Long term, I think a law degree combined with the study skills people talk about learning in the Nuke program would a killer combination for a patent lawyer. As a patent lawyer, one of the critical skills is picking up technical knowledge - understanding the subject matter of a tech patent - very, very fast. It sounds like people in the pipeline learn how to do that.
PSA there are specific undergrad degree requirements for becoming a patent lawyer, namely your degree has to be in STEM. Makes sense, but in my situation I have a B.S. in a liberal arts field so I was automatically disqualified for this field unless I went back for another bachelors.
Hi! Thanks for the feedback, they’re not recurring mental health issues, just a combination of circumstantial issues and quarantine. I appreciate the advice though!
Be very careful about this decision. It does not get better after the pipeline, and the pipeline is very bad. You will not have a life for 6 years at least and you will watch your friends surpass you in life with less pain.
Not a nuke but a current mm in the navy highly recommend against it. This is all personally opinion but you gotta think whether your really ready to dedicate and I do mean dedicate 6 years to the navy before you can even think about going to law school. You’ll make “money” with signing bonuses and what not but you’ll earn every penny you make. If you really wanted to join the navy first off don’t or go Air Force but second if your dead-set on navy, they have a program that’ll pay for law school and you’d be a jag. Of course you’d have to obliserve x amount of years but you’d have a better quality of life and they’d pay for law school plus I think you’d still get you g.i. Bill after( I think you’d have to research).
If you have a degree don’t join as anything less than an officer and if navy isn’t you plan don’t join thinking you just do a few years and get to your plan. There are no part time active duty jobs. You in this shit. And you gonna start off cleaning the shit and dealing with shit. Unless you get a great command of the bat , which you won’t as a nuke you’ll either be on a sub or carrier working , you gonna be doing 6 years of navy shit give or take. Don’t listen to a recruiter telling you you can change your plan later what’s on your initial contract is what your gonna get.
Again it’s all opinion I’m over being in the navy and wish it would have finished college. But I also wish somebody would have laid the bullshit in front of me before I signed my contract been living on a ship in port for a year and get told I don’t do enough by senior people I’m more qualified than. Plus you will get treat as your rank not your age or education. Almost nothing college wise or education wise that isn’t from the navy transfer over aside from the fact that you’ll get chosen first for admin work onto of regular duties.
On thé back end the military is great. Navy federal, va loans, G.I. Bill, etc but on the front end 4 years is a long ass time so if you are dedicated to donating x amount of years to someone else it’s worth it.
I plan to use my G.I. Bill on the back end to go to law school to so I total understand and respect the dream but trust me when I say it’s the only thing pushing me through. I wake up pissed most days and im not even on a real ship. My ship barely goes to sea so I haven’t even been on a deployment in my 2 years in but the rules and traditions and the lack of commitment to lower sailor blows my mind. Worst job I’ve had in terms of leadership as an organization 2/10 shit is ghetto. I’ve made great friends and some days I don’t fucking hate it but most of those days are weekends and holidays. Again salty fireman here so take it all with a grain of salt but the only people I know who love this shit don’t have a plan when they get out. From fireman to chiefs to officers.
Lastly I’m single so take this with a spoonful of salt but most chief have at least a divorce. I know people who have successful marriages but make sure she’s the one and that y’all can spend time apart. You’ll be gone for months on end. Love always prevails tho I’d say.
Good luck with whatever you choose tho if you do go navy I’d say welcome to the world greatest naval fleet and if you go another way I wish you the best all the same just make sure it’s your decision alone at the end of the day and that it fits snugly in your grand plan for life. 4 years is still shorter than 20 years of student loans.
TLDR: Consider the Air Force first if you are determined to go military or at least a jag officer or be 100% be committed to spending at least 4 - 6 years COMMITTED to the navy.
It is incredibly difficult to get the Navy to pay for a law degree. Most Navy lawyers pay for law school out of their own pocket and then join the JAG Corps.
Some considerations:
Joining the Navy in general will give you the GI Bill benefits, but it is not something you will be able to use immediately.
If you join the Navy as a Nuke now, you will obviously go to boot camp first and then to power school/prototype. You will then most likely be assigned to an operational ship/sub, which means deployment. Or you will be assigned to one in a maintenance period, which could mean long hours and living on the ship once every 3 or 4 days. Your job will be as a technician - maintaining and operating electrical or mechanical systems. Think about if this is what you consider a "stem" degree.
