Nuclear Propulsion Program?

[heerothewizard]

I read somewhere about something called the "Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate Program" (or something like that), and I was wondering how that worked and if you could become a SNA if you take that path.
thanks

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GO NAVY! BEAT ARMY!

 

[submariner8]

I was recently accepted to the NUPOC program you are referring to. It is a program that allows you to become a nuclear trained officer (NTO), serving aboard either a sub or surface ship. If you are still in school, the Navy will pay you around $2500-$3000 a month while you complete your degree. Most of the folks that apply have technical degrees, but I have heard that others have been accepted as well. The only requirement that I know of course wise is that you have completed one or two calculus and physics classes. Once you graduate, you go to OCS, then to Nuke power school, then to nuke prototype school, and finally to sub officer school or surface officer school before you get your first assignment.

I can't speak for certain as to whether or not you can go pilot after you start this program, but it seems like they are putting a significant investment into getting you nuclear trained, so I would say probably not. If you enlisted and served on a sub or surface ship as opposed to going NUPOC, then I believe you could go pilot then, I think I have heard of at least one other person on this message board that has done that.

If you have any other NUPOC questions, let me know!

 

[RobNLa]

Submariner,

What degree major, gpa, and ATSB scores do you have? How long did the process take from start to finish? Do you get to choose between SubOS and SurfaceOS?

 

[submariner8]

I have a B.S. in electrical engineering, and I've completed about half of my MBA, though I'm not going to finish that right now. My GPA is not great, about 3.4 overall. I didn't have to take the ATSB for this program. From start to finish, it was about 6 weeks from the time I submitted my application to the time I swore in, or about 7-8 weeks from the time I first spoke to my officer recruiter. For NUPOC you do get to choose between sub or surface duty, however I believe surface is closed, or at least it was not long after I applied. They may have slots open now.

 

[webmaster]

Submarine community will not release you to go aviation, unless for some reason you were found medically unfit for sub duty, but were still eligible for aviation. As mentioned, $$ and time were spent on training you to become a nuke, they aren't going to let that walk out the door. A good program, best of luck!

 

[Keith Nielsen]

I am an enlisted Nuke, and can tell you that this community is very hard to get released from. From the officer side, there is a little more leeway, but not much. Like Submariner said, the navy invests a lot into the nukes, and doesn't want to lose them. This community is also one of the most highly undermanned in the fleet (officer and enlisted), so don't apply for this if you just want to make a lateral transfer to something else. As for surface or subs, you have to volunteer to be sent to a submarine. I have never heard of the nuke officer community (surface or subs) ever being full, so I wouldn't worry about that. Good luck.

 

[kpuckhaber]

I've been thinking of NUPOC myself. The only thing I am worried about is going before the board and them quizzing you like mad. I know there are study guides and the recruiters help prepare you but personally I get nervous especially around a bunch of brass that are there to see if I'm intelligent enough to run with the big dogs! Anyhow. how bad/good was the testing part? Did you go on any VIP tours beforehand? My father was an enlisted nuke and I know 3 guys that are currently enlisted nukes and they all tell me I will have no problem with it but there is always that little bit of doubt.

 

[submariner8]

The key is to be CONFIDENT! Don't doubt your abilities or they will sense it and eat you up. For the technical interviews, you only talk to one Naval Reactor engineer at a time, so it's not too bad. The questions are varied by interviewer, and some interviewers are easier than others. All in all, if you brush up on your calc and physics, and work a good number of the problems in the study guide, you will be fine. They will likely also ask questions pertaining to your major. I was a electrical engineering major, and they asked me some circuits problems and some control systems questions. These interviews typically last an hour or so, and you will have at least two, but you could have as many as five.

For the interview with the admiral, everyone is nervous, that's just how it is. Just be as calm as possible, be honest, and you will be fine. The interview will last at most 3-4 minutes. Mine was about 45 seconds. He asked me like two questions, and then said welcome to the program. I actually messed up the little speech we were supposed to give as we walked in, and what I was saying made him laugh, so I guess that was good. The admiral may ask you general questions about the Navy, so you should know how many subs and carriers there are, what the mission of the Navy is, and so on.

The main thing to remember is that if you get invited to the interview, they want you. Over 90% of those invited get in. There were 18 or 19 in my interview class, and all but one guy got in.

You do get to do a VIP trip before the interview, in fact it is required. The admiral wants you to tour the sub to make sure that is what you want to do beforehand.

