Career Path > Training, Tests & Education

Master's degree....worth it?

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JassenB:
Seeking further career guidance. :) I think the best career advice I've ever received has come from here.

I am currently finishing the very last class for my B.S. degree, which Eric Bartlett told me to stay on course and finish. It so happens that was the demand of my wife, as well. :)

I am also currently taking a few graduate classes in radiochemistry and dosimetry, which would apply to an M.S. in radiochemistry, for which I have all but been admitted.

I'm looking at the "opportunity cost" of being in school versus working, though. And, since I'm pretty much convinced I want to stay in the power plant arena, and I find the road life to be a very attractive lifestyle, I'm seriously debating whether it's worth it for me to finish a Master's degree.

Any thoughts? Is it worth my time? Would it really get me anywhere to have it, in terms of available work as a road tech?

Also, since you're reading this, is there any demand at all for contract radiochemists? I have yet to find any open positions in that field listed anywhere.

As always, thank you very much for your time, patience, and guidance. :)

-Jassen

JassenB:
I've got the "way" --- but I'm just tired of making $950 per month, so I don't know if I have the "will" part. :)

Not to mention that I hate school. :)

Oh, and that monthly income is only because of the GI Bill, courtesy of the canoe club (thanks Uncle Sam).

Didn't you leave the road life to get your degree in nuclear physics or something???

Thanks!
-Jassen

Roll Tide:

--- Quote from: JassenB on Feb 11, 2004, 05:13 ---
I am currently finishing the very last class for my B.S. degree, which Eric Bartlett told me to stay on course and finish. It so happens that was the demand of my wife, as well. :)

--- End quote ---

You're married to Eric Bartlett!?!? Maybe you can put in a good word for me for future outages. :P

Anyway, you probably want some REAL advice. Does your choice HAVE to be either work the road or go to school? There are some good opportunities out there externally (mail and internet) which would not prevent working outages. It will take longer if you only take classes on a full-time basis in the summer, but your income can be higher and you have 10 years from date of discharge to use VA benefits.

I am trying to position myself for the external Master's program in Nuclear Engineering at UT Knoxville campus. I still need to get a few pre-requisites under my belt, and I would prefer to have some employer tuition assistance. Maybe I can start next year.

If you want to work contracts, HP is more suitable than chemistry (call Bartlett). On the other hand, a permanent position might yield good tuition assistance, especially since you can piggyback your VA benefits.  :-\

Best of luck. (And my compliments to your wife for supporting you in your education.)

JassenB:
Thanks for the tips, Roll Tide. No, I'm not married to Eric. I guess I should check my sentence structure better around this place --- you would think I would know that by now. :)

I have pretty much done my B.S. via correspondence, online, and other such "non-traditional" means. Of course, my degree is the BSAST in Nuclear Engineering Technologies, courtesy of Thomas Edison State College and the Navy. So, it's taken me 8 years to get that done anyway, but 6 of it was in the Navy, and I spent 1 years at Amgen as an operator/mechanic.

I've pretty much decided that I don't want a permanent sort of position. In the Navy I was fortunate enough to literally never be at the same command for more than a year and a half (I volunteered for some non-nuke duties with Marines...long story). At Amgen, I got tired of going to the same plant and sitting in the same control room for 12 hours a day, day in day out for a year.

I didn't know that UT Knoxville had an external NE program. Does it cost an arm and a leg for out of state tuition?

I assume the contract companies (Bartlett, et. al.) don't provide any tuition assistance.

As for my wife, she is an R&D engineer with Hewlett-Packard, so she makes excellent money, especially at our age, so she doesn't want to move away from the area (and I like having a sugar momma).

One of the stumbling blocks I am having with getting into the contract HP field is that, even with a degree, I have no real HP/RCT experience, since I was an EM in the Navy. Qualifying CPAW and standing Control Point in the shipyards doesn't exactly give somebody a lot of experience. :)

So, getting on board with Bartlett has been a challenge -- all I have to bring with me is the B.S.

Thanks a bunch for the advice and for mentioning the  UT program in nuc eng -- I'll take a look at that.

Take care!
-Jassen

Roll Tide:

--- Quote from: JassenB on Feb 11, 2004, 07:44 ---

One of the stumbling blocks I am having with getting into the contract HP field is that, even with a degree, I have no real HP/RCT experience, since I was an EM in the Navy. Qualifying CPAW and standing Control Point in the shipyards doesn't exactly give somebody a lot of experience. :)

.......

So, getting on board with Bartlett has been a challenge -- all I have to bring with me is the B.S.


--- End quote ---

Keep on the Bartlett and NUMANCO wish lists as a Jr. HP, since there WILL be outages where first time Jr. HP's are hired. March 2003 TVA SQN outage used some first-time Jr.'s, utilizing previous deconners and previous college as determining factors.

Assuming you have worked as a field (NLO / AUO) operator at a nuclear plant with your current degree, you should be in a good position for Bartlett or NUMANCO for the next outage season.

On the other hand, EM's can be in high demand for outages. With Navy training and systems understanding, you can make some good money. Contract electricians in many plants are hired via union halls, and this offers more summer work since there are chemical plant / paper mill / other industrial outages mid-summer and mid-winter. I can't give more specific details, but it may be a direction you want to check.

Many HP's work Spring and Fall, then collect Unemployment Summer and Winter. I haven't lied to collect unemployment, but they laugh when I tell them how much I make an hour and what I would be willing to work for. They stop laughing when they realize I actually make it during outages. File in MA or some other generous state at the end of each outage season.

Best of luck.

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