Navy Nuke to MD

[pharm B]

I'm just trying to see how many people on this forum are previous members of the Navy's nuclear community.

I'm only asking because the recent Transition Assistance Program class I attended seemed to be geared around placing all enlisted personnel into technical jobs. Our brief on education benefits was about twenty minutes long.

In fact, I think we spent more time talking about funeral benefits!

So I was curious about how many nukes were able to break the mold and not get pigeon-holed into a random tech position.

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[EastWestN2grt]

I'm just trying to see how many people on this forum are previous members of the Navy's nuclear community.

I'm only asking because the recent Transition Assistance Program class I attended seemed to be geared around placing all enlisted personnel into technical jobs. Our brief on education benefits was about twenty minutes long.

In fact, I think we spent more time talking about funeral benefits!

So I was curious about how many nukes were able to break the mold and not get pigeon-holed into a random tech position.[/Q]

Just wanted to say good luck to you on this path. My brother is currently a Navy nuke on a sub somehwhere in Asia. Good luck!

 

[Nerve]

Not a Glow Worm.. Not even Navy but I'm not getting pigeon holed in some tech job and I'm currently serving in the Air Force as a Conventional Munitions Systems Inspector. All we need to concentrate on is getting the grades. I'm sure there's more frogs from the Navy on this site but they are probably too caught up in studying and what not. Good Luck (and all that)and if you need info on the new GI Bill there's a thread under our non-trad forum (I'm sure you've seen it by now).

 

[spooge]

surface nuke or sub nuke? I know a couple of surface nukes that were in my OCS class...they always talked talked about being f i l o the ship (G-d bless em)...I know they are making over 100K+ and some are doing a two year teaching tour at the navy nuclear power school in charleston...then working for nuc companies...so why medicine?

 

[pharm B]

I'm a surface nuke. If I had a chance to teach back at NNPTC in Charleston, I would, but those tours are rare for first-term enlistees. I joined the Navy for the education benefits, so I knew I didn't want to stay in the nuclear power field. Honestly, I wanted to be a corpsman, but they stroked my ego enough to convince me to go Nuke.

Simply put, navy nuclear power has terrible personnel management but awesome dynamic situations. Civ power has great personnel management, but your plant always maintains the same power level. Ho hum. 😀

 

[Salient]

My TAP class was the same way. Virtually everyone in the class stated they were planning on going to college, but 95% of the class was about the job acquisition process as a civilian.

Maybe the statistics show that most people who separate really don't go to college even when they plan to before separating, I don't know. Either way, set some realistic goals for yourself and figure out what it takes to get them done (set deadlines for yourself if you need to).

 

[Karate Monkey]

Hey dude,
I am a 2003 USNA grad. I was a cryptologic officer. I am currently working to apply for 2009. I also know a buddy of mine (USNA 99) who was a helo pilot that just got into a Osteo school in TN. He usually hangs around here more than I do. He even started a thread about it. I think he is doing the HPSP and staying in. I got out and am gonna pay my own way.

Laters

 

[sm007thie]

Navy nuke right here. SPU, then Bubblehead out of Pearl until I was sub-disqualed for an knee injury. 1 year on a carrier. I've been out for over 2 years and am currently applying.

 

[allenmarchallo]

Good luck shipmates applying to med school in the near future....


-HM2

 

[pharm B]

Navy nuke right here. SPU, then Bubblehead out of Pearl until I was sub-disqualed for an knee injury. 1 year on a carrier. I've been out for over 2 years and am currently applying.

Where did you go for your undergrad? I know a lot of nukes try to get the Excelsior degree, but I haven't heard of anyone pursuing a follow-on degree with it. I only have one friend using it for a Masters program.

 

[bradt9881]

Some of us military actually went back to school after TAP. Anyway, best of luck from a former Independent Duty Medical Technician!

 

[sm007thie]

Where did you go for your undergrad? I know a lot of nukes try to get the Excelsior degree, but I haven't heard of anyone pursuing a follow-on degree with it. I only have one friend using it for a Masters program.

TESC baby! 🙄 I finished it while I was stationed in Pearl. I've done 2 years of past-bacc work since leaving the Navy including all of my pre-med requirements and most of a biochem degree. I did well on the MCAT and my post-bacc GPA is good, so I hope there isn't too much of a need for adcoms to look too much further than that.