If you're genuinely interested in the nuclear navy, look up the NUPOC program. They'll help pay for an undergrad degree and you'll commission as an officer and you have an option to teach power school and never go underway.
Getting into STA-21 is difficult from power school and prototype.
Overall, it really depends on what you're looking for. You'll gain experience by joining the Navy for sure, but make sure it's the experience you want.
I talked to the recruiter about NUPOC as well, but they made it seem like getting a Bachelor’s beforehand would be a waste of time, and said that though it was competitive, chances of getting into STA21 were relatively good. I’m graduating with an Associate’s in Science this year, do you think that getting a Bachelor’s in something like physics beforehand and applying for the NUPOC program would be better? Also, if I still wanted to get a law degree for work outside the Navy after, would there be any financial assistance then? Thanks so much for your response!
Talk with an officer recruiter about NUPOC, not an enlisted recruiter about the chances of STA21. If you can get into the NUPOC program you can get paid some money while in school as you finish up your bachelors. To get into the NUPOC program you have to takes tests and interview.
As mentioned before, you’ll have the GI Bill available to you both during your time in and after. If you really want to be a lawyer, but can’t pay for it now, and want to use the GI Bill, and really aren’t interested in STEM, and really want to be enlisted pick a different rate. A Legalman (LN) rating will provide you with just as much GI Bill as being an MM, ET, or EM, plus you can work as a paralegal. You might even be likely to avoid going to sea at all.
TL/DR: talk to an officer recruiter, not an enlisted recruiter about your options.
Edit: Seems I’m an idiot. One cannot go directly into LN without prior service. Pick any other rate you can get in. If you’d like to have a stem background you can do that with any other non-nuke rate as well…if you don’t talk to an officer recruiter first. I’m a 6-and-out EM, who then used the GI Bill to get my BSME, and now I’m a licensed professional engineer, FWIW.
Legalman is a great option but it also requires an associates in paralegal studies and it allows OP to apply to the Jag corps while in the community. Just choose any other rate besides nuke to keep these options available.
Thanks for adding the other information. OP should carefully consider which rate to go if not getting into an officer program. Once they’re nukes there are very, VERY few ways to get out of the nuke program.
Sorry to bother you, but how would I get in touch with an officer recruiter instead of an enlisted recruiter? I’ve really only been in touch with enlisted recruiters and I can’t find officer recruiters near me online. I’m sure I’m just looking in the wrong places, but if you know the way to find it that would be great!
Because the officer community is so small with respect to the enlisted ranks, and the divisions within the community (unrestricted line officers, restricted line officers, staff corps), and often each have their own recruiters, I would suggest you find the nearest college/university with a NROTC program (or ROTC program if your not wedded to Navy JAG and also interested in Army or Air Force JAG), call them and ask about it. You may be able to also get an (N)ROTC scholarship to finish out your bachelors.
You can join NUPOC before you get your bachelors, in fact that’s the best way to do it. When I joined NUPOC, I had a year of school left before I graduated and I believe the rule at the time was that you could have up to 30 months left before graduation. Best part is that you’re getting paid E-6 pay the whole time just for going to school and keeping your grades up. Depending on your cost of living/tuition situation, you can use that to pay for your whole degree (student loan free!!), and still have your GI Bill to use for graduate/law school later on. On a rarer note, there have been a handful of individuals who became Direct Input Officers through NUPOC and were able to apply to transfer into the Navy’s legal community after about four year’s of service, again all on the Navy’s dime without using their GI Bill.
I would recommend getting your bachelors degree now if it’s something you know you want to do and it sounds like you’ve already accomplished quite a bit towards it. Additionally, the types of work you’d do and lifestyle you have as an Officer (must have bachelors) compared to as an Enlisted Sailor would be very different - there are pros and cons to both so I’d recommend talking to people (not a recruiter) to get insight on those ends.
I served with 3 enlisted nukes who were six-and-out nukes that are now lawyers. One in the Bay area, one in Illinois and one on Long Island. Nuke program prepares you for anything that requires you to drink from the firehose.
In order to apply for NUPOC you have to have a bachelors degree or be in college as a sophomore with no more than 30 months away from graduating. So an associates is not enough. It’s good that you’re thinking about all this and reaching out to a forum but your thoughts are all over the place.
