Idaho National Lab (INEL)

[elwood]

It is 120 miles if the road is not closed due to snow drifts.   

[TE]

I worked at INL for a year & loved it. I was in a carpool with 3 other people which made it nice because I only drove one day a week. Ammon is a nice area and the people were always friendly. My only dislike was the cops and their dislike for people from out of state. Watch your speed even if it's only a couple miles over because they get off on giving non-locals a ticket. Other than that, it's great! 

[Smart People]

I'm back at INL now having a great time.

[Radstalker]

For any new techs thinking of coming to INL and in particular AMWTP, don't expect to see any overtime during your tenure there. It's union now and if any overtime becomes available, it goes to the house people before it even offered to the contractor. The house people will take it, then alot of the time will not show eliminating any chance of OT.

[go.nukes]

I heard that Bechtel has been hiring a bunch of Jr's off the street with no experience just a CORE card. They don't provide them any formal training just some sort of paper qual. pack then promote them to Sr. one year later. I always thought it took three years to become a Sr. Has anyone else heard of this.

[bubbasmama]

As to the Bechtel question...they have hired juniors and within a short period of time they get promoted to Sr even supervision with out any experience. EG&G/URS (AMWTP)has recently advertised for SR techs at $36/hr.  The posting didn't last too long.  Probably filled it with starvin' JRs  HA HA HA.  Really,kidding aside, nepotism, within AMWTP, runs rampant.  Everybody hiring their little brother with no experience to do a man's job.  Stay out of AMWTP if you value your sanity.

As for that matter, Stay away from Battelle Energy Alliance too.  They are the 1st tier contractor for INL.  Recently, in a meeting at MFC concerning compensation for the RCTs, the RCT's were told by the HR people that they were basically 'a-dime-a-dozen' and the money for salaries was given the the PhD and scientist.  That the RCTs were there to support them.  The company was reminded that without RCTs, their PhD would not be working with radioactive material.  Needless to say mutiny is in the air at MFC.

If you are looking to come to Idaho.  DON"T!!! run a different direction.  Winter's are horrible and the road to the site is a mess. Idaho Falls is not the nice little community they want you to believe they are.  There is an underlining uneasy, almost perverse tension here, most likely perpetuated by the Mormon community(which is over 50%).  If you are not Mormon, you will never fit in.  Yes there are allot of restaurants here, but most of them are terrible.  I was told by a local RCT that they didn't care, they didn't know the difference anyway.  Shopping is bad, very limited and strange.  Even within the stores you know the merchandise is censored.  And Christmas in Idaho Falls this year was like spending the holiday in an atheist town.  The City of IF showed little or NO enthusiasm for the holiday.

Needles to say, I have a low oppinion of INL. I have meet a few good and really fine people, but I am looking for an exit.....

[btkeele]

Take I-15 South and keep on going!  This is still America and you can quit at any time,
especially if you are so miserable there....

[Valkrider]

Take I-15 South and keep on going!  This is still America and you can quit at any time,
especially if you are so miserable there....

I preferred I-80 east....once I got to Rock Springs, WY of course.

[nukewood]

I left ,heading west, four years ago ,with my tail between my legs.,

[Valkrider]

once they cancelled our PD there was no incentive to even consider staying.  Idaho in my rear view mirror was a blessed sight....

[bubbasmama]

Yeah, I know how to leave and get HOME.  But stupid me bought into the BS, left a Bartlett job, took a house job and bought a house.  I will have to plan my escape a little more carefully. As the Wicked Witch of the West said  "these things need to be handled delicately".

[longbow55]

Yeah, alot of us have met that Wicked Witch. Good luck with your escape. Some advice from experience with the management, keep your head low and cya.

[bubbasmama]

Thank you for the advice. I have seen reason why one would need to stay low and CYA.

[reis_navy_getter_outer]

I supposedly have an interview for a reactor operator job. You guys have me worried on weather or not I should take this job if its offered. I live in Souther California and am not very coservative. I'm worried I won't fit in and the conditions will be terrible. Any advice?

[btkeele]

If you voted for Obama, you will not fit in too well around IF, or Idaho
for that matter (except for SunValley)...
Look up the election results.....but, maybe you can "change" our minds.....
If you like warm weather...well....our waterski season is about 10
weeks long (with a wetsuit)....last summer fell on a Thursday....LOL

[UncaBuffalo]

http://www.nukeworker.com/pictures/displayimage-51-10.html


This picture gives you an idea what summer at INL looks like...just miles of sagebrush desert.


(Winter looks the same...except the snow hides the sagebrush...)

[HydroDave63]

Famous Potatoes !!

[UncaBuffalo]

Famous Potatoes !!

www.ahajokes.com/crt903.html

[btkeele]

www.ahajokes.com/crt903.html

I think I dated her in HS!  Miss Shelley Russett 1980...

LOL

[bubbasmama]

To RNGO

Are you coming out here for that interview? Bring some warm clothes and see for yourself how things are.  And don't ask the recruiters what they think about the place.  Once I had a recruiter call me and ask if I would call an old associate, who had applied for a job out here,  and tell them how wonderful it was.  I told them the truth.  They came up anyway and have hated it ever since. I would think hard and long before I went someplace that has such a low rating.  This is very very different than what you are use to.

[reis_navy_getter_outer]

Thanks guys. I don't think I'm going to bother with the interview. I like my life here in San Diego too much, to move to a place thats that cold. And not being religious I don't think I'd fit in with the LDS.

[btkeele]

Mission accomplished     

J/K   Idaho has a lot to offer, just not the weather of SD...
A lot less people is a tradeoff I will take every time...

[Sledhead]

Excellent work there BTK!

Now if you could only figure out how to keep the Utards out of IP.  I wonder if they are aware of SoCal?  Maybe you could point them to a south bound Exit on I15!  

[stownsend]

Seems like everyone should make up their own opinion or take advice like this from people they know. To criticize an area or job as heavily as you state then stay working there yourself only leads me to believe you don't want the competition for your slot.I'm not in the market to move but people use to do this years ago by putting down a job,only to make sure there was a slot open for themself.

[trollarc]

There are good things and bad things about living here. I dont want to have to hide my guns. So thats part of the reason I will not be living in california again (overpopulation and cost of living are other issues for me). I want to live west- so the east coast is out. Its not too terrible here. It gets cold, and I am skinny, however I can live with that. There are a lot of mormons. That can be dealt with too. There are non-mormons and mormons who can be corrupted too (since I am single and have no kids I dont have to worry about the kids making friends thing mentioned earlier). There really isnt much of a night life. Hopefully its better in the slightly warmer months. I get paid pretty well. I am planning on spending some time here (i am not planning on 20 years but that is much more possible than me being in the navy 20 years was- I feel self esteem here and I don't want to brutally murder anybody so that has to be a good sign). I am going to keep my eyes open for other work too but I honestly like the area.