Harry Kim The 7 year Ensign??

[Guy Gardener]

47 year lieteanant. He was born in 2305. The dates are out there, but lets say he got out of the academy by the time he was 23 (He got stabbed by the Norsican on his first assignment right?) that suggests that he's been in the fleet for about 4 decades by the point of Tapestry in either timeline.

 

[Bacl]

Maybe Doctors are NEVER Ensigns?

Hasn't it been said that you can stay at the academy for an extra couple of years to get an extra/higher degree and graduate a full Lieutenant? I think (someone with encyclopedic memory back me up) we've heard of folks walking right out of the academy as a full Lieutenant, but that's because they spent an extra 2-3 years there, likely in the Sciences or special Tactical training.

I would imagine that Doctors need even more time. Although they might start working in medicine in a fashion akin to today's medical interns, I suspect that with all the alien species and crazy space-madness-influenza out there, you're probably looking at a good 8-10 years before you're a full fledged 100% Doctor allowed to go off without supervision. Beverly getting out of Medical school when she was 29 jives with this. Bashir also started DS9 at 27-28ish, so that jives too.

I doubt a Doctor is ever really an Ensign. And since they are not really in the command structure, I doubt their actual rank means much. True, there are obviously exceptions to this, and Season 7 of TNG went a bit far with its belief that a holo-simulation could prepare the ship's therapist for taking command ahead of 98% of the crew...but I try to ignore those aspects.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Jives? That's hilarious! You may mean "jibes"



I doubt people learn the same way in the future considering how quickly Uhura requalified after having her memories and identity wiped by NOMAD.

I say they use a lot of drugs and RNA programming.

Have you seen A Clockwork Orange recently?

(Although in DS9's Hard Time the idea of programming decades of memory over the course of hours seemed like a completely alien idea. B'Elanna freaked in remember and the crew turned into weeping little Hippies during the course of Memorial... because they don't real to be able to tell the difference between real and make believe, however Anika swears that she fell in love and lived a life time in Unimatrix Zero, but Anika is not real and if she fought for control of Sevens body it would be murder if she pushed out the "thing" which is living in the husk left behind from when the Borg assimilated that 8 year old little girl.)