Question about enlisting in the navy.

Does anyone know how practical it would be to enlist in the navy and finish my undergraduate degree while in the service? I know the recruiter wants me to believe I will have every opportunity I can imagine to finish my educational goals, but what kind of time will I really have to get any college done? Anyone can share their opinion, but I am especially interested in the opinion of anyone who was enlisted, and particularly in the navy.

Practical? Not very.

Possible. Yes.

I was able to complete the bulk of my undergraduate work while on enlisted active duty in the navy. It was often times difficult to find the classes when I wanted them in the location that I wanted them. But if you are able to attend more than one college campus in a given town, you can usually make it work. It makes for some very long days. 6 am to 10-11 pm most every day of the week when you consider your working hours and responsiblities. Not to mention you belong to the navy first and foremost. They aren't necessarily very likely to care a whole lot about your educational goals and your class commitments outside of work. If you have some spiteful and or ignorant bosses (which you are very likely to have as an enlisted man) you may find yourself fighting an uphill battle trying to balance your work responsibilites with your school work.

This is all of course based on one very big assumption...that you are not deployed during this time. This is primarily based on alot of luck and alot of strategic career planning. If you are deployed, either for six months or even just six days, you can find a whole semester's worth of work and time wasted.

I entered the navy with college as the furthest thing from my mind. Once I got in, I realized how important it was. This, quite frankly, lit a fire under my ass. The cost of my delayed understanding of my desire for higher education was that the process was much more difficult and time consuming than it otherwise would have been if I had just been a college student.

It sounds to me like finishing your degree is a priority to you or you wouldn't even be asking the question in the way you have. Unless you have a really stong desire to serve in the navy and a desire to endure the sacrifices that will go along with it, I would suggest you stay a civilian and finish you schooling that way. Take out a loan, or do as much work as you can at a relatively inexpensive community/state college, get a job waiting tables or something like that.

Don't believe 95% of what your recruiter tells you. Also don't believe the bit they will try to sell you about taking courses while deployed at sea. You might be able to take sociology or government 101 via correspondence/video/ or some poor idiot they convinced to deploy with them to teach you, but that's about it. Seems like a high cost for six months of time. You will never get any substantial degee work done this way.

sumfratrisamor said:

Does anyone know how practical it would be to enlist in the navy and finish my undergraduate degree while in the service? I know the recruiter wants me to believe I will have every opportunity I can imagine to finish my educational goals, but what kind of time will I really have to get any college done? Anyone can share their opinion, but I am especially interested in the opinion of anyone who was enlisted, and particularly in the navy.

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When the Navy promises access to education, they are NOT promising that you will quickly finish a BA/BS from a respectable, premed friendly, institution. You'll go to sea duty first, and probably get the chance to take an intro class or two via the NCPACE program (if you go to see as an MO, look into this as a way to make a little extra $$). If you enlist, don't expect to finish anything more than an associates degree during your first tour.

If your education is the most important then stay out till you finish. Everyone knows of hundreds of sailors who have gotten undergrad and/or graduate education....means nothing. I could come on here and give you a plan that it solid but the most solid plan is to get your degree on the outside.

I too was a very late bloomer in terms of education, not starting college till 28. I had about 30 credits left but my tour was up and I had to choose my next station. I had extended for 1 year making my tour a whopping 4 years...I was asking for 1 more and to sweeten the deal for the military I would have re-enlisted for 6 more years. This means they would have had an E6 with over 16 years after this tour...a definite lifer. I was the Sailor of the Quarter for 3 quarters and the Sailor of the Year...basically the **** hot sailor at the Command. I had a Master Chief & 2 Senior Chiefs go up to bat for me......remember all this is for a lousy 12 MONTHS!

The answer was.....NO. Well actually it was "I'll leave you there till a hot fill billet becomes available and then you are the first to go!". Which basically translated into "Not only am I not going to give you a year but I'm going to bend you over by giving you the worst assignment that comes down the pipe..." I got out finished my degree still working where I was working before. Regrets? Yep, wish I had gotten out sooner and not taken a job but had just gone straight to school.

The thing you learn in the military is you can make it as a civilian. Most have the impression that military people, enlisted specifically, are making some serious money for people their same age. That might be true the first 4 years but then come the 2-4 kids and foodstamps and WIC are the name of the game.

