Navy Power Nuke to HF/Trading?

Hey all,

I'm a 21-year-old college senior studying Finance and Stats with a 3.9 GPA in Chicago. I've been trading options and forex for a while and I want to eventually work in that field as everything else bores me.

I'm considering joining the Navy nuke program. It's 2 years of school followed by a 4-year contract. I'd be able to finish up my degrees in the process. I'm wondering how the transition to a trading/HF career would work for me.

I haven't joined yet, but I spoke with a recruiter today and got a 99 on the ASVAB, so they offered me that program. It looks good compared to everything else I'm qualified for. i.e. challenging/interesting and best comp. But I'm mostly in it for the experience. I've been crazy bored at my internships. I still feel like a kid and I just want to defer entering the adult world for a while. This seems like a good use of my time.

So yeah, how do I play this transitioning to high finance positions?
I'd consider IB, but it kind of looks like shit at the moment. 6 years might change my mind. I'd probably be too old anyway at that point. Consulting is also an option, I guess. But that would be pretty industry-specific. But then HFs could be too...

Anyway..

 

I will preface this by saying that I am a college senior as well, so just going off of what I have heard and read.

But I believe your track would be Navy, MBA, HF. I know that business schools love military guys, especially from elite units (I hear a lot about hbs loving Rangers), but I don't know much beyond that. There are many ex military guys in banking and PE though. I would assume the same could be said for HFs. Also, you could break into banking post MBA at the associate level, so not too old for that route.

Good luck and if you go Navy, thank you for your service.

 
Best Response

DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS PROGRAM.

As a few people know, I am an Annapolis grad with 9 years on active duty prior to IB. Recruiters are not in the business of helping you out or making sure you find the best program for you. They are in the business of making their monthly/quarterly enlistment quotas. They regularly lie and cheat to get people to sign up for programs that are not the right fit for them. Only realtors are more scum-of-the-earth....

As a college senior with a GPA of 3.9 in Finance and Stats, you will easily qualify for an officer program. If you sign of for the program your recruiter is pushing on you, you will be an enlisted sailor. Yes, you will get two years of nuclear training but when you show up to your first submarine, you will spend your first six months cleaning toilets and doing everyone else's dishes. Does that sound like something you want to do after getting a college degree?

If you are interested in the Navy Nuke Program I think that is great. However, you should call your recruiter RIGHT NOW and tell him you are only interested in officer programs. If he tells you: "well, after a few years enlisted service you would easily qualify for something like that," tell him to go F&%ck himself. With a college degree and a semi-technical major (it's not hard science or engineering so the Nuke program will not look on it as favorably, the stats helps a lot though), you will easily qualify for Officer Candidate School. In fact, the Nuke program has its own special OCS (or at least it used to).

If he sells you anything that is not Direct to OCS, Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200, then tell the recruiter to take the paperwork, shove it up his ass a few times, pull it out and see what it smells like......

However, although I was a pilot and not a Nuke I can say that the Navy Nuke program is one of the hidden jems of our armed forces. It does not have the macho cache of the Rangers, but is respected nearly as equally in many respects. If you apply to B-school in 6-7 years with a resume that says you graduated from the U.S. Navy's Nuclear Power School and served four years as an officer on a submarine you are going to be a top candidate to a top business school. If you are looking HF, you could go get an MSF from MIT and you would be GOLDEN!!

If you want to learn more about the nuke program, I would read the applicable section of the book below:

http://www.amazon.com/Pilots-Blue-Water-Grunts-ebook/dp/B001FA0J50/ref=…

For other readers, I would suggest reading many of the books by this author. He has the unfortunate problem of being right about nearly everything.

Also, if you want to chat offline about Navy options, PM me with your email address and we can set up a time to jump on the phone.....

 

Do you know what security clearance officers required to have as opposed to enlisted? Are all officers Top Secret? Also, I heard that anyone on a sub needs Top Secret. Is that true, or is Secret or Classified fine?

 
FormerHornetDriver:

All sub folks need TS or TS/SCI

But to be accepted into the program, all that you need is Secret, right?

The short of it is that I have a lot of outstanding hospital bills that I have no chance of paying off for years from an accident I was in 2 years ago. As well as a few misdemeanors for drugs from when I was 18. And I'm pretty sure that these things combined would keep me from getting Top Secret. My recruiter said that I should be able to get waivers for Secret.

 

Recruiters lie for a living.

If you have drug convictions, I do not think you will be able to get into an officer or enlisted program on the nuke side of things. What your recruiter is trying to do is get you to sign on the dotted line for the nuke program and then when your clearance does not get approved the Navy will say: "Tough shit, you already singed up. Since your Secret or TS did not come through, we are going to send you to clean toilets on an amphib for six years."

 
FormerHornetDriver:

Recruiters lie for a living.

If you have drug convictions, I do not think you will be able to get into an officer or enlisted program on the nuke side of things. What your recruiter is trying to do is get you to sign on the dotted line for the nuke program and then when your clearance does not get approved the Navy will say: "Tough shit, you already singed up. Since your Secret or TS did not come through, we are going to send you to clean toilets on an amphib for six years."

Is there a way to find out whether I'll get the clearance before I sign up? The recruiter said that they do guarantee jobs, so couldn't I not sign unless it's in my contract that I'm going to nuke school?

Oh, and I was never convicted. But it's on my police record still.

 

Wait a sec, OP. Are you doing undergrad at UChicago or a college in the city of Chicago? I'm confused since UChicago does not offer a finance major.

Either way, Navy power nuke looks great on your resume and positions you nicely for a top MBA program. You would probably need to do banking or trading first after b-school since you won't be able to get into HF without prior experience.

 

Omnis expedita doloribus voluptatem voluptatem. Recusandae nam doloremque natus qui. Voluptas amet quia eligendi modi occaecati quia dolor. Dolorem totam quia numquam nostrum veniam tenetur quidem quaerat. Amet et velit omnis rerum. Quasi fuga totam voluptatibus aut quis.

Dolores veritatis facere illo molestiae et voluptatem accusantium. In corporis veniam est. Perspiciatis et perspiciatis dolorem. Sed sunt ut consequatur pariatur perferendis ipsa. Eos quod incidunt voluptatem sunt soluta enim et.

Error ut sunt qui ut omnis. Nihil explicabo voluptatum amet quis necessitatibus.

Qui error qui molestiae ea. Quidem nihil rem quo architecto. Rerum corporis occaecati quibusdam veniam aut. Perferendis officia dolorum vel possimus delectus. Sint itaque facilis dolor consequatur. Omnis eum ducimus quia eos amet quisquam atque.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”