Career path/progression advice

[number41]

Hi everyone.  I finally made up my mind to get out and I'm looking for a little advice.  Seems like alot of people come here to do that.  Anyway, I've searched for quite awhile looking for an applicable answer to my question, but none of the older posts that I could find really address it.  So here goes:  does going into an ops job help or hurt you with regards to progressing to management?  I've got my Nuke-E/E-Phys degree from RPI, 12 yrs Navy experience, and EOOW/EWS experience, so I think I have a fairly good base to get me into management after doing my time elsewhere in a plant.  But I have been around the navy so long that I know the competent operators often get stuck in an operations job because they don't suck and the people who can't operate get moved to the day jobs.  I know this doesn't make any sense for utilities, but I'm sure that they also need to keep their good operators in the plant.  Any thoughts?

[coolbreeze20650]

From what I have seen in my 15 years at several plants, people that typically have the opportunity to progress into higher roles come from Ops.  But the key is that they have a license.  You will see people move up within their respective departments, but a lot of the time, they don't move out.  I've seen quite a few licensed individals move up into different departments and roles.  Most of the time, the plant senior management held a license at some point in their career.

[number41]

Well, I'm hoping for middle/senior management someday, but I suppose that all depends on my success on the job.  How long would you say is reasonable to move from SRO to a more senior position?   Also, what is the structure above SRO? So many discussions here are geared towards NLO/RO/SRO that I'm not even sure what positions exist above them.

[xobxdoc]

Calvert just posted STA positions for the 2008 license class. They are leaning more to outside applicants because they don't want to deplete engineering. If you want manangement, that would be the fast track. Be careful what you wish for.

[number41]

Posted by: xobxdoc 
Calvert just posted STA positions for the 2008 license class. They are leaning more to outside applicants because they don't want to deplete engineering. If you want manangement, that would be the fast track. Be careful what you wish for.

xobxdoc, I hear ya!  I'm just tired of being stuck in the dead-end that I'm in now.  So I'm a little anxious to want something more.............whether that's a good idea or not.

[Kev3399]

Get your SRO license now.......move on after that. You need to have held a SRO license to move up in managment. Don't worry about getting stuck in Ops. That might happen, but there will be alot of factors that will roll into that. Nothing to worry about now. I don't care who you are........coming out of the Navy you are entry level......Remember that. So start at step one and get your license and then worry about whats next after that.

[Fermi2]

Well, I'm hoping for middle/senior management someday, but I suppose that all depends on my success on the job.  How long would you say is reasonable to move from SRO to a more senior position?   Also, what is the structure above SRO? So many discussions here are geared towards NLO/RO/SRO that I'm not even sure what positions exist above them.

Usually a Department Head, Plant Manager and maybe a VP. How far you go and how quickly you do it depends in part on your reputation and in part of the needs of the Ops Department. If you go to a good plant, you'll do rotations outside of Operations and you'll get a better feel for what's out there.

Mike

[JustinHEMI05]

xobxdoc, I hear ya!  I'm just tired of being stuck in the dead-end that I'm in now.  So I'm a little anxious to want something more.............whether that's a good idea or not.

There is nothing wrong with striving for success. But, like Kev said... right now you are entry level. I just got out in june with a very similar resume (physics degree, EOOW/ELT, 10 years) and no one was considering me for anything more than entry level (maintenance sup, instant SRO, instructor).... which was to be expected based on what I had learned from here. Its a whole different animal out here and you will learn, as I have, that your experience in the Navy to this point has done nothing to prepare you for operating a commercial nuclear power plant. It only gave you a basic skill set necessary to handle the class load and quals. If you have it in your mind that being an EOOW is the same as being a CRS... you need to stop thinking that now. If the CRS was the EOOW... you would be a newly qualified ERLL watch on a submarine... its that vastly different. An experienced NLO at a commercial plant (mine at least) has more knowledge about his plant than an EOOW has about his (typically). So, like Kev said, look first at getting your foot in the door then find your path to higher positions if you want. I will say this though... in my limited experience in the commercial world, I have seen that all managers are married to their pagers. My boss is in here on weekends all the time, working late all the time, always in meetings, etc etc. Sorry, not the life I want. I thought I wanted to run a plant someday, but now I am not so sure. I want to work to live, not live to work. If that means I am stuck making 100K instead of 125K, so be it. I live at a 50K level anyway. But time will tell. Right now I really am enjoying my life post Navy and have no interest in ruining it by moving up to some super important position. But, every plant is different. It just seems life sucks for operators and managers at PV right now. Goodluck!