Do yourself a favor and weigh heavy what it is you want. If you want your education, which I highly recommend, then stay out and finish. If you want to serve your country in the most limited of capacities, then stay out and finish your degree. If WHATEVER, then stay out and finish your degree.

I know of about 5 guys who have enlisted in the AF with undergrads completed to become PJ's. You have more options if you come in with a degree than with "almost" a degree....there are plenty ALMOST have a degree.

I'll end my rant here.

Thanks for y'alls' advice.

I wonder, would it change the equation any to mention that I would probably go through the Nuclear Pipleline? I don't know how new this is in the navy, so let me explain what it is. Basically I enlist for a total of 6 years, the first two of which the navy trains me to become a nuclear engineer, and for the last four years I would probably be assigned to an aircraft carrier and stationed at Norfolk, VA.

Based on the information I'm hearing from you guys I am already making plans not to enlist but to stay put for a while, I was just wondering if this program might make my situation a little bit different.

sumfratrisamor said:

Does anyone know how practical it would be to enlist in the navy and finish my undergraduate degree while in the service? I know the recruiter wants me to believe I will have every opportunity I can imagine to finish my educational goals, but what kind of time will I really have to get any college done? Anyone can share their opinion, but I am especially interested in the opinion of anyone who was enlisted, and particularly in the navy.

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I would suggest that you think of the choice in terms of enlistment OR undergraduate. Not too long ago it was possible to enlist into a reserve componant and complete a degree. Those days are rapidly waning. I was in the National Guard in a Non deployable unit while I was in college. I was able to get great clinical experience as a medic and a lot of financial aid as well. I hear from members of my old unit now and they are "farming out" individual members from that "non-deployabe" unit to fill gaps in guard line units in Iraq. One of my friends from undergrad was nearly deployed as well. The only thing that saved him was that he was also ROTC. (the Colonel bailed him out) The VA office at my Undergrad school was flooded with soldiers being pulled out of college and deployed in support of various aspects of the War On Terror. If you want to be military enlist now. If you want to be educated go to school. If you want to be military and educated go to school and get comissioned. If you are seriously interested in the military speak with an OFFICER recruiter. (they usually keep them locked up in a room somewhere where they will be difficult for the average recruit to find) They can point you in the direction of an ROTC program or other officer accession program that will suit your needs better than enlistment. Money for college AND the military.
Doc Mustang

sumfratrisamor said:

Thanks for y'alls' advice.

I wonder, would it change the equation any to mention that I would probably go through the Nuclear Pipleline? I don't know how new this is in the navy, so let me explain what it is. Basically I enlist for a total of 6 years, the first two of which the navy trains me to become a nuclear engineer, and for the last four years I would probably be assigned to an aircraft carrier and stationed at Norfolk, VA.

Based on the information I'm hearing from you guys I am already making plans not to enlist but to stay put for a while, I was just wondering if this program might make my situation a little bit different.

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Foget nuc power. First you will be so busy doing nuc stuff that undergrad will go away. Second don't trust what your recruiter says. He gets double credit for every Nuke he puts in who finishes the program. He is more intersted in his numbers than your needs. If you are interested in the nuclear power field one of the best kept secrets in recruiting is the Nuclear Power Instructor Program. You get insane financial aid and serve a maximum of 4 years after college. I say maximum because you will be comissioned as a type of officer whose comission is only valid for that length of time. Again seek out and find an OFFICER recruiter.
Doc Mustang

sumfratrisamor said:

Thanks for y'alls' advice.

I wonder, would it change the equation any to mention that I would probably go through the Nuclear Pipleline? I don't know how new this is in the navy, so let me explain what it is. Basically I enlist for a total of 6 years, the first two of which the navy trains me to become a nuclear engineer, and for the last four years I would probably be assigned to an aircraft carrier and stationed at Norfolk, VA.

Based on the information I'm hearing from you guys I am already making plans not to enlist but to stay put for a while, I was just wondering if this program might make my situation a little bit different.

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Nuclear pipeline is nothing new. I was a Nuke officer myself. While there are some definite benefits to going nuke, be VERY careful if starting down this pipeline. First, you don't get trained to be a nuclear engineer. You get trained to be a technician in nuclear power plant in one of 4 fields (mechanic, ET, EM, ELT). And you will spend lots of time as a crapped-on worker bee. Since no one can go in the plant who is not nuke trained, you will be doing crap work as an E5 that topside E1/2/3 do. It can be frustrating.

