Subnuke/navy recruiter getting out

[MM1 subnuke]

I am a sub nuke MM1, have been in eight years, have little in the way of college other than basically what I have from nuke school.  I am currently a Navy recruiter in Houston.  I am going to be getting out in around 9 months and I am currently looking to see whats out there.  I haven't made up my mind as to what I want to do, but am intersted in finding out what I can do.  I wouldn't mind working as a maintenance guy at a plant, but not sure which ones are hiring or what the qualifications would be.  I am currently enrolled in college and taking some classes, but am about 2 yrs away from a degree.  Not doing thomas edison, going to University of Houston, getting a mechanical eng BS.  Any help would be greatly appreciated...

[retired nuke]

First, thank you for your service.

You are on a good track - get all the edumacation you can get while you are stationed in Houston. It'll transfer when you get somewhere else.

Most of the major utilities post openings on their websites. Search here on Nukeworker for the utilities / areas you want to work at. Most job postings are up for a week or so - I would suggest making a weekly task to scan the utility websites, and apply for anything you are interested in. Keep track of what you apply for, follow up later on to ensure you are still in their track. It can take several months to get through the bureacracy of the Human Resorces folks.

Utilities LikeNavy Nukes. Operations, Mechanical Maintenance are both high interest jobs for you.

Good luck

[SubEMNuke]

Sent you an e-mail regarding what I found when with job hunting  ;I got out last year      

[MM1 subnuke]

I was also wondering about HAZWOPER training, do you guys know if TA covers that?  I've been asking around my command, but the usual answer I get is call the Navy College office. Only problem is, I'm a recruiter in Houston, Navy college office is in corpus chrisit..They don't like to answer the phone and its not like I can just go knock on their door.  Let me know how important HAZWOPER is please....

[Roll Tide]

Depends on the job you want. If you want to work a DOE site, it is important. I don't know of any commercial nukes that have training that has to be completed before you hire.

[hamsamich]

if you want to get a job NOW, you could get a job as an operator probably very easily as long as you're not TOO picky about where you want to live.  maintenance jobs are more scarce, but they will come up.  an alternative is to get into operations and move to maintenance, but there is a small chance you could get pigeon-holed, depending on your resume and the scarcity of jobs at the specific plant and how bad they need operators.  there is usually a great need for operators.  you could continue to go to school and comb the web for the specific job you want.

one pitfall concerning job openings at some plants is the possibility people can't get a job that pays well enough to be able to afford decent housing in the area.  this type of thing is going on at plants like Indian Point, St. Lucie and Pilgrim amongst others.  it is a gray area, so ask around whe you are targeting specific jobs.

use headhunters (only when they are free), go to specific companies websites, and use monster.com type sites.

many times the more highly sought after jobs will be filled by people at the plant already switching departments.  so don't get discouraged and if you have to take a job you might not love to get one you will like better eventually.  or just stay in school and get an engineering job.  hth - jim

[JohnK87]

Where do you want to end up living?

Right now, maintenance, Operations and Training are hiring all over the place.  If you don't mind the cold I could give you a few ideas.

[Fermi2]

One hint on Headhunters. If you've already applied for a job at a certain utility and one comes up via a Headhunter he will NOT reference you for the job as the Utility can technically say they found you via your application. This cost me a wonderful job opportunity before I left Fermi.

Mike

[Charles U Farley]

One hint on Headhunters. If you've already applied for a job at a certain utility and one comes up via a Headhunter he will NOT reference you for the job as the Utility can technically say they found you via your application. This cost me a wonderful job opportunity before I left Fermi.

Mike

Wouldn't the utility prefer that since they would not have to pay the headhunters fees.  You'd be qualified for the job regardless of how they recieved your information, right?

[Fermi2]

Wouldn't the utility prefer that since they would not have to pay the headhunters fees.  You'd be qualified for the job regardless of how they recieved your information, right?

Uh isn't that obvious. ?


Mike

[MM1 subnuke]

Well, I would prefer to stay in Texas.  I would be willing to move to say arizona or california, but thats about as much of a move as my family would allow(aka...my wife..).  I could easily get a job making $40k -$50k a year in sales for like AIG or a mortgage and loans place based on my recruiter tour, but would llike to work as an eng...working toward that degree, albeit very slowly..have looked at utility companies in Texas, but since I'm not an elctrician, and haven't been on a boat in three years, and out of the nuke community for three years, most of them want more elec exp..

[MM1 subnuke]

By the way, I put a resume out a few months back, actually last time i posted, haven't heard a lot back on it.  I had my son break my computer,(coke on the computer hard drive) don't ask...so now no resume, kinda of a good thing though.  Looking for some input of what some good things to put in it , for any job, not anything specific.  MM1, 4.5 yrs operational exp, welder, ac&r, qai, whole lot of qc work, 6 months of drydock exp, whole lot of qc work...did i mention qc work...anyways, not sure what to put out... any info would be great,...thanks

[shayne]

so now no resume, kinda of a good thing though. 

Can you access the resume posted online? 

[MM1 subnuke]

you can call me stupid, its ok..didn't post it online, only sent out faxes to select companies...I don't mind doing it again though.  I know how to write one, its just i'm looking more for input on how to word my work experience for plants and utilities.

[Roll Tide]

its just i'm looking more for input on how to word my work experience for plants and utilities.

