“My Transition” #27: Nick Reed Smith— Nuclear Submarine Mechanic to Process Manager at JBM
Nick learned that the Navy prepared him to achieve any goal he set his mind to… he just had to commit.
In my opinion, the greatest lesson was how to apply myself to achieve any goal. The Navy gave me work ethic, discipline and confidence in my abilities.
Cincinnati, OH — Although he says he “was not a good student” in high school, Nick joined the Navy and became a nuclear submarine mechanic, which opened opportunities for him that he never could have imagined. His thirst for knowledge and desire to grow are inspiring.
DJS: Why did you join the military?
NRS:
After high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I started taking classes at a local community college. I was not a good student at that time. All of my friends had left for university and I felt isolated. I didn’t want to take out student loans and run off to some big school.
I never thought I was going to join the military but one day, I met a Navy recruiter at a local charity event. We started talking and he had a lot of good things to say about the Navy. I came in for the practice ASVAB, joined DEP and the rest was history.
After high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do…
DJS: What was it like to be a nuclear submarine mechanic? Any good stories?
NRS:
I got some excellent training in the Navy. As a nuclear machinist’s mate, I was sent to school for two years before entering the fleet. I learned a ton about thermodynamics, physics, electric theory, kinematics, material science, chemistry and other engineering related fields.
The Navy Nuclear Power program was the most challenging thing I ever did. I worked my butt off just to stay above the failing point. When I hit the fleet, I had to crank and sleep in the torpedo room for almost a year. When they pumped the sanitation tanks overboard, the entire torpedo room smelled like fecal matter.
I got some excellent training in the Navy. As a nuclear machinist’s mate, I was sent to school for two years before entering the fleet… The Navy Nuclear Power program was the most challenging thing I ever did.
DJS: What were the most important skills or lessons that you learned?
NRS:
The engineering, mechanical and electrical skills are very marketable in terms of private sector employment but I personally learned so much more. In my opinion, the greatest lesson was how to apply myself to achieve any goal. The Navy gave me work ethic, discipline and confidence in my abilities. These are great gifts in life.
The Navy gave me work ethic, discipline and confidence in my abilities.
DJS: What was your initial training like?
NRS:
The Navy Nuke program is widely acknowledged as the most academically rigorous program in the enlisted military. I was sent to school for two years to learn how a nuclear power plant works. Sailors spend 40–45 hours a week in class. Based on grades, students are expected to log an additional 10 to 35 hours of study after class. I had to study my butt off to keep up with the program. Lots of my friends flunked out and lost their enlistment bonus.
DJS: Did you know what you were going to do when you left the Navy?
NRS:
I had no clue what to do after the Navy. I knew the Navy wasn’t going to be my career but I didn’t know how to do anything else. Luckily the TAP (Transition Assistance Program) class on base provided some direction. Pay attention at TAP!!!
DJS: Did you face any struggles?
NRS:
Financially, I was worried about being unemployed. I was lucky enough that a friend let me crash on his couch until I found a new job.
DJS: Tell me about your initial job search process?
NRS:
I decided to make finding a career my new full time job. Every morning, I woke up at 7:00 AM, did my normal morning routine, got dressed, tie included, and went to the Fleet and Family Services center. They had computers and internet so I could apply for jobs and work on my resume.
I built friendships with the people who worked there and asked for resume critiques. I probably rewrote my resume a hundred times. I spent at least 8 hours a day applying for jobs, networking, tweaking my resume and references, and responding to recruiter messages. After two weeks, I had several interviews lined up.
I decided to make finding a career my new full time job… I probably rewrote my resume a hundred times. After two weeks, I had several interviews lined up.
DJS: You worked full time while doing school. How was that? Any advice for anyone looking to use the GI Bill for education?
NRS:
Most of my private sector jobs offered some form of tuition reimbursement. I decided it made more sense to finish school without leaving my career. After Nuke School, college has been a breeze. It takes a lot longer as a part-time student but I’m making straight A’s now. I could have finished sooner if I went to an online school like Excelsior College or American Military University but I prefer the in person learning of the brick and mortar format.
For me, I was able to get a great job right out of the Navy and I think that work experience was more important than a degree. In my opinion, more veterans should enter the workforce to get a taste of civilian life before committing to a degree program. You may want to hold off on children or home ownership. College is more complicated with kids and a mortgage.
After Nuke School, college has been a breeze. I was able to get a great job right out of the Navy and I think that work experience was more important than a degree.
DJS: What did you do as an Applications Engineer and Quality Manager?
NRS:
Before I tell you that, let me explain my first job after the Navy. After applying to several hundred jobs and networking for two weeks, I landed a few big interviews. One was at Transocean in Houston, Texas. Another one was with Peddinghaus Corporation in Bradley, Illinois.
