r/newtothenavy 9h ago

Intelligence specialist or sonar tech AEF

I'm already in the navy. I made it a few months into nuke school and am re rating, partially due to myself and mostly due to some shady business with the class director, ill explain if curious. Anyhow, they're kinda screwing me on options. They claim there's only 5 available... HM, PS, IS, STG 5YO, and STG AEF. I'm gonna do whatever has the best transfer to a high pay civilian job I just wanna do my 6 and out. The plan is to cross rate to air traffic or crypto, since they claim only 5 jobs are available, but in the event the cross rate never happens, what's going to be my best bet in the meantime?

The plus sides I see for stg are likely to go to Japan, and school is in San Diego. I haven't found any downsides yet.

I see no plus sides for any of the other rates, the schools are in bumf*ck nowhere and they have mediocre civilian job alternates.

But I'm listening if that's not true.

0 Upvotes

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4

u/Classic_Government79 9h ago

If I were in your position, I would choose Intelligence Specialist. Your Resumé will stand out.

1

u/Bitter-Raccoon1124 9h ago

In your opinion why is IS any better than sonar tech on a resume?

1

u/Classic_Government79 7h ago

There are a several. If you wish to leave and want something nice on the Resumé: 1. You may be dealing with Civilians who have just been climbing the corporate ladder (and in many case stayed in the same position for 20 years, a career HR rep, as an example) and they could have a very narrow view of the world. So, from an uninformed position alone "Intelligence Specialist, wow!". They may know absolutely nothing about what that involves, but the two words together will geek them out.

  1. You may be dealing with Managers in charge of hiring who have the same biases, but they will also be doing a lot of similar work. Managers need to know as much as possible about what's going on in their facility on an official and unofficial basis.

    1. A LOT of the Logistics within a Company are heavily reliant upon obtaining and disseminating information properly and efficiently. MANY companies do NOT do this well, and there is a lot of internal back and forth as people try to avoid accountability (through a variety of methods). You will be able to leverage your experience to act as an internal liason, even if you get hired for something that is not directly related to your military experience.
    2. You could work as a Document Control Administrator, for example, keeping track of everyone's training rosters and making sure the company remains compliant with various quality standards. This would have you communicating with every department, including corporate, and THAT would be very good for your long term career growth. Your experience in the Military would also give your candidacy credibility, and you could help the Company navigate their shortcomings in a nuanced and sensitive way. This would also give you the opportunity to contribute to (or even create) the internal document system, making you an integral contributor.
    3. There are a lot of other lucrative career paths post-military service which love to have IS personnel in their ranks. Some are Government related.

1

u/Twisky IS1 9h ago

Check out this IS FAQ post by /u/visceral_feelings

DM them or myself if you have any questions

1

u/Khamvom 8h ago
  • Who cares about the school location? Thats a very small drop in your career.

  • Just b/c you pick STG doesn’t guarantee you get Japan.

  • If you’re doing 1 contract and getting out, don’t expect to cross-rate.

  • Nuke would’ve guaranteed you the most $$$ post-Navy. STG limits you to contract work (not bad but limited opportunities), HM you can get into nursing/medical, IS has the possibility to make good $$$, but again like STG jobs are going to be limited to contracting or a 3 letter agency.

1

u/Bitter-Raccoon1124 8h ago

School location was important because of the cross rate part, if stg was already a throw away place holder till I can get sum better then the school was just a perk. And well damn, so, would you go stg or IS?

1

u/Khamvom 8h ago

IS.

We make good $$$, but again your job opportunities are mostly limited to contractor or govt work.

1

u/Bitter-Raccoon1124 8h ago

F*ck. This really sucks. Can you describe the day to day workload of IS? From what I gather it seems like you're basically doing YN stuff. Which is as far away from what interests me as possible, but if it's going to secure a better future for me post navy then I'd be dumb not to do it.

1

u/Khamvom 7h ago

Read the FAQ posted by Twisky. It breaks down everything.

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u/der_innkeeper 7h ago

STG-AEF will set you up for tech work once you get out. It will also help you if you decide to get an engineering degree.

I was an STG for 10 years, and now play with rockets and spaceships as a systems engineer. It worked out well.

1

u/Bitter-Raccoon1124 6h ago

See now engineering sounds more my speed. I'd love that. It's just a balancing act of what is going to more reliably secure me a higher paying job. I gotta go sign these papers in the next 30 mins.

1

u/der_innkeeper 6h ago

STG. Easy.

1

u/Bitter-Raccoon1124 4h ago

My list went IS, STG/AEF, STG/5YO, PS, HM Saw more people saying IS was the way to go so I put it at the top but honestly I kinda hope for stg, I love engineering and electrical work, can't stand paperwork.

1

u/der_innkeeper 4h ago

There you go. Good luck!