House tech vs. Road Tech

[hezabear]

House Tech vs. Road Tech, ehh....

There is an unofficial test with the question: What's the difference between a House Mouse and a Road Rat? One of the answers is:

One is healthy, wealthy and wise with a Kiss my *** mother****** attitude and the other is weak, pathetic poor with a Yes Sir, right away Sir attitude.

I use to think I knew which one was which, now I think it's not the job category you hold but how well you've been able to deal with the changing economic climate and bureaucratic politics that determines your personal wealth and attitude.

As for me, I see the light at the end of the Tunnel and am looking forward to saying for the last time: "Kiss my............."

I think is more how you act as a man/professional than what type of attitude you have. Be professional and you can tell them to kiss you XXX and in a polite way and they will never know it.

[Smart People]

Lets not forget the baggage you bring with you. If you think it all sucks all the time, it always will. On many occasions friends of mine will tell me how horrible a job is. When I get there I end up having the time of my life (and make great money too!).
We all bring our filters with us and whether you are mouse or rat, it all depends on the shade of the rose colored glasses you are wearing.

[Content1]

I think many prefer to whine.

[Cathy]

I think many prefer to whine.

You can have both, I am a house mouse and I still whine 

[btkeele]

You can have both, I am a house mouse and I still whine 

Some things never change........

[biloxoi blues]

I also prefer to whine and Im a house mouse for now.

[Old HP]

Everybody whines, some do it louder, some do it better, some even do it all the time. As to the house versus road tech issue it really does not matter as both are temporary positions. No one stays in the rat race forever. Thirty years and still going but my hair is getting grayer and my patience is getting shorter.  (oops there I am whining again, sorry Cathy)

[duke99301]

Do not for get the Rent A House tech...

[Content1]

If someone spills some contaminated water and then cries about it, is that called "Turning water into whine?"

[retired nuke]

If someone spills some contaminated water and then cries about it, is that called "Turning water into whine?"

I really, really, really .... really ought to smite you for that one.......

[HydroDave63]

I'll do it for ya! 

[mostlyharmless]

There's a lot to be said for both. You can stay at home and enjoy the family and everyone can develop relationships with people you see often and in person, over years and not months. You can have the comfort of routine.
On the other hand ( sounds like a song ) theres the boredom of mind numbing routine,office politics, the high school emotional development of coworkers, and familiarity breeds contempt. Dead end job, etc.
I wonder how the divorce rate among the road vs. the house compares.
The road is exciting. I have seen places and done things ( work included ) that most of my coworkers have not. And I have met and loved some wonderfull people and consequently failed to keep up with.
On the other hand ( again the song ) theres the looking for work,looking for a place to live. The work is much harder physically, and theres the challenge of trying to put the breaks on a train that does not slow down unless forced.
In short, I love being home but I sure do miss the road. And i feel I was more sharp, or had to stay sharp while on the road. I am more knowlegable now but less astute while covering a job. I don't mean sorry,just not as sharp.
I have gone from snow storms in Nebraska and whale watching from the roof in Ca to watching the seasons change in S.C. It comes and goes. MH

[UncaBuffalo]

There's a lot to be said for both. You can stay at home and enjoy the family and everyone can develop relationships with people you see often and in person, over years and not months. You can have the comfort of routine.
On the other hand ( sounds like a song ) theres the boredom of mind numbing routine,office politics, the high school emotional development of coworkers, and familiarity breeds contempt. Dead end job, etc.
I wonder how the divorce rate among the road vs. the house compares.
The road is exciting. I have seen places and done things ( work included ) that most of my coworkers have not. And I have met and loved some wonderfull people and consequently failed to keep up with.
On the other hand ( again the song ) theres the looking for work,looking for a place to live. The work is much harder physically, and theres the challenge of trying to put the breaks on a train that does not slow down unless forced.
In short, I love being home but I sure do miss the road. And i feel I was more sharp, or had to stay sharp while on the road. I am more knowlegable now but less astute while covering a job. I don't mean sorry,just not as sharp.
I have gone from snow storms in Nebraska and whale watching from the roof in Ca to watching the seasons change in S.C. It comes and goes. MH

Good point!

[Content1]

It is a year since my last road outage where as a 3.1 senior, I only made $13,000 for the entire Spring 2009.  It ticked my off enough when I got nothing from the recruiters that would assure me this would not happen again.   This Spring my Jr. daughters only got one outage.   I took a house tech job June 2009 and the results?  In the one year since I left I made a yearly rate of 72K plus 6K matched in my 401K.   I get paid for a month off with pay and holidays.   My pay is set to go up 11% in May.   I actually see my family at home.   I have a 6 month supply of food and hard currency stored for emergencies.   My car, which had a shadow hanging over it close to death, like Tiny Tim, did not die but lives on.   I can ride a bike to work to exercise and go green.   I have full medical benefits.    I do not get per diem, yet I don't worry if I am sick on a workday I would lose it.   When I vacation now I do not rush across the country on my own dime to a job and look at the sights as I pass them by AT 65 mph, only to arrive at motels with rates jacked up for the outage the I can get of 1/3 the cost outside of the outage time.   I would say House tech is the way to go in my case.