Transocean was interviewing me for a leadership development program. They flew me to Texas and put me up in a fancy hotel. The next morning, a town car picked me up and took me to their corporate office. I took multiple aptitude tests before being sat in a small room for the interview. They conducted a panel interview, three of them at the same time. They grilled me about different valve constructions, piping systems and other technical questions. I was only able to answer 50% of their questions at best. I just told them I didn’t know but I could learn or find out on the rest.
The Peddinghaus interview was a lot less formal. They flew me out to Illinois where my future manager picked me up. He pulled out an electrical schematic and asked me the voltages at various different points. I answered at least two questions incorrectly, potentially signaling I would electrocute myself on the job. He told me to relax and that they could teach me.
I answered at least two questions incorrectly, potentially signaling I would electrocute myself on the job. He told me to relax and that they could teach me.
I ended up getting great offers from both companies. I took the position at Peddinghaus as a field service technician. For 6 months I was flying all around the world working on their machines. I eventually got sick of living out of a suitcase and started looking for a new job. I used to regret having turned down Transocean for Peddinghaus. Peddinghaus isn’t on my resume anymore due to my short tenure there. Looking back, I learned ton about civilian life in those first 6 months.
I was at a customer facility in Columbus, Ohio, still working for Peddinghaus, when I got a call from a company in Cincinnati. They interviewed me the next Monday. I took the job in Cincinnati as a Validation Technician in the pharmaceutical industry. Several people at that company were former nuclear submariners. The job involved a lot of documentation, writing SOPs, executing test procedures and analyzing data. I worked there for two years until we were bought out by another company. My pay and benefits were cut after the merger so I took a new job as an Applications Engineer at Salvagnini.
Salvagnini makes machines for the sheet metal industry. They specialize in lasers, punches, shears, press brakes and panel benders. As an Applications Engineer, my job was analyzing customer parts and production goals. I then programmed our machines and ran test samples. I figured out how the customer could manufacture their products on our machines. I was doing really well at Salvagnini when a recruiter reached out to me after seeing my LinkedIn profile.
Based on my experience, a small local company wanted to interview me for a leadership opportunity. I was happy at Salvagnini but it seemed like a great opportunity. When we entered negotiations I asked for a $15,000 bump in pay to make up for the additional responsibility and risk of leaving a job I liked. They agreed so I became the Calibration Lab / Quality Manager at Cincinnati Precision Instruments.
When we entered negotiations I asked for a $15,000 bump in pay to make up for the additional responsibility and risk of leaving a job I liked.
At CPI, I was in charge of the entire quality system, ISO 9001, ISO/IEC 17025, I had 16 people reporting to me and I ran the daily operations. It was extremely challenging but very rewarding.
DJS: How did you land your current job at JBM Packaging?
NRS:
CPI was going through a rough patch. The VP of Operation had resigned after 14 years of service. A week later the Founder/CEO passed away after triple bypass heart surgery. The new owner was the son of the founder. He made some big changes including replacing the entire leadership team. I was laid off for the first time in my life.
I reached out to a member of CPI’s board of directors to see if she knew of anyone looking for talent. She connected me with the COO at JBM. After one email, he asked to meet me for breakfast. JBM didn’t have any current openings that matched my skills but I guess I impressed him anyway. The next week I met the CEO for breakfast. A week after that, they created a new position, typed up a job description and made me an offer.
I reached out to a member of CPI’s board of directors to see if she knew of anyone looking for talent. She connected me with the COO at JBM. After one email, he asked to meet me for breakfast.
DJS: Did you use any veteran networking strategy to land any of those jobs? If so, how did you make those connections?
NRS:
I am a huge fan of networking. In general, If I have ever done business with someone, I try to connect on LinkedIn. I keep notes on a lot of different people to remember birthdays, kids, interests, etc. I asked a lot of people for help.
A good strategy is helping others. I try to do little favors for people, like writing them a LinkedIn recommendation or buying them lunch or coffee. After you do a favor for someone, they are more likely to help you out. I actually enjoy doing favors and I don’t expect anything in return but my experience is that good deeds come back around.
Follow up with people quickly and always thank them for their time. I carry around a pack of thank you cards and stamps in my car. After an interview or meeting, I immediately write a hand written card and mail it at the next mailbox. If you don’t hear from them in a week, give them a brief phone call to check up. Don’t be too aggressive but show your interest.
A good strategy is helping others… I actually enjoy doing favors and I don’t expect anything in return but my experience is that good deeds come back around… Follow up with people quickly and always thank them for their time.
DJS: Tell me about what you do now on a daily basis at JBM?
