Didn't Get CTN, Forced to take ET instead

jabONE · 10-20-2015, 05:08 PM

I hope everything works out for you. If I were in your position I would take ET and pick up E-5 then try to convert over in a couple years. Cyber is growing and will be a huge part of the Navy's future. Sorry you have had to wait so long to get what you want with no luck. I actually am one of those E-3s converting over that your talking about. You know what they say, "Choose your rate, choose your fate." I came into the Navy 4 years ago wanting to be a Nuke but duse to politics I did not get it and I am thankful for that now. After getting denied Nuke, I wanted to be a CTN as my recruiter was a CTM and had talked to me about the CTN path. Well it was not available at MEPS and instead of pushing harder for it, I settled for HM. Fast forward 4 years later and I am an E-3 with no NJPs or any trouble at all for that matter and I have scored fairly well on my advancement exams. Because HM advancement is so tough, I have ended up missing E-4 by just a few points the last 4 cycles. I am fortunate enough that I got the opportunity to convert to something I have wanted to do for the last 4 years ago. Don't get me wrong, HM is a great rate with a very honorable history but it just isn't and never was for me. Sincerely though, this may be the opportunity you get at coming back into the Navy so I would jump on it and try a conversion later. I wish you the best of luck and maybe we will see each other out in the fleet sometime.

KaLinux · 10-21-2015, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabONE

I hope everything works out for you. If I were in your position I would take ET and pick up E-5 then try to convert over in a couple years. Cyber is growing and will be a huge part of the Navy's future. Sorry you have had to wait so long to get what you want with no luck. I actually am one of those E-3s converting over that your talking about. You know what they say, "Choose your rate, choose your fate." I came into the Navy 4 years ago wanting to be a Nuke but duse to politics I did not get it and I am thankful for that now. After getting denied Nuke, I wanted to be a CTN as my recruiter was a CTM and had talked to me about the CTN path. Well it was not available at MEPS and instead of pushing harder for it, I settled for HM. Fast forward 4 years later and I am an E-3 with no NJPs or any trouble at all for that matter and I have scored fairly well on my advancement exams. Because HM advancement is so tough, I have ended up missing E-4 by just a few points the last 4 cycles. I am fortunate enough that I got the opportunity to convert to something I have wanted to do for the last 4 years ago. Don't get me wrong, HM is a great rate with a very honorable history but it just isn't and never was for me. Sincerely though, this may be the opportunity you get at coming back into the Navy so I would jump on it and try a conversion later. I wish you the best of luck and maybe we will see each other out in the fleet sometime.

Wow, your story sounds similar to mine. The thing is, I was fortunate to experience many different faces of the Navy but I was hindered throughout my tenure. I came in as a PNSN which then became PS. Advancement to PS3 was between 0.3% to 7% for my first 6 exams. During that time I was stationed on CV-67 working as a temporary MA. I was an MA for 16 months then went to the next ship working as a PS. While on this ship the Navy wanted to try and transition PSs to shore duty, PCSing most of us off the ship. This didn't work out so they PCS us back to the ship right before cruise. Due to the crappy advancement, I chose the most open rate at the time...AE (FTS). I go to P-Cola, then PCS'd up to NAS JRB Willow Grow. Made E-4 first time up. While in WG, we find out that they're finally gonna shut the base down. Base gets shut down and I PCS'd down to NAS Jax. While here, advancement to AE2 is less that 15% the entire time I was there. 8 years, 5 duty stations, 4 different rates (voluntarily worked with LS's and BM's at different commands), quals ranging from SRF-A to Helmsman. Never been to DRB (two Good Conducts), no NAMs and I've only seen one EP eval..my separation eval. So I've been very adamant about doing things a specific way my next go round. I just need to make E-5 lol. That's been my obstacle for the longest time. Sad thing is, I have until February to learn the ET bibs while also studying for computer networking certifications out here. Whereas, had I been able to go CTN, I would just have to brush up on a couple languages because I'm literally getting my bachelors in Computing and Security and already have a well rounded knowledge base in this particular realm.

Sorry for the bio lol.

jabONE · 10-21-2015, 12:10 PM

No it is cool, I completely understand the advancement part. I think the highest it has been for HM for the E-4 exam since I have been in was 17 percent. Now when you have 6000+ people taking the exam each by time it is hard. I have taken the CTN practice quizzes that they have on Navy BMW website and have done fairly well on those so I am hopeful about CTN school. Good luck again with everything, I truly wish you the best with your career.

KaLinux · 10-21-2015, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabONE

No it is cool, I completely understand the advancement part. I think the highest it has been for HM for the E-4 exam since I have been in was 17 percent. Now when you have 6000+ people taking the exam each by time it is hard. I have taken the CTN practice quizzes that they have on Navy BMW website and have done fairly well on those so I am hopeful about CTN school. Good luck again with everything, I truly wish you the best with your career.

I appreciate it shipmate! Same to you. Oh and I'll probably see you in the fleet someday because I will get CTN. Whether it's in the RC or AC.

V/R,

AE3(AW) Henderson

KaLinux · 06-10-2017, 07:57 PM

Sorry, but I had to bump this thread lol! Everything I was told by the recruiter was a lie (go figure). I am currently in ET "A" School, HAHA! I was unable to take the exam once I reenlisted. I have missed 3 exams since I've been back in the reserves. Some people that are crossing over to ET were able to take the exam, I wasn't. No biggie though. I will absolutely take the exam this September once I'm finished with A school. 100% advancement to ET2 in the reserves. The downside is that I'll have to wait 18 months to convert over to CTN.