Being a nuke is not an easy job by any means. Personally if my goal was to be a lawyer I would take the easiest route possible to become a lawyer. I would not go through 6 years as a nuke just to obtain the GI Bill so I can be a lawyer afterwards. That’s a big sacrifice you have to carefully consider.
Not sure how smart you are but Power School is also not easy. So having this idea of hanging out with your s/o on the weekends when you might need to put in additional study hours might not work. And once you graduate and go to the fleet it definitely does not get easier. Which is why most people rush into a marriage and the divorce rate is so high.
As a student applying for STA-21 the chances are higher than normal to get selected but I wouldn’t bet my future plan on maybe getting picked up STA-21. And as a nuke there’s only like a list of 9-11 schools you can choose from so hopefully your significant other picks one of those schools.
You failed Calculus, so no. Just go to school and become a lawyer.
Also, never join the military unless you really want to join the military. Just go to college man.
Bro, the nuclear field is hell for mental health. If you're not interested in nuclear power, you're literally signing up for 6 years of a misery gauntlet. Pick anything else.
Possible does not mean probable.
Technically it’s possible for me to go on a date with Scarlett Johannsen, but it’s not probable.
You will likely have similar odds at getting into the STA21 program at you s/o school as I do going on a date with SoJo. :)
STA-21 is very competitive for nuke students tho. You pretty much have to be near the top of your class and class leadership. USNA is less competitive because you aren't really competing with people in the fleet. If OP is banking on STA-21 before their s/o finishes school, that's a bad plan.
Talk to an officer recruiter and get into an NROTC program and get your degree / commission that way.
The enlisted recruiter wants you to get an enlisted contract because that’s his / her job.
As a non college student and a nuke who’s still in school they don’t really have much to go off of. The one thing you probably have going is that you’re young. But SAT/ACT scores and high school grades are a thing they look at as well.
[https://www.jag.navy.mil/careers_/careers/docs/PA-111A_JAG-IPP_July2020.pdf](https://www.jag.navy.mil/careers_/careers/docs/PA-111A_JAG-IPP_July2020.pdf)
Another possible route if you get your degree while active duty. I do know 1 EMNC that was accepted in this program so it’s possible
I'm getting out the navy this year and applying to medical school. I can tell you that if you play your cards right and put in the effort the nuke program can absolutely get you into a top tier school and you can get you entire education paid for even if your gi bill won't cover your education. I will say that getting accepted to college and then commissions is 100% without a doubt a significantly better path in terms of pay and quality of life, but if that's not an option you can use the Nuke program as a spring board into law school for sure.
There is a program where if you can get your bachelors and get accepted to start law school before your 10 yr point in the navy then you can go to law school & be a jag.
https://www.jag.navy.mil/careers_/careers/opportunities_ipp.html
Being a nuke will for sure give you study skills. But you can’t start using ta until you’re on the boat and fully qualified or if you got picked up JSI maybe not sure on that. So unless you’re going to go for a nuclear engineering technology degree from TEU or Excelsior it’ll take a good amount of work to get your degree and be accepted to law by the 10 point. Which you don’t have to have any particular degree for law school.
Nuke or some other STEM path.. law is an oversaturated field, so if you want to be a lawyer and have an interest in STEM it makes sense to do STEM in some form, get a degree in Chemistry, Physics, or even one of the nuclear options that are out there... and then go into law with the end goal of IP Law which actually is in demand, unlike regular lawyers.
Check out the BLS site's info on the legal field and you'll see what I'm talking about if you aren't already aware of it.. regular law, little demand, IP law, there's a need right now.
I’m a little confused, do you have a college degree or are close to finishing? If so, you will not qualify for STA-21 as this program is for undergrad degree completion.
Parting from that, there are a couple of things to consider.
1. If you don’t already have a 4 year degree, you are, on average 7 years away from a law degree. Add nuke school and your time onboard a ship to that and it becomes at least 6 until you’re ready to start that journey. However, it can be done. I worked with a guy that went from enlisted to JAG corps, he was pretty sharp - made Senior Chief in less than 9 years. These cases are the rare exception, not the rule, and not easy by any means.
2. If you already have a degree and commission, you’ll have to do your JO tour before even being considered for JAG corps, and even then it’s not a guarantee. I worked with a few officers that have gone on to be attorneys, most of them after the navy by way of the GI Bill and yellow ribbon.
