Newbie trying to decided between Navy or Commercial

[JnukePA11]

First let me begin by saying I've spent 2 hours reading through posts and information on this site and have found it to have answered some of my major questions and generally been extremely helpful.  Yet a couple questions remain so I expect the normal flaming of the newb. 

Background on myself: I'm 27 yrs old recently taken the ASVAB 96 Electronics was a 71 and Adv Science a 68 and Math 67 which lined scored out of taking the NFQT also been told the age waiver for Navy Nuke won't be a problem.  I have a BS in Business Management and a Minor in Physics from Juniata College. 

I find myself now trying to decide between going Navy or going directly commercial Nuke.  The only thing I want to do in the Navy is Nuke and I have already told my recruiter, to his dismay, that I will be rate-locked and that is the end to it.  If I do go Navy Nuke I plan on serving my country for 6 years as a Navy Nuke then directly go into commerical.  After reading through this forum it seems it is possible to get into commercial nuke without prior Nuke experience.  By testing through the POSS (sorry if I messed up this acronym).

If someone could please give me a solid (search term) or idea of which companies are hiring for this entry level area I would greatly appreciate it and how to apply with these companies.  I've tried on my own but I have a feeling I'm either looking at the wrong places or using the wrong search term. 

Also, beyond the pride and duty of serving my country if someone could give me a fair and honest breakdown of the two career paths I'm looking at. I know in the Navy you get tremendous experience and training that you wouldn't receive in the private sector such as powering up and powering down a Nuke reactor. 

Thank you all for your time and any information your provide!

[Nuclear NASCAR]

Is there any certain area of the country that you're looking to work in or are you open to anywhere?  The major owners in commercial nukes are Exelon, Entergy, Dominion, and Constellation.  Past that your best bet is to look here: http://www.nukeworker.com/maps/facilitydirectory.php for specific plants.  The pages for the specific plants will also have information such as owner, operator, and websites. 

It is definitely possible to hire in without prior Navy Nuke experience.  About half of the NLO's (Non-licensed operators) at my plant have no Navy experience. 

Best of luck whichever way you decide and Welcome to Nukeworker!

Tom

[JnukePA11]

Thank you very much for the welcome, I will check out that link right now.  I live in the North East and prefer to stay around here but would honestly but open to relocate anywhere that would provide me an opportunity to get into the field.

EDIT:

I guess a great question while I'm digging through all the posts of jobs what is the Job Title(s) I should be looking to apply in for with my current situation.

[Nuclear NASCAR]

Thank you very much for the welcome, I will check out that link right now.  I live in the North East and prefer to stay around here but would honestly but open to relocate anywhere that would provide me an opportunity to get into the field.

EDIT:

I guess a great question while I'm digging through all the posts of jobs what is the Job Title(s) I should be looking to apply in for with my current situation.

The NLO jobs have many titles: NLO, Operations trainee, Equipment operator, Assistant Operations tech, Operations apprentice.  Basically look for operations jobs and they should tell you in some way that they are and entry level job.

[JnukePA11]

Thanks tons!

[gsmagnum]

Don't be afraid to apply to nonnuclear power plants. They are just as important to the grid and will give you an open into a company that may have nuke plants or other opportunities.
Shift work takes a toll on a person. I am happily working 4-5 days per week....no nights and no weekends.
I spent 16 years working either shift work or duty section. This is a nice break!
I now work in electrical maintenance and protection which isn't half bad for a nuke MM. The only down side is that after going 9 years without, I had to get dosimetry again as I occasionally stop at a nuke plant now.

[matthew7899]

If you know that you only want to do 6 years and then transfer into the commercial side, I would recommend at least trying to go straight into the commercial side first.