Commissioning question: Subs vs NR

Hi there. I was wondering if anyone can elaborate on the pros and cons of Commissioning into Subs vs NR. I'm asking because my DS just got upscreened for NR and has an interview scheduled for late November. (He was previously upscreened for subs, but held off on signing up for the interview until he heard about NR.) I do have some basic knowledge of the difference between the two -- I know that both are nuclear, and for both the initial training involves power school etc., but that for Subs, you become a nuclear officer aboard a submarine, whereas for NR, you become a nuclear engineer in the Navy and are stationed at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., and you help maintain all the nuclear subs/carriers in the Navy. My question is, is one considered better than the other, in terms of future career possibilities? I understand that in NR, once your commission is up, you probably have to leave the Navy, but I assume there are lots of opportunities outside the Navy or even in the civilian Navy for an officer coming out of NR. Are there as many opportunities for an officer leaving the Navy coming out of NR vs coming out of being a Sub officer? Is one better than the other? Is NR considered more prestigious because it is harder to get commissioned into NR? (My DS said that it can be hard to get selected for an interview for NR.) Does subs give greater leadership experience than NR, and how much does that matter for future career possibilities? Any insights anyone has about this would be greatly appreciated!

You have a lot of questions here, so I will cherry pick the obvious.

These are apple and orange careers, both challenging.

Forget “prestigious.” You may hear ragging inside the military family about various Officer specialties, but everyone plays a role. Some are not as movie-worthy as others. Serving in the Navy, Officer or Enlisted, is an honorable thing to do.

NR Officers are shore-based engineers filling a critical technical specialty, who will spend their careers in and around naval reactors. It’s a relatively small group of officers who perform a key support role. No matter how long they stay in, there will be no problem with a civilian career. NR Officers are valued in the civilian world for their technical engineering skills and PM experience.

The mainstream of Naval officers are warfare officers, the “operators,” surface, submarine, aviation, SEAL, EOD, etc., who deploy, alternate between shore duty and operational tours at sea or overseas, and are focused on leadership and warfare skills. They go in harm’s way and aspire to command as the apex of their career. They use engineering skills to inform their leadership, but are not focused on engineering. They too will have no problem finding civilian careers no matter when they transition. Sub officers are valued for their leadership skills in high-intensity operational situations, and many other attributes.

There is no right or wrong answer.

Your son has to decide whether he wants to serve as an engineer, based ashore, primarily office work/shipyard work, with check rides at sea for new construction. Not operationally oriented. Leadership development will come from project management assignments and some shore leadership roles.

As a sub officer, he will go to sea after the initial pipeline, deploy, learn to lead his or her sailors, be rotated around the sub to learn various junior officer roles in the different departments, work on the professional qualifications for Submarine Warfare Officer pin as a line officer. The career will continue to rotate sea-shore with ever-increasing responsibility, competition and assignment to more challenging roles in the chain of command.

Apple and orange. Both fine communities. It’s all about where your son feels like he will fit best.

Capt MJ, thank you so much, that is very very helpful, exactly the information I was looking for. My DS is having a difficult time deciding what he thinks will fit best. I sort of feel like there is no right answer for him, or no wrong one, I think both seem like great opportunities. I wish he coould do a little bit of both. Thanks again!

To further muddy the water, there is the Engineering Duty Officer (EDO) path, which does indeed offer a little of both.

One of the options is to get the warfare qual first in subs or surface warfare ships, then go EDO via MIT or the Naval Postgraduate School.

Read this, with various links, then click on Sample Career Paths.
https://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-...orps/engineering/Pages/CareerInformation.aspx

My room mate at USNA went surface nuke then eventually moved over to NR. Subs weren’t available to women when we graduated (I am sure she would of went subs if it was available). She is now a civilian govt employee working in the Nuke world. Capt MJ laid out the differences. This is about what your DS wants to do, what his goals are and what would make him happy. One path offers going to sea, doing operational things, leading sailors. The other offers a deep dive in technical designing the future of the nuke community, leadership is more civilian/contractor based, and pretty much spending a career in and out or mostly in DC. Capt MJ brings up a great point of EDO option which would open doors to designing, testing and other items for the sub fleet in the future. It wouldn’t necessarily be nuke based, but could be testing hulls, sonars, weapons or a variety of other items. This is really about what would make him happiest and meets his goals. Good luck to him!

Oh wow, very interesting, I'll have to mention EDO to my DS, that sounds great. Thanks to both of you for this very useful information!

I’ll hammer it home once more - it’s about what your son feels like he might want to do and be called to. You can be a bear hunter, or you can be a bear skinner, both important. He can be a leader of men and women, fighting his warfare platform and going in harm’s way around the globe. Or, he can sink deep into his engineering discipline, contributing to advancing capabilities for the future and ensuring the warfare platforms of today are well looked after, leading different kinds of teams. Both paths take brains, discipline and commitment.

Very well said! I'm sharing all of this with my DS.....