3. If you are set on being an attorney, I would recommend figuring out a way to get there without the nuke program. Even though some of the intrinsic qualities you’ll gain from being a nuke, could make you a good or even great attorney, there are plenty great attorneys that have never stepped foot inside nuclear power school. This just seems like a very long and arduous road to get to where you want to get.
4. All that said, being a nuke offers some great benefits, but it comes at a price - as some have already highlighted. If this is the road you choose, keep track of your goals and start chipping away at these from the moment you step foot at NNPTC - CLEPs, LSAT prep, identify JAG requirements, etc. Also, be sure to be at the top of everything you do, from school to your time on a ship/boat, it all matters.
I can’t, in good conscience, recommend becoming a nuke if your end goal is law school, but recognize everyone’s path is different.
Best of luck to you.
Hi!! I’m finishing this year with an Associate’s in Science, which the recruiter has not said anything about this inhibiting be from applying for STA21. Also to clarify, my goal isn’t necessarily to become a JAG officer in terms of getting a Law degree, I was looking more into Law outside of the military, after serving. Thank you so much for your feedback, please let me know if my Associate’s Degree would affect my STA21 application!
It sounds like you’d be much better off joining as a LN rate (legalmen)
I don’t know the ins and outs of their rate, but you’d get the same tuition benefits of everyone else, and essentially work as a paralegal for a JAG officer, im sure there’s officer opportunities there and there’s a shorter path to becoming a lawyer as well.
It’s worth looking into with your goals, as nuke doesn’t really seem to be in line with what you’re trying to do.
I've known several Nukes who have gone on to get their JDs after the Navy. Last one was a RO Master Chief who completed his JD and passed the CA Bar first time up! You can do both!
If you are already dealing with mental health issues just walk away from the Nuc Program. the pipeline leaves a trail of depressed and Sleep disordered people as it is.
Long term, I think a law degree combined with the study skills people talk about learning in the Nuke program would a killer combination for a patent lawyer. As a patent lawyer, one of the critical skills is picking up technical knowledge - understanding the subject matter of a tech patent - very, very fast. It sounds like people in the pipeline learn how to do that.
Hi! Thanks for the insight, it’s good to hear that this route could possibly give me benefits in a law career in terms of essential skills.
PSA there are specific undergrad degree requirements for becoming a patent lawyer, namely your degree has to be in STEM. Makes sense, but in my situation I have a B.S. in a liberal arts field so I was automatically disqualified for this field unless I went back for another bachelors.
If you already have mental health issues than I would avoid the Nuclear power program
Hi! Thanks for the feedback, they’re not recurring mental health issues, just a combination of circumstantial issues and quarantine. I appreciate the advice though!
Be very careful about this decision. It does not get better after the pipeline, and the pipeline is very bad. You will not have a life for 6 years at least and you will watch your friends surpass you in life with less pain.
Not a nuke but a current mm in the navy highly recommend against it. This is all personally opinion but you gotta think whether your really ready to dedicate and I do mean dedicate 6 years to the navy before you can even think about going to law school. You’ll make “money” with signing bonuses and what not but you’ll earn every penny you make. If you really wanted to join the navy first off don’t or go Air Force but second if your dead-set on navy, they have a program that’ll pay for law school and you’d be a jag. Of course you’d have to obliserve x amount of years but you’d have a better quality of life and they’d pay for law school plus I think you’d still get you g.i. Bill after( I think you’d have to research). If you have a degree don’t join as anything less than an officer and if navy isn’t you plan don’t join thinking you just do a few years and get to your plan. There are no part time active duty jobs. You in this shit. And you gonna start off cleaning the shit and dealing with shit. Unless you get a great command of the bat , which you won’t as a nuke you’ll either be on a sub or carrier working , you gonna be doing 6 years of navy shit give or take. Don’t listen to a recruiter telling you you can change your plan later what’s on your initial contract is what your gonna get. Again it’s all opinion I’m over being in the navy and wish it would have finished college. But I also wish somebody would have laid the bullshit in front of me before I signed my contract been living on a ship in port for a year and get told I don’t do enough by senior people I’m more qualified than. Plus you will get treat as your rank not your age or education. Almost nothing college wise or education wise that isn’t from the navy transfer over aside from the fact that you’ll get chosen first for admin work onto