Justin

[Roll Tide]

The sky is the limit. But the SRO is the ticket to get there.

Of course, that will depend on where you go and how good they treat you. If you go in there with the attitudes, "I am going to learn everything I can so I can do this job great" and "I am going to move up; I would have stayed in the Navy if I wanted to stay in the same place" you should do great.

[ranger2]

Sent you a pm.

[number41]

Thanks all for the info, (especially you Justin)   Anyway, I think I've always been willing to take my lumps and work my way up through the ranks, and I don't plan to change that.  Like I said, I'm just trying to actually do some career planning for the first time in my life, so I'm asking the question.  Most of you have been there I'm sure.
Seth

[subshooter]

xobxdoc,

Your post regarding the new STA job opportunities at Calvert cliffs caught my eye.  First - I was impressed that you saw this new job opportunity so quckly as I have been searchng these web sites every day.  As a newbie, I was wondering what the licensing aspect is.  Do STAs get a SRO license or is there a separate license for those guys.  (pardon my ignorance on what may be an obvious question for some of you)  Do STAs make the same salary as SROs?  Thanks.

Mark

[Fermi2]

xobxdoc,

Your post regarding the new STA job opportunities at Calvert cliffs caught my eye.  First - I was impressed that you saw this new job opportunity so quckly as I have been searchng these web sites every day.  As a newbie, I was wondering what the licensing aspect is.  Do STAs get a SRO license or is there a separate license for those guys.  (pardon my ignorance on what may be an obvious question for some of you)  Do STAs make the same salary as SROs?  Thanks.

Mark

STA is not a Licensed position, though many STA positions are filled by SROs.

Non Licensed STAs make less than SROs.


Mike

[Ops Nub]

So you guys keep talking about ops, how about HP techs? I am an RCT in the navy and like it enough to want to break into the field at a plant. Any inputs?

[xobxdoc]

Ops jobs seem to be more abundant than in house HP. If you can get a job as an in house HP and if your company has more than one nuke site, more than likely you will be a shared resource with the company's other sites for their outages.

[Ops Nub]

I'm being interviewed for VC Summer i think thats SCANA's only plant. i guess that's good right?

[xobxdoc]

xobxdoc,

Your post regarding the new STA job opportunities at Calvert cliffs caught my eye.  First - I was impressed that you saw this new job opportunity so quckly as I have been searchng these web sites every day.  As a newbie, I was wondering what the licensing aspect is.  Do STAs get a SRO license or is there a separate license for those guys.  (pardon my ignorance on what may be an obvious question for some of you)  Do STAs make the same salary as SROs?  Thanks.

Mark

At Calvert the STA is a license position. It is an SRO license, the same that a CRS holds. The STA candidate goes to the initial phase of license class with the RO candidates. After the intial phase is complete, Senior upgrades are chosen amongst the licensed RO's and they join the class to get their SRO license and become CRS. The STA and CRS have the same payscale and their wages in that payscale differ with expeience. You don't have to have a degree to be a CRS but you do to be an STA.

[illegalsmile]

At Calvert the STA is a license position. It is an SRO license, the same that a CRS holds. The STA candidate goes to the initial phase of license class with the RO candidates. After the intial phase is complete, Senior upgrades are chosen amongst the licensed RO's and they join the class to get their SRO license and become CRS. The STA and CRS have the same payscale and their wages in that payscale differ with expeience. You don't have to have a degree to be a CRS but you do to be an STA.

At many plants STA is a plant cert position, not a full license. A lot of the same classroom/simulator work, but without the 'experience' requirement an operating license carries. In the '90's a BWR in NE found a way around the experience requirement for an SRO and he wound up causing his whole shift to fail their requal. There ain't no substitute for time at the wheel.

[xobxdoc]

I don't dispute what you say at all. They are not going to hire someone fresh off the boat with a degree and put him in charge of the control room. The STA's that I work with here are prety sharp people with commercial experience.
I was just trying to answer subshooters question.