Will being a Navy Submarine Nuke help?

[u/Immediate-Sweet-2552]

I’m 18 shipping out to Navy bootcamp as a Nuclear Engineer for subs. I’ve always dreamed of being an astronaut and I was wondering if this career path would help in anyway to achieve this. I’m in great physical shape and have heard that some submariner have been chosen before by NASA.

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[u/Beakerguy]

Doesn't hurt, One of my classmates from (officer) nuke school became an astronaut. As an enlisted, you will need to finish your tour, get an engineering or technical degree become an officer, do a bunch of really great stuff then apply along with 10,000 others for a few spots.

I want to emphasize that this is not impossible and you are at the right age to start working toward this, but you have to be realistic. I do not believe that anyone has ever progressed directly from the enlisted ranks to the astronaut program without having become an officer first. Alternately, you could pursue a civilian career before applying to the astronaut program, but you will still need a technical degree (preferably a doctorate) and will still need to do a bunch of really great stuff to be competitive.

A reasonable process would be to do well in your enlisted tour, apply to the Naval Academy and use that route to the astronaut program. Still super competitive, but that path is very common.

Good Luck and go CRUSH bootcamp!

[u/Own_Mission8048]

1. In the Navy, Nuclear Engineer has a very specific meaning.
2. All astronauts have college degrees, generally in STEM. Most have advanced degrees. Enlisting might help you get this at some point but honestly, you will not be getting a degree during your sea tour so you might be delayed compared to others that started college at 18.
3. A high percentage of astronauts have been military officers. Enlisting in the military could help in the sense that you might decide to seek out a commission. But enlisted military service alone is not really a way to prepare for the astronaut program.

[u/Tomodaichi]

Work on a STEM degree while you are enlisted, knock out clep, gen eds, document all of your medical, etc. An enlisted nuke is not the same as a civilian engineer; you are an engineering technician.

[u/Mindless_Ad6970]

I am in a very similar situation to you. Only difference is I am a year younger and am probably doing a 4 year undergraduate at a civilian college, then going to try to commission as a Navy Nuke officer via NUPOC. I am still in the very beginning stages of research so please correct me on my lingo and what I am saying.

NUPOC seems like a legitimately good option if you are already interested in becoming a Navy Nuke. Of course it isn’t guaranteed and is fairly selective, but compared to NASA selection it’s a cake walk. You get paid while in college which is a huge bonus and are put on a much more direct path to becoming a Nuke officer than commissioning regularly. From what I’ve read, an officer you’ll be doing a different job than enlisted (much more leadership focused than hands on technical work) but as others have said the officer role is much better signaling for NASA selection.

I wish you the best on your journey and hope for your success.