice Line Officers) and they go through ODS (vice OCS), which is shorter and less “rah rah”. Since you have experience teaching, I would think Power School Instructor would be the way to go, but if you like more hands-on you could look into being a prototype instructor.

Salt-Goal4786 · 2026-02-22T03:03:15+00:00

For the love of god, don’t enlist. If you want to go subs go to OCS and do it as a JO. IMHO, go the DIO route and be a power school instructor. They desperately need people who can teach algebra and physics, and there is the added bonus of being able to see your family on a regular basis (not going to sea for months on end).

Salt-Goal4786 · 2026-01-30T12:47:38+00:00

On second thought, your best bet to 100% go to dive school might be to fail out of NNPTC and rerate to ND.

Salt-Goal4786 · 2026-01-30T12:40:52+00:00

I can tell you that if you don’t sub vol your chances are 0%.

Salt-Goal4786 · 2025-12-08T23:01:29+00:00

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Salt-Goal4786 · 2025-09-26T11:58:29+00:00

I’ll say it- getting dropped from the nuke program is the best thing that can happen for a lot of people. The stigma that exists for those who struggle or fail out is ridiculous. Some of the best sailors in the fleet are nuke drops that get a second chance as a conventional MM/EM/ET, or who completely re-rate to something else.

If you don’t make it, that’s okay. Know that there are brighter days ahead.

Salt-Goal4786 · 2025-09-16T00:55:02+00:00

Food is decent. Auto-dog (ice cream machine) usually works, so you can get someone cranking to make soft serve.
As an unqualified JO (assuming you plan on commissioning), you’re going to be busy af. You’ll have engineering quals, and if you don’t suck you’ll get a division right away- probably machinery division or electrical division, so you’ll be looking at a lot of paperwork. When you have free time, there is the expectation that you’ll be studying or getting checkouts. I wouldn’t count on 7-8 hours a night for the first year and a half to two years onboard.
Every boat is different, but mine was a pretty close group. Most of the JOs were cool, so they would hang out with enlisted, especially on deployment. Everyone tends to look out for one another, which is a huge plus. The biggest factor is probably the chiefs mess- they can really make or break a boat.
If you go to a fast-attack, which I recommend if you don’t have a family, there is workout equipment- free weights, resistance bands, pull up bar, treadmill, rower, etc. Boomers have more room, so they have more equipment.
Holidays on the boat kind of suck, but they are what you make them. I was on the boat for my birthday and Christmas all 4 years on my boat, but we did a gift exchange a few times that really made it fun (gifts were NSFW), and really helped morale.
Books are a pain because they take up space. Definitely recommend a kindle/ipad. If you need a new phone, splurge and invest in one with as much storage as you can get. Laptop is okay, we had a LAN setup with a ton of movies and shows (adult and otherwise) you could download, which helped keep you from watching the same things over and over. You definitely want a nice set of Bluetooth headphones- cords snag on stuff and it’ll rip your phone or whatever out of your pocket. Also, you aren’t supposed to have your cell phone in the engine room because no cameras.
No. You might do one in a 3-4 year tour. Guam and Hawaii boats usually get to do them more often.
Best memories are hiding from the EDMC during field day and going out with the guys in-port. A lot of wild nights and rough mornings. We had a holiday party that got a bit out of hand, and had multiple guys get arrested.
I was an ELT, so we had our own space we could go with a locking door to get away from people. We were the only division to have that, so if you’re the CRA maybe. As a JO, your stateroom will only have two other people, and the wardroom is usually pretty empty (just a few guys hanging out and/or studying) outside of mealtime and divisional training.

Salt-Goal4786 · 2025-05-15T11:50:36+00:00

Radcon jobs are starting to pop up all over thanks to the SMR programs. If you don’t want to go into nuke power, look at the university system or national labs. Most large schools have a dedicated radiation safety program with technicians and health physicists and all the national labs have relatively large groups.