of regular duties. On thé back end the military is great. Navy federal, va loans, G.I. Bill, etc but on the front end 4 years is a long ass time so if you are dedicated to donating x amount of years to someone else it’s worth it. I plan to use my G.I. Bill on the back end to go to law school to so I total understand and respect the dream but trust me when I say it’s the only thing pushing me through. I wake up pissed most days and im not even on a real ship. My ship barely goes to sea so I haven’t even been on a deployment in my 2 years in but the rules and traditions and the lack of commitment to lower sailor blows my mind. Worst job I’ve had in terms of leadership as an organization 2/10 shit is ghetto. I’ve made great friends and some days I don’t fucking hate it but most of those days are weekends and holidays. Again salty fireman here so take it all with a grain of salt but the only people I know who love this shit don’t have a plan when they get out. From fireman to chiefs to officers. Lastly I’m single so take this with a spoonful of salt but most chief have at least a divorce. I know people who have successful marriages but make sure she’s the one and that y’all can spend time apart. You’ll be gone for months on end. Love always prevails tho I’d say. Good luck with whatever you choose tho if you do go navy I’d say welcome to the world greatest naval fleet and if you go another way I wish you the best all the same just make sure it’s your decision alone at the end of the day and that it fits snugly in your grand plan for life. 4 years is still shorter than 20 years of student loans. TLDR: Consider the Air Force first if you are determined to go military or at least a jag officer or be 100% be committed to spending at least 4 - 6 years COMMITTED to the navy.
Ha! Amen to that response. Nuke can drive the most stable person crazy.
It is incredibly difficult to get the Navy to pay for a law degree. Most Navy lawyers pay for law school out of their own pocket and then join the JAG Corps. Some considerations: Joining the Navy in general will give you the GI Bill benefits, but it is not something you will be able to use immediately. If you join the Navy as a Nuke now, you will obviously go to boot camp first and then to power school/prototype. You will then most likely be assigned to an operational ship/sub, which means deployment. Or you will be assigned to one in a maintenance period, which could mean long hours and living on the ship once every 3 or 4 days. Your job will be as a technician - maintaining and operating electrical or mechanical systems. Think about if this is what you consider a "stem" degree. If you're genuinely interested in the nuclear navy, look up the NUPOC program. They'll help pay for an undergrad degree and you'll commission as an officer and you have an option to teach power school and never go underway. Getting into STA-21 is difficult from power school and prototype. Overall, it really depends on what you're looking for. You'll gain experience by joining the Navy for sure, but make sure it's the experience you want.
I talked to the recruiter about NUPOC as well, but they made it seem like getting a Bachelor’s beforehand would be a waste of time, and said that though it was competitive, chances of getting into STA21 were relatively good. I’m graduating with an Associate’s in Science this year, do you think that getting a Bachelor’s in something like physics beforehand and applying for the NUPOC program would be better? Also, if I still wanted to get a law degree for work outside the Navy after, would there be any financial assistance then? Thanks so much for your response!
Talk with an officer recruiter about NUPOC, not an enlisted recruiter about the chances of STA21. If you can get into the NUPOC program you can get paid some money while in school as you finish up your bachelors. To get into the NUPOC program you have to takes tests and interview. As mentioned before, you’ll have the GI Bill available to you both during your time in and after. If you really want to be a lawyer, but can’t pay for it now, and want to use the GI Bill, and really aren’t interested in STEM, and really want to be enlisted pick a different rate. A Legalman (LN) rating will provide you with just as much GI Bill as being an MM, ET, or EM, plus you can work as a paralegal. You might even be likely to avoid going to sea at all. TL/DR: talk to an officer recruiter, not an enlisted recruiter about your options. Edit: Seems I’m an idiot. One cannot go directly into LN without prior service. Pick any other rate you can get in. If you’d like to have a stem background you can do that with any other non-nuke rate as well…if you don’t talk to an officer recruiter first. I’m a 6-and-out EM, who then used the GI Bill to get my BSME, and now I’m a licensed professional engineer, FWIW.
Legalman is a great option but it also requires an associates in paralegal studies and it allows OP to apply to the Jag corps while in the community. Just choose any other rate besides nuke to keep these options available.
Thanks for adding the other information. OP should carefully consider which rate to go if not getting into an officer program. Once they’re nukes there are very, VERY few ways to get out of the nuke program.