NRS:
This is just my third week. They have me booked in training for more than a month. After training, my job will be interfacing with customers to develop new solutions and new products that solve their problems. I then work with our innovation team to bring these new products and services to market. I’m basically a project manager.
DJS: What skills from the military translated into your jobs and made you successful in those roles?
NRS:
Maintenance, operations and collateral duties look good on a resume but the most important skill I learned was discipline. If you have discipline, you can do anything you put your mind to. I also learned it only takes 20 hours of focused practice to pick up a new skill. You can go from completely incompetent to pretty good by practicing for just 1 hour a day for 3 or 4 weeks.
Another big advantage of Nuke School is it taught me how to study. Before the Navy, I never studied. Now, I love to study and I’m good at it. If you want to impress your next boss at an interview, study a schematic, draw it and explain how it functions. Study who the key industry players are on LinkedIn. Study their website, Wikipedia, social media posts. If you study, you’ll blow people away with your knowledge.
If you have discipline, you can do anything you put your mind to. I also learned it only takes 20 hours of focused practice to pick up a new skill.
DJS: Are there other veterans in your workplace? If so, how is that dynamic?
NRS:
There have been veterans in all of my jobs since leaving the Navy. It’s no coincidence. Employers love the discipline, technical skills and can-do-attitude of veterans. I enjoy it because it’s easy to build friendships. Veterans love trading war stories and riffing on each other. I’m always coming up with new jokes to make fun of my Army and Air Force buddies. I don’t tend to make fun of Marines…
There have been veterans in all of my jobs since leaving the Navy. It’s no coincidence. Employers love the discipline, technical skills and can-do-attitude of veterans.
DJS: If you knew one thing before the transition process that would have made your experience easier, what would that be?
NRS:
Everything works out if you work it. What I mean by that is you can accomplish any goal. If you want to find a good job, focus on it, work like it’s the most important thing in the world. Focus on lead metrics, not lagging metrics. What do I mean by that?
If you want to lose weight you have to eat less and exercise more. Calories and exercise are lead metrics. Getting on the scale is a lagging metric. In a job search, leading metrics are phone calls, submitted applications, interviews, resumes sent out, number of people networked with. You have to focus on the lead metrics and forget about the lagging metrics. Focus on lagging metrics may depress you when you’re actually getting a lot done.
If you spend 8 hours, every day, working on the right lead metrics, you will find a job.
Everything works out if you work it. What I mean by that is you can accomplish any goal.
DJS: What was the hardest piece of transition?
NRS:
Uncertainty. The hardest thing about any change is uncertainty. You just have to accept it. Control the things you have power over and forget the rest. Have faith in yourself. Work the lead metrics of your goals and you will accomplish them.
The hardest thing about any change is uncertainty. You just have to accept it. Control the things you have power over and forget the rest.
DJS: What one piece of advice do you have for anyone reading this?
NRS:
Read more. Whatever your goals are, chances are someone’s written about it. Learn from the best. Want to get rich? Read books by Bill Gates, Sam Walton, Warren Buffett, Jack Bogle and Peter Lynch. Want to get in shape? Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Lee have manuals. Want to be your own boss? Read about Henry Ford or Thomas Edison. Elon Musk cited reading as his most important steps towards founding SpaceX and Tesla.
Some of my favorite books are: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Rich Dad Poor Dad, How to Win Friends and Influence People, and The 4 Disciplines of Execution.
Bio
Nick Reed Smith is an award winning leader who served in the US Navy before embarking on his civilian journey. He has managed projects and operations in various industries including manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and calibration. He lives and works in Cincinnati, OH with his wife Meena Smith and their daughter, Virginia.
Top Resources
IVMF — The IVMF is higher education’s first interdisciplinary academic institute, singularly focused on advancing the lives of the nation’s military veterans and their families.
Veteran Mentor Network — The mission of the Veteran Mentor Network is to help Military Members, Military Spouses, and Veterans establish and achieve job search, career and life goals.
FREE learning courses — Here is an extensive list of free online learning courses: Open Yale Courses, ProLearn, Alison, Codecademy, Khan Academy, EdX, Coursera.
Are you interested in sharing your story of transition? Or are you a military transition specialist who would like to share some tips? Send me an email at MilitaryTransitionStories@gmail.com
The goal of this series is to bridge the military-civilian divide in three ways: 1) Highlight the incredible skills and value that military veterans of all generations and backgrounds bring into the workplace. 2) Help transitioning veterans understand their true value and therefore aim as high as possible in their employment and educational goals. 3) Discuss the common struggles, pitfalls and indicators of success in veteran transition, in order to provide better transition assistance from both military and civilian sides.