CTN is still the ultimate goal. ET's strongly believe they have the best rate in the Navy. It's very likely that I'll never perform actual ET work on the Reserve side though. Also, no one knows what CT's do on a daily basis, so they're left out of the "Best Rate" equation. CTN's are like Pegacorns to the rest of the Navy lol. I don't care what the best rate is, I just have a passion for InfoSec and learning. I'll be starting my MS in Cybersecurity :Cyber Ops/ Malware Analysis at Utica College in January. I CANNOT WAIT!

I say all of this to just give an update. I will become a CTN.....someday lol.

Barbazu · 06-11-2017, 02:29 PM

Although ETs don't really delve into the IT world if you're at a NOSC there's a possibility of catching IT as a collateral duty. My NOSC has an LS running the network. He has several other collaterals, but IT is one of them.
With that, I'm kinda surprised CTN is locked up. So many folks drop from the school. And advancement has been 100% for E4 for a while. Anyway, best of luck to you. When you hit your duty station start asking for collateral duty in IT. You may land something.

KaLinux · 06-11-2017, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbazu

Although ETs don't really delve into the IT world if you're at a NOSC there's a possibility of catching IT as a collateral duty. My NOSC has an LS running the network. He has several other collaterals, but IT is one of them.
With that, I'm kinda surprised CTN is locked up. So many folks drop from the school. And advancement has been 100% for E4 for a while. Anyway, best of luck to you. When you hit your duty station start asking for collateral duty in IT. You may land something.

I wish I could stay with my unit. I'm an ET attached to Navy Cargo Handling Battalion 8. I like my Chain of Command there. It's been explained to me that I won't stay there once I finish ET A school. I've been looking at RFAS billets. There are billets out there that I can fill as an ET. These RFAS billets have a code that allows either ET, IT, or CTN to fill them. These billets are actually IT rating billets. A chunk of them are with the DIA.

CTN is wide open in the reserves but I was unable to convert to CTN3 because CTNs get push-button E4 once school is finished. Big Navy takes that into account and says they only want about 4 CTN3s reserve-wide. When I chose to reenlist, Big Navy said 4 was 100% manning and there were 44. The numbers are still like that. NPC shows CTN convert-in opportunities for E3/5/6 and convert-out for E4. E4 has been a hindrance for me lol.

10-20-2015, 05:08 PM	#1
jabONE Active Duty Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 34 Rep Power: 9	I hope everything works out for you. If I were in your position I would take ET and pick up E-5 then try to convert over in a couple years. Cyber is growing and will be a huge part of the Navy's future. Sorry you have had to wait so long to get what you want with no luck. I actually am one of those E-3s converting over that your talking about. You know what they say, "Choose your rate, choose your fate." I came into the Navy 4 years ago wanting to be a Nuke but duse to politics I did not get it and I am thankful for that now. After getting denied Nuke, I wanted to be a CTN as my recruiter was a CTM and had talked to me about the CTN path. Well it was not available at MEPS and instead of pushing harder for it, I settled for HM. Fast forward 4 years later and I am an E-3 with no NJPs or any trouble at all for that matter and I have scored fairly well on my advancement exams. Because HM advancement is so tough, I have ended up missing E-4 by just a few points the last 4 cycles. I am fortunate enough that I got the opportunity to convert to something I have wanted to do for the last 4 years ago. Don't get me wrong, HM is a great rate with a very honorable history but it just isn't and never was for me. Sincerely though, this may be the opportunity you get at coming back into the Navy so I would jump on it and try a conversion later. I wish you the best of luck and maybe we will see each other out in the fleet sometime. __________________ Very Respectfully, CTN2 Baron

10-21-2015, 12:10 PM	#3
jabONE Active Duty Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 34 Rep Power: 9	No it is cool, I completely understand the advancement part. I think the highest it has been for HM for the E-4 exam since I have been in was 17 percent. Now when you have 6000+ people taking the exam each by time it is hard. I have taken the CTN practice quizzes that they have on Navy BMW website and have done fairly well on those so I am hopeful about CTN school. Good luck again with everything, I truly wish you the best with your career. __________________ Very Respectfully, CTN2 Baron

06-10-2017, 07:57 PM	#5
KaLinux Newbie Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 12 Rep Power: 7	Sorry, but I had to bump this thread lol! Everything I was told by the recruiter was a lie (go figure). I am currently in ET "A" School, HAHA! I was unable to take the exam once I reenlisted. I have missed 3 exams since I've been back in the reserves. Some people that are crossing over to ET were able to take the exam, I wasn't. No biggie though. I will absolutely take the exam this September once I'm finished with A school. 100% advancement to ET2 in the reserves. The downside is that I'll have to wait 18 months to convert over to CTN. CTN is still the ultimate goal. ET's strongly believe they have the best rate in the Navy. It's very likely that I'll never perform actual ET work on the Reserve side though. Also, no one knows what CT's do on a daily basis, so they're left out of the "Best Rate" equation. CTN's are like Pegacorns to the rest of the Navy lol. I don't care what the best rate is, I just have a passion for InfoSec and learning. I'll be starting my MS in Cybersecurity :Cyber Ops/ Malware Analysis at Utica College in January. I CANNOT WAIT! I say all of this to just give an update. I will become a CTN.....someday lol.

06-11-2017, 02:29 PM	#6
Barbazu Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Arkansas Posts: 237 Rep Power: 29	Although ETs don't really delve into the IT world if you're at a NOSC there's a possibility of catching IT as a collateral duty. My NOSC has an LS running the network. He has several other collaterals, but IT is one of them. With that, I'm kinda surprised CTN is locked up. So many folks drop from the school. And advancement has been 100% for E4 for a while. Anyway, best of luck to you. When you hit your duty station start asking for collateral duty in IT. You may land something.