Considering Navy CEC & Military Engr. Programs

[JRed04]

Hello everyone,

I am a recent college graduate holding a mechanical engineering degree and I am considering joining the military as an engineer, but I need some advice from the veterans out there. At this time I am looking at two completely different career paths; Air Force Developmental Engineer and the Navy CEC.

What I am interested in is finding someone who can give me an idea of an average day at work in the CEC (both good and bad days) and the same for the Air Force Developmental Position.

Another important question related to the CEC pertains to life after the Navy or my future career path. My dad felt that it might be difficult competing for a job after being in the CEC because I have a degree in mechanical engineering and not civil engineering. He believes there would be a lot of people with degrees in civil engineering coming out of the program and that I would be passed over for one of them if I went into the civil engineering world.

My third and final question is related to the previous one. I would like to know what kinds of jobs CEC veterans and Air Force developmental engineers are going into after completing their tour. Basically, are these experiences respected in areas other than construction/civil and developmental engineering? Sorry for the long post, but please help me out as I am very interested in these opportunities.

 

[ArcticSapper]

First I commend you for considering service to your country. The question is what do you want to do? These are two distinct career fields in two distinct branches of service. It is good you are asking the right questions.

Since I was an Engineer in the Army I can only answer the third question. Like you my BS is in ME. During my time in the Army I was sent to numerous leadership and technical schools and was able to earn an MS in Civil (the principle discipline I was working in). The point is there are significant training opportunities for officers in any branch of service. Reference your father's comment: They will teach you what you need to know. They are looking for intelligent people they can train. My experience was that performance mattered more than what degree you had or what school you went to.

I left the Army after commanding of an engineer company in Iraq and over 8 years of service. I easily moved into a into the petro-chemical industry. The skill set that the company hired was leadership with a technical background. Don't kid yourself, regardless of the path you select when you finally transition from military to civilian life you may be behind your "peers" from a technical standpoint. I would challenge that this would be the case whenever you change careers. You will have to quickly get back onto or ahead of the power curve through self study and just listening to experienced people.

This perspective was from my foxhole. Ask another officer and I am sure they will give you a different perspective. I hope your experience will be as positive as mine was. Good luck and stay safe...