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Comment by Mark on November 8, 2012 at 12:43am

I definitely hear where you and Aaron are coming from Emily.  I think a lot of your neighbor's dad's outlook is due as much to the very common trait among nucs, namely that they wound up in the nuc program because college didn't turn out well, usually due to they;re own mistakes at the time (including myself), and the Navy nuc program looked like a good alternative to continued flailing in college.  This may not be quite on target, but since you've been in the community for a while, i think you'll recognize it's not far off.  It does get better though, as you're beginning to see.  Cynicism is also commonly a natural part of getting older - it's certainly not unique to the nuc community. I also think it may be a little harder to get job satisfaction in the carrier community, because they are one face in a much larger crowd, and there is no doubt that the mission of a carrier is to launch and recover airplanes, something very far from the nuc's experience below decks.  While on a submarine, the "glory" tends to go to the cone, as the guys in the forward part of the boat are known, everybody still knows averyone on board, including all the officers up to the skipper, and since all officers on a boat start out working as Division officers for one nuc division or the other, they all know each other well, and are even occasionally on a first name basis with them privately.  He may end up changing his mind about the field when he's getting out, and of course he may not, but I'm glad the current generation has the GI Bill available to them; we did not have a comparable educational benefit twenty five years ago.  Best of luck to you both in weathering the next few years; your service is important.   Hopefully, the thoughts of this old fart aren't too unwelcome :).

Comment by Emily-aaronsgirl11 on November 8, 2012 at 12:21am

It's a ton of work, and I have yet to meet somebody who honestly likes their job to be honest. 

I work at the pool on base here, and talking to one of my coworkers (almost all of them are navy brats) his neighbor's (and best friend growing up) dad was a Nuke. His remark: "He was always so grumpy and cynical towards life" Basically described my husband to a T. I do NOT want my kids growing up thinking that about their dad. Luckily, it is getting slightly better now that he's getting closer to getting his quals. But he hates his job, the people he works with, and all the constant crap they get for things breaking when it's not their fault. 

He sincerely wishes he would have continued to go into debt for college and not joined the Navy. He'll be taking his GI bill when he gets out and will be pursuing a career in anything other than nuclear power. It's just not for everybody, and it's definitely not for him. 

I know as mom's you all hate to hear when it's not all unicorns and rainbows, but their job does suck, and a very large amount of them are unhappy (several guys on Aarons ship got out before they left San Diego for deployment because they were so unhappy. Took the "I'm going to commit suicide if I stay on here" discharge and left). 

On another note, I suppose there are people out there who like it. There's just not a lot of them. :)

Comment by Mark on November 7, 2012 at 8:42pm

Emily is basically correct in all her points, though I will add that there are occasional opportunities to get some true job satisfaction.  If you're a certain type, both the thought and the act of operating a nuclear power plant can be a legitimate kick in the ass.  The workload is tremendous though, and it usually feels like you're treated like crap, not to mention the always increasing intrusiveness of the Navy into one's personal life.  Big Brother (or Evil Nanny) is an ever-present fact of life.  It's mostly after you've put the Navy behind you that your appreciation for the positive things increases.

Mary, since you've asked me specifically about the leatherman thing, here are my thoughts.  I've never commented on this subject before because I didn't want to be a wet blanket, and I get how hard Christmas gift-giving can be.  I don't think a leatherman tool is quite the slam-dunk it is often perceived to be on this forum. If your sailor has specifically asked for one though - that is another thing.  The deal is that buying tools for someone who will use it professionally has some pitfalls.  It's kind of like buying sporting equipment or outdoor gear for someone who is passionate about their sport or activities.  They will have very specific needs and ideas for their gear that others will find it hard to appreciate.  I also am not familiar with the latest models; my own is a basic model that I rarely use.  A leatherman tool is designed for versatility, and compromises have to be made to achieve that one size fits all goal.  They can be quite handy, but very often they're not quite suited to the specific application.  As an ELT, there is also the consideration that they will be working on gear that is potentially radioactively contaminated.  That is a problem for any personal tool, especially one with a lot of nooks and crannies where contamination can hide out.  If they crap it up (the technical term :) ) - they've got some 'splainin' to do about why they were using the thing in the first place, because now they have some radioactive waste that has to be disposed of.  It's one thing when a Navy-owned tool gets crapped up, cuz that's part of doing business, but it's another when a personal item that never should have been exposed to the potential of contamination gets crapped up.  I should probably add that we're talking about potential here - working with actual contamination is rare, even for ELTs, except when sampling primary chemistry.  When encountered, contamination levels are relatively low also - they certainly don't constitute a personal danger to health.  So there ya go - but by all means, if you know they want one, go for it.

Comment by frogkisses on November 7, 2012 at 6:58pm

Emily...perhaps I am naive and I am definitely new at this but why does the job suck? Or is this one of those "you're mileage may vary" things?

Comment by Emily-aaronsgirl11 on November 7, 2012 at 5:05pm

I really think worrying about the Navy cutting Nuke jobs should be the least of all of your worries... 

From what I can see, the Navy is still short on Nukes. The job quite honestly sucks and they can't pay these guys enough to stay in for more than their initial enlistment. When anyone can pass up a 75k or 90k bonus for an extra 2-3 years, you know they're pretty miserable. 

The Nukes are going to be needed as long as the subs and carriers around... They're an extremely essential part of the ship, and they need a good amount of those Nukes to keep the ship running. 

And be patient with Grad hold. Last year when Aaron was there, EMs were having about a 2 month max grad hold. ETs were somewhere between 2 months and 6 months and MMs were being told 6 months MINIMUM. Things are probably a little different now, but the MMs tend to get really backed up. Plus, when the reactors aren't working right on the subs, many of the qualifications can't get done which backs up the guys who can't graduate until the reactors are back up and working correctly. By the time they get through Power School, they've already put a significant amount of time and money training them, so they're not just going to drop them without good reason. They want to get them through the pipeline because we NEED them in the fleet. 

Comment by MOMofDREW2.0 on November 7, 2012 at 4:37pm

I got a text from my sailor that said he just finished efunds and was moving into digital.  What does that mean?  Is that a big deal?  He is an EM.  Thanks.  

Comment by Betsyleebig on November 7, 2012 at 3:17pm

He  was  prefill  for  1204 .He  said  only  2 sailors  got  picked  for  that. I  am   not  sure  whether  1203 has  even  started  classes yet.  He  said   something  about  the  ships needing  work.

Comment by William in Nashua on November 7, 2012 at 2:25pm

I suspect the time spent in grad hold may also s according to their rating, my son who is an ET graduated from power school in March and was at Ballston Spa prototype nine weeks later.

Comment by Betsyleebig on November 7, 2012 at 1:56pm

I  worry  about  the  cuts  to  the  navy  as  well.  My  son  graduated  power  school  in  July and still  has  no  date  to  start prototype.  Meanwhile  more  and  more  kids  are  graduating   A school  and  power  school..

Comment by MichianaMom on November 7, 2012 at 12:09pm

So...anyone have any new info on sequestration? I am worried. My son is in DEP,  and won't start BC until May 2013. My husband thinks the Navy could cut him out completely if the budget cuts are as severe as being predicted. I am hoping the Navy will always need more Nukes. My son thinks he will be fine, but I think he is worried, too. Can anyone calm our fears?!

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