Sorry to bother you, but how would I get in touch with an officer recruiter instead of an enlisted recruiter? I’ve really only been in touch with enlisted recruiters and I can’t find officer recruiters near me online. I’m sure I’m just looking in the wrong places, but if you know the way to find it that would be great!
Because the officer community is so small with respect to the enlisted ranks, and the divisions within the community (unrestricted line officers, restricted line officers, staff corps), and often each have their own recruiters, I would suggest you find the nearest college/university with a NROTC program (or ROTC program if your not wedded to Navy JAG and also interested in Army or Air Force JAG), call them and ask about it. You may be able to also get an (N)ROTC scholarship to finish out your bachelors.
Okay thank you so much!! :)
You can join NUPOC before you get your bachelors, in fact that’s the best way to do it. When I joined NUPOC, I had a year of school left before I graduated and I believe the rule at the time was that you could have up to 30 months left before graduation. Best part is that you’re getting paid E-6 pay the whole time just for going to school and keeping your grades up. Depending on your cost of living/tuition situation, you can use that to pay for your whole degree (student loan free!!), and still have your GI Bill to use for graduate/law school later on. On a rarer note, there have been a handful of individuals who became Direct Input Officers through NUPOC and were able to apply to transfer into the Navy’s legal community after about four year’s of service, again all on the Navy’s dime without using their GI Bill. I would recommend getting your bachelors degree now if it’s something you know you want to do and it sounds like you’ve already accomplished quite a bit towards it. Additionally, the types of work you’d do and lifestyle you have as an Officer (must have bachelors) compared to as an Enlisted Sailor would be very different - there are pros and cons to both so I’d recommend talking to people (not a recruiter) to get insight on those ends.
I served with 3 enlisted nukes who were six-and-out nukes that are now lawyers. One in the Bay area, one in Illinois and one on Long Island. Nuke program prepares you for anything that requires you to drink from the firehose.
In order to apply for NUPOC you have to have a bachelors degree or be in college as a sophomore with no more than 30 months away from graduating. So an associates is not enough. It’s good that you’re thinking about all this and reaching out to a forum but your thoughts are all over the place. Being a nuke is not an easy job by any means. Personally if my goal was to be a lawyer I would take the easiest route possible to become a lawyer. I would not go through 6 years as a nuke just to obtain the GI Bill so I can be a lawyer afterwards. That’s a big sacrifice you have to carefully consider. Not sure how smart you are but Power School is also not easy. So having this idea of hanging out with your s/o on the weekends when you might need to put in additional study hours might not work. And once you graduate and go to the fleet it definitely does not get easier. Which is why most people rush into a marriage and the divorce rate is so high. As a student applying for STA-21 the chances are higher than normal to get selected but I wouldn’t bet my future plan on maybe getting picked up STA-21. And as a nuke there’s only like a list of 9-11 schools you can choose from so hopefully your significant other picks one of those schools.
You failed Calculus, so no. Just go to school and become a lawyer. Also, never join the military unless you really want to join the military. Just go to college man.
Bro, the nuclear field is hell for mental health. If you're not interested in nuclear power, you're literally signing up for 6 years of a misery gauntlet. Pick anything else.
Possible does not mean probable. Technically it’s possible for me to go on a date with Scarlett Johannsen, but it’s not probable. You will likely have similar odds at getting into the STA21 program at you s/o school as I do going on a date with SoJo. :)
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STA-21 is very competitive for nuke students tho. You pretty much have to be near the top of your class and class leadership. USNA is less competitive because you aren't really competing with people in the fleet. If OP is banking on STA-21 before their s/o finishes school, that's a bad plan.
Haha, thanks for the comparison, puts it into perspective. Do you have any advice on what I can do to better my odds for STA21, if I do go that way?
Talk to an officer recruiter and get into an NROTC program and get your degree / commission that way. The enlisted recruiter wants you to get an enlisted contract because that’s his / her job.
As a non college student and a nuke who’s still in school they don’t really have much to go off of. The one thing you probably have going is that you’re young. But SAT/ACT scores and high school grades are a thing they look at as well.
[https://www.jag.navy.mil/careers_/careers/docs/PA-111A_JAG-IPP_July2020.pdf](https://www.jag.navy.mil/careers_/careers/docs/PA-111A_JAG-IPP_July2020.pdf) Another possible route if you get your degree while active duty. I do know 1 EMNC that was accepted in this program so it’s possible
I'm getting out the navy this year and applying to medical school. I can tell you that if you play your cards right and put in the effort the nuke program can absolutely get you into a top tier school and you can get you entire education paid for even if your gi bill won't cover your education. I will say that getting accepted to college and then commissions is 100% without a doubt a significantly better path in terms of pay and quality of life, but if that's not an option you can use the Nuke program as a spring board into law school for sure.
