nuclear eng v mechanical eng for Subs

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navyfamilyof4

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any thoughts on sub officer work and which major is more desired: Nuclear Engineering or Mechanical engineering? esp since they will go to Nuke Power school after college/academy, right?
 
All kinds of engineering majors go subs, as well as History/English/PoliSci/other majors, as long as they do well in required STEM courses. They all get a BS; all will get the training they need at nuke power school, prototype and sub school. They should major in what they enjoy and ensure STEM performance is strong.

Out of our sponsor family going subs, we have had aero, history, English, ocean, systems, mechanical, physics, chemistry - full range. What they had in common was strong STEM performance, interest and desire for sub mission, excellent conduct and performance/military aptitude grades. They also did well on the required oral interview.

The History major was in top 10% at nuke power school. The aero major was #2 at NPS, #1 at prototype, #1 at Sub School. The competition baseline zeroes out at the start of the nuke training pipeline. Everyone brings their brains, study habits, and backgrounds to a new set of challenges.
 
I guess need to look at the sub jobs available and which ones are the most interesting to the student. I had assumed you needed NRE major to lead engineers on a nuclear sub but i guess not. Thanks MJ!!!
 
mcfamilyof4 said:
I guess need to look at the sub jobs available and
which ones are the most interesting to the student. I had assumed you needed NRE major to lead engineers on a nuclear sub but i guess not. Thanks MJ!!!
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Not that I'm an expert, and I'm sure I'm oversimplifying, but a nuke Sub is driven by a big complex steam engine. That leaves plenty of mechanical and electrical stuff to work on... and I'm s sure much else
 
This is a few years old, but shows the career progression. In general, to earn a warfare pin, a Navy Officer in his or her first sea tour goes through a professional training syllabus to acquaint and qualify them in the warfare platform’s major areas, along with performing their regular duties as a Division Officer in an assigned role. They will also be standing watch and completing qualifications for various watch-standing stations. I know in Surface ships, the JOs can get rotated to different divisions. I don’t know if it is exactly the same as subs. The JO will be supported by experienced enlisted personnel, who have the technical savvy and years of hands-on experience the smart JO realizes he or she should learn from. If the JO is truly lucky, they will have a Chief Petty Officer (backbone of the Navy) as their senior enlisted leader, well-versed in teaching the new JO the ropes, as Chiefs have done since Moses took his cruise on the Nile in USS BULRUSH.

 
Capt MJ said:
This is a few years old, but shows the career progression. In general, to earn a warfare pin, a Navy Officer in his or her first sea tour goes through a professional training syllabus to acquaint and qualify them in the warfare platform’s major areas, along with performing their regular duties as a Division Officer in an assigned role. They will also be standing watch and completing qualifications for various watch-standing stations. I know in Surface ships, the JOs can get rotated to different divisions. I don’t know if it is exactly the same as subs. The JO will be supported by experienced enlisted personnel, who have the technical savvy and years of hands-on experience the smart JO realizes he or she should learn from. If the JO is truly lucky, they will have a Chief Petty Officer (backbone of the Navy) as their senior enlisted leader, well-versed in teaching the new JO the ropes, as Chiefs have done since Moses took his cruise on the Nile in USS BULRUSH.

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Submarine Junior Officers do rotate through jobs just like SWOs.
As for the "best" major, my son is now Chief Engineer on a sub and his major was Aero Eng. For the non-Navy types on the board, the Chief Engineer is the Department Head over all of the Engineering equipment and people on the sub. All told, it is a major portion of the sub, well over a third of the people and the reactor, engine, electrical system, fresh water, plumbing, etc. Obviously, you don't need to be a nuclear Engineering Major to do this job.
 
While I was a (very) Petty Officer 2nd Class on a nuke submarine, I worked extensively with quite a few of these guys in and out of the navy in my various endeavors, below, with and above the junior officer level. As stated in prior comments, there is no correlation between the undergraduate major and the level of success/competency as a sub officer. Nuke school takes care of that. I saw the whole gamut of sub officers, from OCS, NROTC and Academy grads. Most were very good and quite a few were very great. Engineering majors, history, English, etc. I couldn't tell the difference. However, I did notice a trend with the academy graduates. The academy graduates were generally more in the very great category vs. really good.
 
mcfamilyof4 said:
any thoughts on sub officer work and which major is more desired: Nuclear Engineering or Mechanical engineering? esp since they will go to Nuke Power school after college/academy, right?
Click to expand...
Study something because it is interesting to you! I am a Computer Engineering major (probably just outed myself, there is less than a dozen of us) and passed the DC interview fine! In reality you're learning how to learn, if something you like to learn is how stuff works, engineering is definitely cool.

The academy used to not have majors- you just had a degree that said USNA, in many ways that is still true, the value is that you went here and finished. I know a Chinese major that just selected Subs.
 
Plebes are choosing their majors this week. My son had four majors in mind once the academic year started. Now it is narrowed down to two. In August he still had the mindset that his choice of major would have a huge impact on his career path. Six months later, he realizes that he has absolutely no idea what his career path will be, and his major will not have an impact. His major is going to be based on what subject he enjoys the most, and what he wants to spend his time studying countless hours the next 3 1/2 years.
 
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