I haven't heard of anyone seeking an advanced degree with one of the "typical" degrees obtained by sailors either.

 

[Nuke2Doc]

I was a surface nuke ET for 8.5 years. I had to work for a year to save some money, but I'll be entering med school next year. Not to disparage the MCATs or interviewing system but it all seemed alot easier than the first time I tried 10 years ago. I think being a nuke made studying so much easier the second time. Well, and the fact that it was the second time 🙂. The job I took for the year in between is a typical nuke plant job, but the hours are good and pay is great. Plus, I had medical for my daughter while my husband was looking for a job. We paid off our debt and that makes life seem alot simpler. I'd rather have started school last year, but starting it debt-free takes a load off my mind. Oh, and I got my BA in Biology from CofC while I was teaching at Prototype. Scheduling classes around shiftwork was HELL!!

 

[thoffen]

There's a guy in my class who was a navy nuke. You're definitely not alone.

 

[HotelCo]

TAP classes usually do that, they focus more on getting a job quick rather than going back to school.

 

[chopper]

I am a former nuke surface officer. At my school, we have another former sub officer who graduated a couple years ago. And I know of at least one other from my ROTC class who has gone to med school. I think the experience helped with applications and interviews, so I would play that up when you are applying. If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me. I'll be finishing med school in about 8 months, so I've been through the whole process.

Becoming a doctor is a huge outlier, so you are not likely to see it pushed in something like TAP. TAP is geard to get the masses transitioned, anything on the fringes and you'll have to do it for yourself.

 

[RWC08]

I've been a Nuke for 9 years and am about to get out in March. I'll be attempting to go to pharmacy school in the next couple of years. Glad to see that I'm not the only one crazy enough to try and get into a professional school instead of working at a power plant.

Former Nukes do make great money, but the number of hours worked to do so is more than I want to put up with. As a pharmacist I can make the same amount of money or more while working a normal 40 hour work week without rotating shiftwork. I'm a bad sleeper as it is and rotating shifts only made it worse. I almost quit prototype because of it.

TAP class was useless unless you were planning on going into a business related field.

 

[pharm B]

I just had a job offer for 95K from a civilian nuke company. I almost cried when I turned it down. 😉

I just had to keep telling myself that no amount of money could compensate for the misery that goes along with it.

 

[DocAndrew]

Former surface Nuke ELT here. However, I left my contract after three years and was discharged with an OTH. I really only joined the forum to post to others with OTHs that it's possible to be accepted to medical school without an honorable discharge.

It's nice to see that other Nukes are seeking to attend medical school. I was so disappointed that, although the navy postured a desire to send nukes to achieve further education, it never made doing so easy and I think a lot of nukes simply give up after a couple tries. I suppose with 2 years of tech schools prior to commencing real duty, it's understandable that some were burned out with education. I can't get my head around being satisfied with doing the same job one did in the military forever only because it pays slightly more, however. More power to former nukes who make the conscious decision to either stay in the nuke field or to pursue something different, regardless of career momentum!

 

[pharm B]

haha, further education was something we had to fight for in the fleet. I remember one instance where I had asked my Master Chief if I could enroll in an online calculus class (only requiring my physical presence for tests). He said "Sure! But first, let's do a level of knowledge interview." I was a month into Reactor Operator qualifications, way ahead, but I ended up being denied my Tuition Assistance and put on extra study hours.

 

[necro1188]

Hey guys,

I will be graduating college in two weeks and commissioned designated as a surface nuke officer. I plan on finishing my commitment and applying to med school following my career in the Navy. I just had a few questions that I was hoping you guys could answer.

1. Is there anything you can do while in the Navy to make yourself a better applicant?
2. Did you ever have time to take some extra classes at a local college?
3. How did you have time to study for the MCAT...or apply to med school for that matter...I hear the life of a nuke is pretty busy?

Anyways, I appreciate any feedback you guys have!

 

[pharm B]

Just thought I'd post this for any prior enlisted nukes: MDapps has one person with an Excelsior degree that got an acceptance. MDapps is a pretty small pool, but it at least shows that you can get into med school with a degree from Excelsior! I hope.

