Interesting, it looks more complicated than I realized. "Nuclear engineer" might be too colloqualized, a la "software engineer". (perish the thought!)

But he was an engineer who was trained to operate nuclear facilities on subs. With a few more months of service he would have qualified for the label "nuclear engineer" without any asterisks.

And what even was a "nuclear engineer" in the early 1950s? The field was new enough that the titles were probably not well settled.

Tha National Academy of Engineering says:

> A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a trained nuclear engineer

https://www.nae.edu/19579/31222/20054/327746/331204/Jimmy-Ca...

US Navy history says:

> He served as executive officer, engineering officer, and electronics repair officer on the submarine SSK-1. When Admiral Hyman G. Rickover (then a captain) started his program to create nuclear-powered submarines, Carter wanted to join the program and was interviewed and selected by Rickover. Carter was promoted to lieutenant and from 3 November 1952 to 1 March 1953, he served on temporary duty with the Naval Reactors Branch, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Washington, D.C., to assist "in the design and development of nuclear propulsion plants for naval vessels."

> From 1 March to 8 October 1953, Carter was preparing to become the engineering officer for USS Seawolf (SSN-575), one of the first submarines to operate on atomic power. However, when his father died in July 1953, Carter resigned from the Navy and returned to Georgia to manage his family interests.

https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/people/presiden...