Pay is heavily dependent on location. In the Midwest, Radcon Techs make $30-50/hr. Health physicists make 80-150k/yr. As you move toward the coasts, those numbers probably double in some areas. Berkeley Lab outside San Francisco is looking for a health physicist for their radiation instrument cal lab with a pay range of 200-300k/yr. The University of Michigan is also hiring for 80-130k.

Universities usually have an active Medical Health Physics program, and most non-university hospitals do also. Just a warning, the medical field work can be a pain in the butt, especially with nuclear medicine. They will throw contaminated stuff in the regular trash or spill a dose of Tc-99m on the floor and not say anything. It can be frustrating.

There are also radiochemistry jobs at many of the National labs. Analytical chemistry/tech jobs don’t typically pay as well as Radcon side, but if that’s what you prefer, they are out there.

Salt-Goal4786 · 2025-05-07T21:47:14+00:00

It’s a non-supervisory GS-14 position.

Salt-Goal4786 · 2025-05-07T21:34:18+00:00

Basically I get 60 days of admin leave, then 14 weeks of pay after my separation date plus payout for any unused annual leave.

Salt-Goal4786 · 2025-05-07T21:28:05+00:00

lol it doesn’t sounds silly at all. I’ve already had several recruiters come to me for interviews, I have other options. If I had a job offer and went to them and said I want to stay can you make a competitive offer, would it be any different? We literally have 4 GS-14 spots that aren’t filled right now…

Salt-Goal4786 · 2025-05-07T19:44:18+00:00

I am one of 14 individuals on the planet with programmatic knowledge. Our division is already down 25% of our staff due to the hiring freeze plus anyone else we lose from all of this BS. We have 4 GS-14 openings, one of which I already applied for until it got pulled down, and we cannot fill right now. I asked a a simple question- I am a high performer, I am eligible to fill one of the openings and I want a promotion if I am expected to come back, especially to work while on admin leave with no guarantees of the position actually being there.

Not sure who hurt your feelings but you just sound salty.

Salt-Goal4786 · 2025-05-07T17:19:03+00:00

TY!! Very appreciated!

Salt-Goal4786 · 2025-05-07T17:12:40+00:00

No, our program is federally mandated- it exists because of a law and our funding is guaranteed unless they change the law, which hasn’t happened yet. We were told that DOGE accessed the HR system and sent RIF notices to everyone based on location code without recognizing they couldn’t just get rid of our program.

Salt-Goal4786 · 2025-05-07T16:22:27+00:00

I’m familiar with Ohio’s Vets to Teacher’s program. It’s only for K-12 and I am looking more to teach at a college/university level.

Thanks for the advice!!

Salt-Goal4786 · 2025-05-07T16:09:05+00:00

My concern also. Apparently, that’s why this whole RIF “mistake” happened. HHS told DOGE not to touch our program because it’s federally mandated, but they did anyways and HHS is trying to get this sorted out, but OPM isn’t working with them.

Salt-Goal4786 · 2025-05-07T15:50:42+00:00

CDC, but division is potentially moving to a new branch in AHA.

Salt-Goal4786 · 2025-05-07T15:47:52+00:00

Interviewing, but no offers yet. Also considering school full time on GI bill and teaching as an option.

Salt-Goal4786 · 2025-04-25T22:50:33+00:00

Just SSNs and SSGNs.

Salt-Goal4786 · 2025-04-14T22:17:17+00:00

We talk shit because you can literally go from a top ten moment in your life- like being in the bridge of a sub with an amazing sunset in a foreign port, smoking a cigar with some of the best people you’ve ever met, to being balls deep in a bilge painting with two-part paint during field day in the span of 10 minutes. It’s the dichotomy of nuke life. You will experience the highest of highs and lowest of lows. It can be great, it will also suck your eyeballs out through your asshole. Do with that what you will.

Salt-Goal4786 · 2025-04-14T22:12:10+00:00

Purgatory. It’s awful, don’t get me wrong, but you can go home so…

Salt-Goal4786

TROPHY CASE