Necro:

1. While you're active duty, volunteer for as much as you can. Life will suck, but you'll rack up quite a few titles pretty quickly. Also, your Fitrep will hopefully reflect your work. Also look for opportunities. We helped build homes and clean the beaches while we steamed around the Caribbean.

(if you're a nuke SWO, you probably won't have enough time at work to volunteer for much. You get run through the grinder for two years before qualifying Engineering Officer. Once you're finally useful, the Navy takes you to shore, leaving the ship with another nub officer). Also, while in nuke school you probably will not have time to attend any outside classes.

2. As an enlisted nuke RO, I was finally able to take classes after qualifying onboard ship. As a nuke SWO, I don't know what your schedule will be like, other than full.

3. I have a friend who could answer this question beautifully, but he's currently on a cross-country bike ride from NY to CA before he starts med school there in the Fall. I'll be sure to ask him once he's done, though.

P.S. If you're going to be a nuke SWO, be a good one. Otherwise, just go SWO.

 

[necro1188]

Thanks for the reply! I would greatly appreciate any other input your friend would have for me when he returns.

 

[Cynedyr]

Do nuke officers have different manning requirements for billets than enlisted nukes? During my time as a nuke electrician I saw pretty much everyone that tried to apply for something beyond their NEC get denied based on critical manning requirements.

 

[MtnRescue]

1. Is there anything you can do while in the Navy to make yourself a better applicant?
2. Did you ever have time to take some extra classes at a local college?
3. How did you have time to study for the MCAT...or apply to med school for that matter...I hear the life of a nuke is pretty busy?

Necro - I'll see if I can add anything to the previous answer (I'm a Nuke SWO who punched out in Nov 2006; since then, I've managed to keep far, far away from civilian power generation.) I'm studying for retaking the MCAT (took it in 2000 - expired) and planning on submitting apps in June 2010.

1. Been asked this many times, honestly the best thing you can do regardless of what you want to do after the military is to be **** hot. Be a good officer for your sailors and chiefs. Your department head will appreciate this and your fitreps and letters of recommendation will reflect it. Keep in touch with your old dept heads and CO's when you or they move on. You honestly won't have much time to voluteer in the capacity that would sway an adcom's decision.

2. Best option, again regardless of what you want to do after, is to take advantage of the special deal Master's programs that are offered to nuke officers, i.e. Masters of Engineering Management from Old Dominion University. Virtual classes, take tests on the ship. You get a ton of credit for the nuclear training pipeline course work you do in Charleston. It's a good deal, if a bit of a pain in the ass sometimes. You will have other people on the ship doing the same thing, which makes it more tolerable. As mentioned previously, doing anything else while in Chareston for power school and, especially, prototype is not possible. It is a dark, time-sucking rabbit hole that you slip into and come out the other side wondering where the last 12 months went and why you have memorized every valve, pump and control system for a power plant used nowhere else in the world. It is a special experience, that like med school apparently, can only be understood by those who live through it.

3. This one depends on many, many variables. I wasn't studying for the MCAT or applying while still in, but I did do the ODU Master's program. The best thing that could happen for you to be able to study for the MCAT in the Navy is to go on deployment. Did three on two different ships, and the amount of down time is sometimes stunning. Even with a terrible watch rotation, you can still have more time to study in a day than you can probably stomach. Conversely, you can become a god at any number of video games. Deployment is an exercise in repetition. Make a schedule that works for your watch rotation, it can easily be done. I should also highlight that this is dependent, again, on you being a good officer. If you work hard and qualify for your assigned watchstations quickly, you get left alone and have free time to study or get really really good at Halo. If you aren't, you get ridden pretty hard and you spend your free time working on qualifying.

Hope this helps, if you have any other questions feel free to PM me at any time.

Best of luck,
Jeremy

 

[azerkail]

super necro? i recently took the asvab and got a 97, and apparently blew nuclear engineering out of the water (terrible pun from a navy guy). it sounds interesting, the money is alluring, and i'd imagine it to be a unique experience, but i'm afraid if it not being practical to becoming an md.

looking at this thread too, i dunno if its a good idea any more. i'm 21 years old and i'm looking at maybe 28-29 when i can do the mcat, med school, etc.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=195481