Ex- Navy Nuke about to graduate. What to do?

[dayoungn]

Hi all, so i am an ex navy nuke, i served 4.5 years. i made it through all my schools and got to my carrier and qualified a few of the low level watches before i had an emergency which ended my navy career.  I got out in may 05, and am going to complete my BSAST from TESC in Dec. 09.   My question is, what type of jobs do i qualify for?  where should i look?  I completed all the school, but didn't get very far qualifying on the ship, so what doors does that leave open?   I am interested in getting back in the plant (either nuke or not) and getting my foot back in the door.   any advice would be greatly appreciated.   Thanks all.

[HydroDave63]

a DEPer was able to do the search....

http://www.nukeworker.com/forum/index.php/topic,17568.0.html#msg98984

[LT Dan]

Hi all, so i am an ex navy nuke, i served 4.5 years. i made it through all my schools and got to my carrier and qualified a few of the low level watches before i had an emergency which ended my navy career.  I got out in may 05, and am going to complete my BSAST from TESC in Dec. 09.   My question is, what type of jobs do i qualify for?  where should i look?  I completed all the school, but didn't get very far qualifying on the ship, so what doors does that leave open?   I am interested in getting back in the plant (either nuke or not) and getting my foot back in the door.   any advice would be greatly appreciated.   Thanks all.

Was English 101 a requirement for your degree?

[Abiien]

Is Typing Correctly 101 a requirement for this board? If so, I apologize... didn't get a chance to read over the rules ;-)

[Already Gone]

Before I start slapping everyone's karma, I think I might offer a little gentle counseling to y'all.

First, good typing and impeccable grammar are not necessarily required here.  They are very much appreciated, and there is a minimum standard of readability that will keep a post from being deleted.  But, the originator of this thread did not break any forum rules - so leave him alone.  If he had typed it in all caps, or used text message shortcuts, you would be free to assault him verbally at your leisure.  However, the lack of capitalization, and ending sentences with prepositions is not an offense worthy of corporal punishment.

Second, enough already with the instinctive answer to every newbie that he or she should have used the search function.  This is an interactive community, and not an encyclopedia.  Yes, the search function is a useful tool, but it can also result in an information overload.  If you come here for the first time, wanting the perspective of those who have gone before, it can be overwhelming to read though gigabytes of previous posts in the hope of gleaning the answer to your question out of fragments of all the answers to everyone else's.

If you don't want to answer someone who has asked essentially the same question that dozens of others have asked before, then don't answer.  If you have no desire to help, move on.

Sometimes a person, especially in this economy, comes here hoping to better his prospects.  And EVERYONE considers his or her own situation to be unique - even if it looks to us like a standard, Navy-issue, Mark I, Mod 0, ordinary, everyday, unremarkable, mundane, seen-it, heard-it, same-old, same-old circumstance.  To the individual who is asking the question, this is the one and only life that he or she will ever have.  So, let's be a little more tolerant of the confusion, insecurity, curiosity, and trepidation of those who enter our little world, okay?


Now, to answer the question.  You are probably qualified for any job in the Universe.  That doesn't mean that you are prepared for any of them.  Training, prior experience, and education get you into the door.  The fact that you completed a very rigorous training program does not mean that they will sit you in front of the control panel at your local nuclear plant or in the pilot's seat of a 757.  It means that you are very likely to succeed in the training required for either of those jobs.  So, a prospective employer will take you on as a high probability of finishing the training that they need you to pass before you become a productive part of their economic engine.

There is no laundry list of jobs that you can do based on having been qualified Engineroom Lower Level Watch or Shutdown Electrical Operator.  There are some programs (such as the instant SRO) that require EWS, PPWS, EOOW, or PPWO experience, but they will also accept people without those quals who have worked on site for a given time.  At this moment, there is a former commercial airline pilot here at this plant who will be entering the Instant SRO class as soon as he has met the time requirement.  He, like you, has a very low risk of failing this course.  But don't be discouraged that you are not eligible for it at the moment.  There are thousands of other jobs in and out of nuclear power that you can get.  Broaden your field, apply to anything that looks interesting to you.  If you interview well, and they need to fill the job (why else would they post the opening?) then you have a shot at it.  Yeah, you will not always be the first pick.  Neither will any of us.

Good luck, and thanks for your service.

[Already Gone]

Yes, you may call me Troy.  That is my name.  It's not the name I would have chosen for myself, but I didn't get a vote.

