<p>I plan on joining NROTC at Texas A&M. After college I want to be a Nuke Officer on a Carrier or a Naval Reactors Engineer. I'm for sure going into the engineering college for my B.S. But does it matter what my major is Mechanical, Chemical Engineer, Industrial, as long as it is math oriented? Or would I need/have to do Nuclear Engineering?
Also can people give their past experiences and advice on this career?</p>
<p>Go to a local recruiting office and they’ll help you get in touch with people that can answer that for you.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure your major has no bearing on your assignment choice…at least for air force that’s how it is. Only gpa matters. For scholarship it matters though.</p>
<p>One of my buddies in undergrad did NROTC as a materials engineer and went off to nuke sub school afterwards. I think you just need to keep good grades and have the recommendation of your local CO.</p>
<p>When I was looking into attending OCS –> NPS, I heard a lot about how the program and job wasn’t about engineering at all. If you go in as an officer, you’re basically a manager, and if you go in as an enlisted, you’re a technician (That is apparently taught not to think creatively).</p>
<p>I was mainly interested in the navy’s nuclear program because of the educational opportunity of NPS, the engineering experience of the job, and the tuition available after getting out. After realizing 2 out of 3 of those reasons were bunk, and the third probably wasn’t worth 6 years of slave labor (or so I hear), I decided not to go for it.</p>
<p>Good luck though!</p>
<p>FWIW my cousin got a Bach in Mech E before going off to sub school. He is now a Commander.</p>
<p>My dad did the same thing and was a nuclear engineer at RPI. Of course that was thirty-five years ago. Consider job prospects in case you don’t continue your naval career. Sixth months before he went civilian, three mile island happened and all the new nuke jobs dried up. He hasn’t been in the field since.</p>
<p>Job prospects for nuclear engineers is looking up now. There’s a big push to get new plants built, and new plants need workers after all.</p>
<p>My brother went to Sub School with a degree in Architecture. He’s been a sub officer, worked with the SEALS doing some interesting developmental stuff, and is now on an aircraft carrier in a supervisory job for a technical aspect of the ship’s function.</p>
<p>Don’t assume what you are doing at the beginning of your career will be what you are doing even 5-10-20 years later. They like a bit of versatility especially as you advance in rank, you can’t be pigeon-holed.</p>
<p>If you are not planning on staying in as a career then you should probably consider what you plan to do with your degree once you are out.</p>
<p>I was a nuclear submarine officer. Any major in a physical science or engineering would be fine. Some of what people have posted here is wrong about undergraduate majors, the role of a submarine officer, and career you can expect after you leave the Navy. </p>
<p>The first two you can get from the Navy. The latter I can vouch for: Even after TMI, your post-Navy career will be on afterburner. Navy nukes are universally recognized as the “ten pound brains” as somebody called me recently. (Aren’t all brains about 10#? Oh well. I thought it was a compliment.)</p>
<p>But, the first thing you will need to know in order to be an effective officer is the entry point for critical thinking: where to go for valid information. A chat board populated by undergraduates and high school students is not a good choice for the question you asked.</p>
<p>i wouldn’t announce your intention of applying for a job that involves a high security clearance.</p>
<p>cia advises against it, i’d imagine the navy does, too.</p>
<p>Well if you plan on going into the nuclear field why Bull Sh-- with any other major? If you get your undergrad in nuclear engineering then when you go to ROTC camp it should be much easier to pick up things. Now I have never done it but thats how I would assume things would go down and thats how I would do it. Redbeard brings up a good point…very few of us trully know what were doing. Take everything with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>I actually plan on going into nuclear engineering as well. And the Navy seemed like a viable option but I have to agree with Nukewarm. Thats exactly why I don’t want to go military. But if your set on the navy then go for it. I would still consider it a succesful career but its just one that I don’t want to be a part of. And if your going to Texas A&M then I would remind you that they have nationwide respect for their nuclear program. So going civilian is also a viable option.</p>
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<p>It dictates what you can do when you leave the Navy. A nuclear engineer with nuclear engineering experience is really only fit for a career as a nuclear engineer. A mechanical engineer with experience on nuclear equipment can apply for non-nuclear large equipment work at power plants. It’s all about deciding what you want your long-term career to be and to make a decision about a degree based on that. If your goal is to spend 40 years in the Navy and retire, you’ll make a different decision than if your goal is to do something else after 8 years.</p>
<p>good point</p>