Also, it's hard to get out of nuke once you get in. So if you ever thought to transfer to something else - unless you get out and rejoin (for say HPSP), they have their hooks in you. And doing pre-med coursework while working on a carrier - difficult to impossible.

If your end goal is medicine, I would recommend AGAINST enlisted nuke power for many reasons. PM me if you have any questions.

DocMustang said:

Foget nuc power. First you will be so busy doing nuc stuff that undergrad will go away. Second don't trust what your recruiter says. He gets double credit for every Nuke he puts in who finishes the program. He is more intersted in his numbers than your needs. If you are interested in the nuclear power field one of the best kept secrets in recruiting is the Nuclear Power Instructor Program. You get insane financial aid and serve a maximum of 4 years after college. I say maximum because you will be comissioned as a type of officer whose comission is only valid for that length of time. Again seek out and find an OFFICER recruiter.
Doc Mustang

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haha beat me to it. 🙂 And I defer to the mustang to get better advice about the enlisted side of things.

I am a nuclear sub officer headed to med school this fall, and agree with the other posts.

Your best option is to finish your degree on your own then apply to med school with or without the military.

If you are in some situation where you need money or time to mature then apply to the officer nuclear program where you will get money during the rest of college and come in as an officer and serve five years instead of six. I am not recommending this but it is much better than the other option (I loved it)and more prestigious. The enlisted program is a great opportunity for some but it doesn't sound right for you.

If you absolutely have to enlist now, then why not be a corpsman? Only four years and more applicable experience.

I can't touch DocMustang's experience on the E-side or the nuc stuff, but I did 13 years active duty in aviation before coming to medical school. I'm on an HPSP scholarship and think there are as many goods about the Navy as others. That said, I would mostly echo other advice you've already heard hear, but if hearing it one more time will help, I'm glad to do it. DO NOT ENLIST IN THE NAVY if your goal is to go to medical school, particular if you have any other avenues. If I had the cash I'd loan it to, but I don't 😉

r/
Spang

Ok, probably beating a dead horse here but I had similar experiences as the rest of these guys and would encourage you to heed their advice. No matter what the recruiter tells you, the military is a huge unknown. My buddy spent six years at Travis AFB, never deployed and rarely worked more than an eight-hour day, he was able to finish his B.S. and pretty much had it made. I tried to follow in his footsteps and wound up deployed four times and then Stop-lossed (involuntary extension, but stop-loss sounds much nicer) for a year after 9-11. Not to mention twelve hour shifts every time a quarter inch of snow hits the ramp or some ***** decides to get a D.U.I. There is also a good possibility that as your life progresses you will accumulate more and more responsibility i.e. wife, kids, car and house payment. There is nothing wrong with wanting to serve your country but just remember the happier you are and the greater the amount of skills you have acquired, the greater an asset you can be. If you want to have an enjoyable or even tolerable military experience you need to be able to go into it with an attitude of complete flexibility, there is nothing worse then working with a person who is not at all where they want to be. good luck

Aircraft carrier???? Try a sub. Definitely don't do it...hell nuke school is nothing new. Who would be dumb enough to tell you that? My brother in law was a nuke 10 years ago. I took the nuke test and after being escorted into a room and presented with all the greatness of being a nuke decided to go to corps school, wihch was my original intent.

Don't be fooled. Stay out, get your degree, then decide.

Croooz said:

Aircraft carrier???? Try a sub. Definitely don't do it...hell nuke school is nothing new. Who would be dumb enough to tell you that? My brother in law was a nuke 10 years ago. I took the nuke test and after being escorted into a room and presented with all the greatness of being a nuke decided to go to corps school, wihch was my original intent.

Don't be fooled. Stay out, get your degree, then decide.

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On a barely related note, best quote ever heard from my nuke-to-the-core XO..."Gawddamnit Doc, we don't just try to figure **** out in the nuclear Navy" (we had just watched our brainiac sailors try to pull a howitzer up a ramp only to get halfway up and then slide back down).

GMO_52 said:

On a barely related note, best quote ever heard from my nuke-to-the-core XO..."Gawddamnit Doc, we don't just try to figure **** out in the nuclear Navy" (we had just watched our brainiac sailors try to pull a howitzer up a ramp only to get halfway up and then slide back down).

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😀 Classic