I didn't let it go because, although I believe that the newbies need to do a little of the work themselves, we shouldn't expect them to do it all before posting a question.

It is good advice to guide them toward the search button.  But, this is a forum - a place to ask questions and get personal answers.  As a moderator, I do more than enforce rules.  Part of moderating is to facilitate the conversation and keep it civil and relevant.  If we smack down everyone who comes here on his first day, they may decide not to come back.  Most large retail stores have a product locator somewhere, and some have price scanners too.  These are conveniences to some people, but nothing beats good personal customer service.  Would you go back to a store if you were rudely directed toward the computer every time you asked where to find a particular item?  No, probably not.  Believe it or not, we want new users to feel welcome.  We want them to come back.  Even in the Navy Nuke section, users should feel comfortable asking questions.  If they want smartass comments, criticism, or dressing-down for a small mistake, those are available in abundant supply from just about anyone of higher paygrade right on the boat with them.

If you want to point someone to the search function, try to be a little more friendly in the way that you do it.  It also wouldn't hurt to add a little information of your own if you have it to give.

Since you have read my earlier posts, you know that I like to see capitalization, punctuation, structured sentences and reasonably good grammar.  These are the things that make the posts easier to read and understand.  And, of course, that is a courtesy that we should expect from those who come to us for help.  Let's encourage the practice of good writing here, because it really is a necessary skill for people who are seeking career advancement - not to mention the fact that it makes the forum easier to use.  But harsh criticism is not necessarily encouragement.

Having said all that, I would like to point all the newbies to the topic http://www.nukeworker.com/forum/index.php/topic,4219.0.html   It might seem a little sarcastic, but it is really the best place for newbies to start - even if they are not coming to us from the Navy.

[Creeker]

Dayoungn,
Congratulations on getting your degree finished!  Calc II without an instructor is a bear, isn't it?
Now, I'll answer your question from a limited scope, with some assumptions built in.  I'll assume that your looking to enter the commercial nuclear field, and you training and education to this point have made you more eligible than the average bear for getting into the field.  Here's what I would do, if I was you.
I would go to the NRC website, www.nrc.gov, and get a listing of every plant in the country, and organize them by what company owns/operates which plants.  These are called fleets, with some plants being solo, and others being part of a large organization, run by the large owners like Entergy and Excelon.  Then, I would get the websites to the owners, and start methodically looking for hirings.  It's a process.. You might get lucky, and see that they are hiring NSOs at the plant 20 miles down the road the first time you look, but don't count on it.  The job you might end up with might be half way across the country, and it might not be advertised on that plants website until a month from now, so you have to keep looking, and continue going back to the sites on a regular basis.  
Next, while you are qualified to hire in as a SRO at some plants by virtue of your degree, I wouldn't do it.  Looking for a job, or a career?  If a career, then take the time to go through your NSO quals at a plant, so you can learn the plant bottom up, as a non-licensed operator, and then you will be a very much more qualified and successful licensed operator.
I don't have my license yet.  Another 4 months to go.  So, when I'm standing a UI in the control room, and an operator calls about a small but essential quirk on one of thousands of pieces of equipment...Well, you can see the disadvantage.  You wont have that problem, cause you'll have worked on all that equipment for a couple years.  Money?  OK, so you might start at 20 bucks an hour.  Within 3 years, you'll be a senior NSO, making 36 or so an hour, and with a little built in OT, you'll be bringing in over 90 a year!  Then, after you've learned the plant, go to license class, and you'll be a shift manager by your late 30s, if you have a lot on the ball...  
Listen, I'm 44, about to (hopefully) get my SRO license, and the world is my oyster!  Sure, I'll have a tough time and a steep learning curve as I learn the plant post license class.  Your probably in your mid 20s, nuclear training behind you, degree in hand!  You, if you have a good work ethic and some ambition, should have a great career in front of you!  I wish you the best of luck.

[dayoungn]

First off, sorry to all the English 101 and 102 teachers on the forum.  Reading my post must have caused you to run to the toilet several times! Ouch! :-) That DEPer must be a genious! (or have more time to search the forum?) Second, Thank you BeerCourt for calming down the bowels of the english teachers. :-) To clear the air, I did do a search and did read through several topics but couldnt find anything that (i felt) described my situation. Third, Thank You Creeker, that was exactly what I was looking for, a little guidance and hope for my personal situation.   I will take your advice and run with it.  At last, Thank You all for reading and responding to my post (super critical or not) :-) I love my nukes :-)