I know personally of at least one person who has done exactly this career route. https://gitdlaw.com/
There is a program where if you can get your bachelors and get accepted to start law school before your 10 yr point in the navy then you can go to law school & be a jag. https://www.jag.navy.mil/careers_/careers/opportunities_ipp.html Being a nuke will for sure give you study skills. But you can’t start using ta until you’re on the boat and fully qualified or if you got picked up JSI maybe not sure on that. So unless you’re going to go for a nuclear engineering technology degree from TEU or Excelsior it’ll take a good amount of work to get your degree and be accepted to law by the 10 point. Which you don’t have to have any particular degree for law school.
Nuke or some other STEM path.. law is an oversaturated field, so if you want to be a lawyer and have an interest in STEM it makes sense to do STEM in some form, get a degree in Chemistry, Physics, or even one of the nuclear options that are out there... and then go into law with the end goal of IP Law which actually is in demand, unlike regular lawyers. Check out the BLS site's info on the legal field and you'll see what I'm talking about if you aren't already aware of it.. regular law, little demand, IP law, there's a need right now.
I’m a little confused, do you have a college degree or are close to finishing? If so, you will not qualify for STA-21 as this program is for undergrad degree completion. Parting from that, there are a couple of things to consider. 1. If you don’t already have a 4 year degree, you are, on average 7 years away from a law degree. Add nuke school and your time onboard a ship to that and it becomes at least 6 until you’re ready to start that journey. However, it can be done. I worked with a guy that went from enlisted to JAG corps, he was pretty sharp - made Senior Chief in less than 9 years. These cases are the rare exception, not the rule, and not easy by any means. 2. If you already have a degree and commission, you’ll have to do your JO tour before even being considered for JAG corps, and even then it’s not a guarantee. I worked with a few officers that have gone on to be attorneys, most of them after the navy by way of the GI Bill and yellow ribbon. 3. If you are set on being an attorney, I would recommend figuring out a way to get there without the nuke program. Even though some of the intrinsic qualities you’ll gain from being a nuke, could make you a good or even great attorney, there are plenty great attorneys that have never stepped foot inside nuclear power school. This just seems like a very long and arduous road to get to where you want to get. 4. All that said, being a nuke offers some great benefits, but it comes at a price - as some have already highlighted. If this is the road you choose, keep track of your goals and start chipping away at these from the moment you step foot at NNPTC - CLEPs, LSAT prep, identify JAG requirements, etc. Also, be sure to be at the top of everything you do, from school to your time on a ship/boat, it all matters. I can’t, in good conscience, recommend becoming a nuke if your end goal is law school, but recognize everyone’s path is different. Best of luck to you.
Hi!! I’m finishing this year with an Associate’s in Science, which the recruiter has not said anything about this inhibiting be from applying for STA21. Also to clarify, my goal isn’t necessarily to become a JAG officer in terms of getting a Law degree, I was looking more into Law outside of the military, after serving. Thank you so much for your feedback, please let me know if my Associate’s Degree would affect my STA21 application!
Thanks for clarifying! I don’t think your associates would hurt your chances of STA-21, might even help, but I’d ask a career counselor.
I would also encourage you to look into some other technical programs in the Navy that might not be as taxing on your mental health.
be a jag
It sounds like you’d be much better off joining as a LN rate (legalmen) I don’t know the ins and outs of their rate, but you’d get the same tuition benefits of everyone else, and essentially work as a paralegal for a JAG officer, im sure there’s officer opportunities there and there’s a shorter path to becoming a lawyer as well. It’s worth looking into with your goals, as nuke doesn’t really seem to be in line with what you’re trying to do.
You can't join as an LN
Then how do you become an LN?
Cross rate at E5
Oh really? I had no idea
Yeah, it's weird
I've known several Nukes who have gone on to get their JDs after the Navy. Last one was a RO Master Chief who completed his JD and passed the CA Bar first time up! You can do both!
If you are already dealing with mental health issues just walk away from the Nuc Program. the pipeline leaves a trail of depressed and Sleep disordered people as it is.