Since you are applying to jobs where they are used to hiring Navy Nukes, bear that in mind. You don't want to burn up half a page explaining what a specific qual means, when the guy reading it has someone else working for him with the same background. On the other extreme, never use an abbreviation without defining it on the first usage. "ERLL qualified to perform R-114 PMS" may sound like a good bullet for an entry-level HVAC position, but it leaves way too much open to interpretation.

Have a resume for each type of job you would be willing to perform. For example, I had separate resumes for OPS, RADCON, HVAC, and Procedure Writer. They have the same basic info, but much more emphasis on the relevant area. That means you need to know what jobs you have performed in the Navy, and the commercial equivalent. Navy QC is more like "Quality Assurance", while commercial QC is sort of "compliance". Much of what was done by Navy QC is performed by the shop foreman.

[LaFeet]

Tide said it best.   Have several different resumes, each addressing strengths that would be sought by the company you are submitting to. 

Also, if you really want to stay in Texas, you do have several plants down that way to look at.  If you are close enough, then a local plant would be a great entry point.

Either way, thanks for your service and good luck in the future.....ET1(SS)

[cincinnatinuke]

Have you also considered getting on at a refinery?  They need all types from ops to maintenance to whatever.  They pay well and with $60/barrel oil it seems you would have some certain job security.

Good choice on the BSME.  I think you will find, at least in the future, that you will be more flexible in what you can do.

Feel free to ask anymore direct questions, including what to put on a resume.

[DeepSubsea]

Subnuke - this reply is a bit long, so hang in there!

As an experienced nuke located in the Houston, TX area you are sitting on boatload of opportunities you may not be aware of - just think outside the box all us nukes were conditioned to stay in. Houston is the global capital for the oilfield business and in particular for the high tech subsea business. Oil companies directly as well as the numerous subsea equipment and service providers headquartered in the area are hungry to find and hire people with the skill sets you bring from the navy nuclear program.

I am an ex-navy nuke and did 20 years in the commercial nuclear industry when I got out, before switching 5 yrs ago to subsea oilfield segment. While the recruiting pipeline to connect navy nukes with the utility industry is better established than that for the subsea oilfield business, the opportunities in the subsea oilfield are much greater and far superior to the commerical nuclear industry (imho). Better compensation, better career growth, better life-work balance, international travel, etc while also having the benefits of a relatively small, tight-knit community with high barriers to entry that make it hard to commoditize the business (which pushes down compensation). That $3/gal gas we are all putting in our cars is paying for a tremendous amount of growth and development for the oil industry as it rushes to feed the growing world demand for more hydrocarbons. And yes while the commercial nuclear industry is poised for a rebirth perhaps a few years down the road as new plants get built, it pales in opportunity to the amount of investment being made today and in future hydrocarbon production. And opportunities follow the money. Green is good and maybe someday the world will shift away from such heavy reliance on hydrocarbons but the reality today and for the forseeable future is the oil & gas energy business will provide a much larger fraction of energy to the world than comes from nuclear.

A perception among many people is that the oilfield business is a grimy dirty low-tech business. And while true in the past and still popularized in media, the truth is the subsea portion is a complex, challenging high tech business with stringent technical and environmental standards equivalent to or exceeding what you find in nuclear.  Whether coming straight out for from the Navy or if someone is already experienced in the commercial nuclear business, there are many cross-over opportunities if you look for them and network in to the subsea segment. It is the nukes ability and training in understanding of systems and their interactions, familiarity with fundamental engineering principles and their application, work planning and project coordination skills, quality focus, strong work ethic, the ability to take initiative and get the job done in a dynamic environment, and critically team work and communication skills that make them successful rather than their particular expertise with matters nuclear. The thing I find the most invigorating change from the nuclear industry is the ability to be much more creative and innovative in coming up with and implementing solutions, rather than being constrained by such a rigid and conformance-biased environment that can too easily stifle the human spirit and turn everyone into drones. I do understand and appreciate that the systematic controls in the nuclear industry has grown out of a real need to not have any more incidents/accidents but it doesn't do much to raise the fun quotient of the job!

As with most of the world, the best opportunities come about when connect up with others who can help you from the inside. While the "apply through HR" can work, you probabilities are generally better when you talk with others that can help guide you through the process. And the NukeWorker forum looks to be a good place to get that communication going. You can also PM me if you want to know more.

Hopefully you can also get some perspectives from other nukes who have made the transition the subsea oilfield segment as well.

[kwicslvr]

If you are looking to stay in the area you have STP nuclear plant southwest of Houston and Comanche Peak southwest of Fort Worth.

STP seems to hire large operator classes around the first of the year.

[Hookem1717]

MM1Subnuke,

I just recently put my 1306 in for recruiting in Houston, how did you like it? I am excited to possibly get back to the great state of Texas.

[MM1 subnuke]

recruiting is a lot harder job than being a nuke.  As many hours as you thought you worked on the boat or on a ship, it pales in comparison.  You may not have duty days(thank god), but you will work late everyday.  You will work almost every saturday.  You will work on some sundays.  You will now have to work with very few nukes, and a lot of regular Navy sailors, it is not at all the same.  I am not telling you this to scare you away from recruiting, but rather to inform you that it is not at all what you would expect.  When you go to ENRO(recruiting school), you will leave feeling on top of the world.  This job is a lot harder than they make it out to be.  Being back in Texas is great, but I left San Diego, and the weather here is terrible compared to that. If you have any further questions about being a recruiter, feel free to let me know...Just wanted to prepare you for the worst...hopefully it will be better than I described though and you will enjoy your time