It’s time to refresh on the research you did before you applied. Both USNA and USMMA websites cover what is available and expected after graduation.
www.maritime.dot.gov
Expanding on "etc.", some have really aimed high and became astronauts (See & Kelly).
Sailing MSC does not give you a taste of the Navy culture. How does an MSC employee with limited internet access and an office that would like to keep them out at sea indefinitely even fulfill their reserve obligation much less work with a recruiter and complete the paperwork and requirements to switch designators/communities. Bottom line is if you do not follow the process starting at the beginning of 1/C Year, switching to AD Navy would be time consuming and definitely not guaranteed.
License renewal can be done via BST/Firefighting Courses and an open book exam with NO SEATIME rather than ruining your life at MSC.
Thanks very much for your insight!I was an Engineer at KP and went SWO in the Navy and was assigned as the AUXO and later the MPA on a destroyer in San Diego so I was in my element. The odd thing I found is the Navy puts kids with English degrees down in the engine room and in charge of engineering divisions. My roommate who relieved me as AUXO was an Econ major at the Naval Academy and he was struggling at first but luckily he had me as his roommate. Our other roommate was a Vietnamese kid who was a licensed 3rd mate from Cal maritime and they put him in as the 1st Lt and he thrived in that capacity as he knew his way around ships deckwise. His shiphandling skills were amazing and he handled that destroyer like professional race car driver. The Old Man was mesmerized by him and he earned his SWO pin as an Ensign which is rare. He shortly became the navigator. We ran into eachother several years later after we got out of the Navy as 3rd mate and 3rd Engineer on the Tanker SS Overseas Chicago. The cool thing about Kings Point is if you decide to go active duty Navy especially as a SWO you will fit right in. You will probably see more KPers in the Navy than USNA guys in the Merchant Marine. The best part of KP is we make more money than all the Academy guys out the gate with that golden ticket we call a 3rd Mates or 3rd Engineers License. The lowest starting salary is with Military Sealift Command for a 3rd mate/3rd Engineer at $120K. With the Union contracted shipping lines the rate jumps up to $160K for a 3M/3E. Kings Point is kind of a hybrid trade school especially for engineers. Along with my engineering degree they taught us shop classes like welding, pipefitting, diesel engine maintenance, electrical switchgear operation and maintenance and HVAC. If you find yourself in the Navy as a KP engineer you'll find yourself able to do many things the enlisted technicians are able to do since on commercial ships there are no enlisted personnel and the officers essentially have to do the jobs that the enlisted would normally do on a Navy ship. I did enjoy my time as a SWO in the navy and I get to brag to my deckie classmates that I got to drive a destroyer as an OOD through the pirate infested waters of the Straits of Malacca with a 3rd Engineers License.
We're basically glorified mechanics, electricians, plumbers, welders and HVAC techs rolled into one with an engineering degree.
If Navy Nuke is his goal, he'll be head and shoulders above his peers at Nuke school with a Marine engineering degree. Good luck.
One of my 81 classmates, a deckie, went active duty Navy. They made him and engineer and he spent worked as one up until his retirement.I was an Engineer at KP and went SWO in the Navy and was assigned as the AUXO and later the MPA on a destroyer in San Diego so I was in my element. The odd thing I found is the Navy puts kids with English degrees down in the engine room and in charge of engineering divisions. My roommate who relieved me as AUXO was an Econ major at the Naval Academy and he was struggling at first but luckily he had me as his roommate. Our other roommate was a Vietnamese kid who was a licensed 3rd mate from Cal maritime and they put him in as the 1st Lt and he thrived in that capacity as he knew his way around ships deckwise. His shiphandling skills were amazing and he handled that destroyer like professional race car driver. The Old Man was mesmerized by him and he earned his SWO pin as an Ensign which is rare. He shortly became the navigator. We ran into eachother several years later after we got out of the Navy as 3rd mate and 3rd Engineer on the Tanker SS Overseas Chicago. The cool thing about Kings Point is if you decide to go active duty Navy especially as a SWO you will fit right in. You will probably see more KPers in the Navy than USNA guys in the Merchant Marine. The best part of KP is we make more money than all the Academy guys out the gate with that golden ticket we call a 3rd Mates or 3rd Engineers License. The lowest starting salary is with Military Sealift Command for a 3rd mate/3rd Engineer at $120K. With the Union contracted shipping lines the rate jumps up to $160K for a 3M/3E. Kings Point is kind of a hybrid trade school especially for engineers. Along with my engineering degree they taught us shop classes like welding, pipefitting, diesel engine maintenance, electrical switchgear operation and maintenance and HVAC. If you find yourself in the Navy as a KP engineer you'll find yourself able to do many things the enlisted technicians are able to do since on commercial ships there are no enlisted personnel and the officers essentially have to do the jobs that the enlisted would normally do on a Navy ship. I did enjoy my time as a SWO in the navy and I get to brag to my deckie classmates that I got to drive a destroyer as an OOD through the pirate infested waters of the Straits of Malacca with a 3rd Engineers License.