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NavyTechnical / CyberRank #8 of 101 by 4-year cost
NF

Nuclear Field (Nuclear Propulsion)

52-week pipeline · Recruit Training + Nuclear Power School + Prototype Training + Fleet Qualification · NNPTC Charleston, SC + Various Prototype Sites
Training Pipeline
$200K
52 weeks
Annual MILPERS
$91K
E-4, 3 years service (post-qualification)
Equipment Burden
$5K
per year (amortized)
4-Year Total Cost
$583K
DoD investment
4-Year Cost Breakdown
Training Pipeline
$200K34%
Military Personnel (MILPERS × 4yr)
$363K62%
Equipment Burden (× 4yr)
$20K3%
Training: 34% · MILPERS: 62% · Equipment: 3%= $583K
By the Numbers

The Navy pays $27,360/year in nuclear duty incentive pay to E-4 nuclear operators — more than some E-4s earn in total base pay. Nuclear-trained sailors are irreplaceable, and the Navy pays accordingly to retain them.

The $200K training investment per nuclear sailor is justified by their role: they operate the propulsion systems of $3B submarines and $13B aircraft carriers.

Training Pipeline
Duration
52 weeks
Type
Recruit Training + Nuclear Power School + Prototype Training + Fleet Qualification
Location
NNPTC Charleston, SC + Various Prototype Sites
Pipeline Cost
$200K

Nuclear Power School is 24 weeks of graduate-level physics, thermodynamics, and reactor engineering. It's taught at the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command — and the washout rate is approximately 20%.

Equipment & Annual Burden
Assigned Equipment
  • ·Nuclear Reactor Plant Controls
  • ·Radiation Monitoring Equipment
  • ·Engineering Logs Systems
  • ·Safety Equipment
Annual Equipment Burden
$5K/yr
Nuclear plant share — not publicly attributable per individual
Military Personnel Cost (Annual)
Grade BenchmarkE-4, 3 years service (post-qualification)
Base MILPERS$63K/yr
Specialty Pay(Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate (NPOC) Pay, Nuclear Duty Pay, Nuclear Career Annual Incentive Bonus (NCAIB))+$27K/yr
Total Annual MILPERS$91K/yr
Specialty pays account for $27K annually (30% of total compensation).
Force Structure Context
Annual Accessions~2,200
Avg Career Length8 years
Annual Training Bill$440.0M
Total Force 4yr Cost$1.3B
Read NF Reviews →← All MOS ProfilesAverage Per-Soldier Cost →
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4-year total
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$722K
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CTI
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$498K
4-year total

Cost estimates derived from DoD Comptroller per-soldier analysis, RAND Corporation military personnel studies, CBO military compensation reports, service-specific training cost testimony, and published equipment unit costs. Error margin ±15%. Individual costs vary by duty station, assignment, and deployment tempo. This is Phase 3 of the Honest MOS DoD Budget Intelligence Roadmap.