 

[kpuckhaber]

Well as a female I don't have to worry about serving on subs and I actually would prefer a carrier or a ship with an aegis system. What was the ratio of male/female in your interview class. Almost all the pictures I have seen concerning the NUPOC program have had males in the pics. I know I will be outnumbered about 20 to 1. Also I'll be starting at a comm. college for my B.S. in EE. I know that is okay but I was wondering if once accepted I would have to transfer to a 4 year (Uni South Carolina for me) or if I can finish the A.S. first. I already have a BBA and I'll probably finish my Master's this Decemeber so I can start on the Engineering degree. I'm an academic overacheiver. I never liked school until about 2 years ago when I finally figured out how to study. So I figure why not get something useful while I'm young.

 

[submariner8]

I didn't realize you were a female. If you are selected for NUPOC, your only options are a carrier or the instructor position at power school in Charleston.

At my interview, there was only one female, and she was going for the instructor position. I have heard that the surface ship slots are closed for NUPOC, as they have more than enough academy and NROTC grads to cover that. In fact everyone at my interview was either sub or instructor. I don't know if you can get invited for an interview for surface while it is closed to NUPOC. As far as I know, by the time you get to your interview, you already know whether you were selected for surface or subs. Your recruiter will know for sure how all this works. Of course if you are going to be applying in a year or more, you may not have to worry about this.

As far as whether or not you would have to transfer, I couldn't say for sure. My guess is if you already have a degree, and you have already completed the calc and physics requirements for NUPOC, they would let you finish your A.S. first. The problem is that if you are going to transfer schools or change your graduation date once you are in NUPOC, you have to get it preauthorized from the Navy first. This is another good question for your recruiter to get a definitive answer.

I know all the sub guys had to take a VIP to tour a sub, and the instructors had to take a VIP to see the nuke school in Charleston, so I would think anyone going for surface would also get a VIP to see some kind of ship, if not a carrier. I believe everyone invited for an interview for NUPOC has to have a VIP of some kind.

Good luck!

 

[kpuckhaber]

Thanks. Yeah I spent 6 hours last night running the numbers and making sure all the classes would transfer, etc. I will def finish in 2 or 2.5 years (depending when picked). Being an instructor would be okay but I would want to go to sea a few times and I wouldn't want to be stuck in Charleston or upstate NY for my whole career. Plus I won't be applying for 1 year to 16 months from right now. Hopefully they will have spots open for surface when I apply.

 

[cjp03]

I went for my interview in D.C back in February. I'll be graduating this Dec. with a BS in CHEN and leaving for OCS two weeks later. There were 3 girls in my interview group, including me. NUPOC candidates going surface take their VIP trips to San Diego or Georgia. I went to San Diego and toured an aircraft carrier, a destroyer, and a sub. It was awesome!
As for interviewing, it's going to be kind of stressful, but it's suppose to be. They want to see how you can handle yourself. The nuclear reactors will only ask you questions from material you've covered in school. Use your study guide and you'll be fine.
I hope everything works out, this is the best decision I've ever made.

CJ

 

[t-rex2000]

what`s the salary roughly for a commissioned submariner? plus bonuses and what not?

 

[submariner8]

If you go through NUPOC, here is the salary chart they gave me:

$10,000 signing bonus upon swearing in, plus $2,000 after completion of nuclear prototype training.

E-6 pay while waiting for OCS (to complete college or whatever your case may be). Also included in this is BAH and BAS. For me this totaled a little over $3,000 a month, but it varies depending on where you are located.

After commissioning pay (this includes base pay, sea pay, sub pay, and bonuses):

Rank Years of Service Annual fully taxed equivalent pay (single/married)
Ensign <2 $43,593.03/$45,767.29
LTJG 2 $56,241.29/$59,151.56
LTJG 3 $61,023.42/$62,367.96
LT 4 $74,012.26/$75,516.96
LT 6 $96,744.26/$100,364.61
LCDR 8 $108,335.30/$112,223.19
LCDR 10 $112,856.90/$116,744.79

You will notice a big jump at the 6 year mark. This is because when you sign a continuation contract of 3-5 years at this point, you get a $22,000 yearly continuation bonus.

 

[submariner8]

That pay scale didn't really turn out the way I typed it in with the formating, but hopefully you can still get the point. Basically you have the rank, followed by the years of service, then the salary for single and married...