Career Path > Radiation Safety

RPI DEGREE, THEN WHAT?

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number41:
All, I'm coming-up on my day to be a civilian and have started thinking about the next step after getting into a job................moving up!  Anyway, I've got 13 yrs. Navy experience, EOOW/EWS qualified, and have finished my RPI Nuke Eng./Eng. Physics degree.  What should I be doing next to ensure upward mobility?  I'm thinking M.S./M.Eng in Engineering Management or Master's in Human Resources would put me in the best position for moving up in the Op's community.  I have to admit that I'm not overly interested in doing research or very serious engineering (such as core design, etc.), so I don't think M.S. Nuke-E or other Engineering disciplines would be worth it.  What do you all think?  Anybody with experience in this area?

Already Gone:
I think that your next step should be just to change jobs and see what happens next.  With that degree, you can make good money out here, or be an officer if you want to go for a Navy pension.
But, education stacked on top of education does not necessarily make for the best curriculum vitae.  Mix in some new work experience.  Who knows?  You might find a job that you have been dreaming of all your life without knowing it.  Then, you can let that job direct you toward your next step.  It might be an MBA that will carry you, or maybe you can do it all from this point without planning it first.
You have a solid foundation in education and experience.  I know that it is almost impossible for a nuke to hear this; but stop planning and start doing.  You really will not die if you proceed from this point without planning the entire remainder of your career - which is the main thing I gather from the whole of your posts here.  Face it, you have planned a lot.  Let those plans run out a little.  I live by the old maxim, "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans."  It is true.
I guess what that really means that future needs are dictated mostly by present circumstances.  It's really futile to plan two steps ahead until you have taken the next step.  First, explore the world of civilian employment and see what it has to offer before you decide which one of its many roads you will follow.  In reality, only you can know which of those roads is the best for you, and you can't tell from where you are now. 
THis isn't unique to nuclear or navy or even engineering.  Most people get all the way through college, take a job in the field they studied and THEN learn that they hate it.  At least you have enough time doing the job to know it is the right field for you.  But there are so many, many, many different jobs in this field that you don't know about yet, that it would be dangerously irresponsible to tell you which to prepare for at this point.

In a way, this reminds me of the opening scene ot The Graduate, where the guy tells Dustin Hoffman, "One word ... Plastics."  Turns out that they guy really knew what he was talking about.  But what if he wanted to play the Cello in the Philharmonic or open a Barbecue joint or become an expert on pre-Columbian art?  Would that advice been worth anything to him then?

Anyway, take a step into your own future, and then take a look around.  You have earned it.  You are ready.  Good luck, and thank you for your years of service to our country.

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