Civilian degrees and the Navy

[alpha blue]

I was talking to one of my college professors who had majored in Chemical Engineering and gone through NROTC as an undergrad. He mentioned about how because of his engineering degree he was given the choice of working with the boiler propulsion systems as a Surface Warfare Officer.

So my question is, how does the degree that you earn in college affect what areas you end up serving in? Would it be somewhat of a waste if I were an engineering major and chose to go into something that isn't related to that field? Would somebody who did take up an engineering job within the Navy transition better back to civilian work once they've been discharged?

 

[mts4602]

The short answer is, it doesn't matter.

Study what you enjoy in college, or what you might want to do after the Navy or if you didn't end up joining.

Being an engineering major would help you if you wanted to be a Sub officer or a Nuke SWO as they deal a lot with math and all that good stuff. But otherwise it really doesn't matter.

 

[WVUBetaHornet]

The short answer is, it doesn't matter.

Agreed..major in something you enjoy and chase the girls around.

 

[RedDog]

Your going down the same road I went down 18 years ago. Don't do what I did; I became completely bogged down in what I had to major in to fly. I was told that only engineering degrees would be looked at for flying. Well, after I enlisted, got into aviation, I met plenty of naval aviators that weren't engineers. As a result, I still haven't finished my degree (only 3 classes left), but I did fly as an enlisted aircrewman for a couple of years. It was a long, hard road to get there. You have to ask yourself, "What do I want to be when I grow up?" Become what you want to become. Aviation is a good field, where do you want to be in 5, 10, 20 years?

 

[RedDog]

As a foot note: You need to check into the career potentials of these degrees. I work for one of the largest chemical companies in the world (my unit is the third largest ethylene plant in the world). One of the subjects that I have talked about extensively to engineers in my workplace is the future of engineering. It is the consensus of many, that in the next 10 years, ChemE will not be the best degree to have completed. This is because industry is constantly looking to move overseas to take advantage of cheap labor; engineering included. If you are interested in living in China, Egypt, Dubia, or Kuwait, ChemE may be to field for you......

If interested, contact me and I can put you in contact with people in the professions you are intersted in, preferrably those with military background, and you can get a full picture.

If you want to be a pilot, Kudos. If you are looking into the future, you need to research the future.

You should look into a co-op program if you are not sure of a military adaptance. As a friend of mine, who flies F/A-18's in the USMCR told a young man once (paraphase); If you show up to Marine OCS with the intention to fly jets only, they'll figure that out pretty quick and send you home with the same clothes you came in and a bad hair cut.