The perceived effect of the Communications Subspecialty on a naval officer's career.

Abstract

There seems to be a perception that the Communications Subspecialty is not career enhancing for naval officers, especially warfare specialists. This thesis investigates how the subspecialty is perceived by naval officers with the Communications Systems Technology subspecialty code. A questionnaire was designed to determine: (1) if the officer felt the subspecialty had affected his or her career, (2) where the subspecialists find information concerning the subspecialty, and (3) if the officer had any suggestions or concerns about the communications subspecialty. The questionnaires were then sent to all officers with the Communications Systems Technology subspecialty code (XX82X). Responses to the questionnaire show that, in general, officers feel that the subspecialty has had a positive effect on their careers, to the extent that they would recommend the subspecialty to other officers. But there does seem to be a lack of good career information concerning the Communications Subspecialty. It is therefore recommended that the subspecialty sponsor (OP-941) try to disseminate more useful information to officers concerning the subspecialty. This thesis also contains information concerning the Navy subspecialty system, the officer career structure in the Navy, information on the communications subspecialties, and additional thesis topics. The first chapter outlines the problem. Chapter 2 provides background information on the United States Navy and how it categorized its officers. Sources of career information and career paths is contained in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 consists of a complete description of the methodology of the research including questionnaire design. Chapter 5 discussed the results of the survey, and Chapter 6 contains the conclusions and recommendations.