[xobxdoc]

I wouldn't trade my road tech days for anything. There were good and bad times, but it makes me appreciate what I have now. I will have 10 years in Ops this November. I have a sense of belonging that I never had working on the road. I volunteer at my son's school and coach his baseball team. I waved him home as 3rd base coach for his first home run. I could not imagine missing that if I stilled traveled. I get decent time off and the money is pretty good too. I wouldn't mind a Thursday after shift volley ball/ beach party at SONGS though. Do they still do that?

[RRhoads]

I think many prefer to whine.

Seems like YOU are the one who prefers to whine.....
I really have nothing against you, but you continually bash the road where iam gonna guess you received a good majority of your experience? Not to mention your TIME to be a 3.1 which most likely was a big part of you getting the house job you have? ( i say this cuz we only hire 3.1's at the plant iam house at)
Seems to me you are far enough removed from the road that you wouldnt be so,
"bitter bob" about it! Some others might call it "paying your dues"??
Alot of people have had good & bad experiences with the recruiters, so dont think for a minute that yours are unique.
I too perfer the "comfort" of a house tech job but wouldnt trade my 16 yrs on the road as a deconner/Jr Hp/ Sr HP for anything!
As for House vs. Road tech, timing is everything & the time will prob come where iam back on the road too.....but for now, the house tech job is where its at!

[retread]

Plus 1 K for you RRhoads!!

[Content1]

I am not "bitter", it is just house jobs with the current market is "better."  I use to wonder why a house tech would forgo per diem until my 13K spring.  The market could change . . . but I doubt it will until the economy changes, nuclear plants are going for the lowest bidder as long as people are willing to take the jobs.

[fueldryer]

I am not "bitter", it is just house jobs with the current market is "better."  I use to wonder why a house tech would forgo per diem until my 13K spring.  The market could change . . . but I doubt it will until the economy changes, nuclear plants are going for the lowest bidder as long as people are willing to take the jobs.

Nine (9) times you've posted on this topic and nine (9) times all you,ve done is bitched and moaned.For god's sakes, Stop!! Maybe you should consider a different career path?You are bitter,probabally think the world owes you a living too!If I were a recruiter,hell I wouldn't call either as you seem to be a whiner.Good luck with your house job,hope I'm never covered on a job by you.

[Content1]

Yes, I will stop posting altogether as I find this is not a free idea board anymore, just a politically correctness board that I have lost interest in. 
Good bye to you all, and Moderator, PLEASE remove my name Permanently from this system.

[RAD-GHOST]

Yes, I will stop posting altogether as I find this is not a free idea board anymore, just a politically correctness board that I have lost interest in. 
Good bye to you all, and Moderator, PLEASE remove my name Permanently from this system.

A man is only as good as his word.......

Bye-Bye, Adios, Asta-La-Vista,............

fueldryer,

You just earned the title "NUCLEAR GOD" for the next 1440 minutes!


Have a Great Day......RG!

[mostlyharmless]

I also would not trade anything for my road years. I paid my dues and left sweat and puke all over the country and took away dose and not enough money. This is not a complaint. Like C1 I state my perspective. I reread all of C1s posts and do not see the negativity that others see. He is stating his perspective as he has a right to do,as you have a right to respond with yours. C1 should not go away mad. Defend yourself or just let it go. Unless you know each other it should not get personal. But do not stop posting just because someone reacts adversely.  MH

[RRhoads]

Boo-f-ing hoo!
Maybe YOU should re-read some of your posts...iam sure this will get deleted cuz its off topic, but i really have a good sense of what kinda conversations woulda happened in the breakroom if you were there!...you are prob a bitter house tech too!

[fueldryer]

Yes, I will stop posting altogether as I find this is not a free idea board anymore, just a politically correctness board that I have lost interest in. 
Good bye to you all, and Moderator, PLEASE remove my name Permanently from this system.

I didn't post a reply to piss someone off or get them to give up and run away.Just stating the facts.Most of C1's post are pretty negitive,not just this thread either.Hell,more so than mine.I've worked with plenty of house tech's and plenty of contractor tech's and they all(well most)are top notch(I'm not a HP).Keep on posting C1 and keep it real.

[mostlyharmless]

Back to the topic. Whats this topic about? Witch techs are better, witch has better working conditions,personal preference? All of the above and more. I just got through moping my assigned area of the building as part of my housekeeping duties. I am growing fond of the mop and am doing a pretty good job. I am 21 yrs into the business and nrrpt and I have no problem moping. The rotating shift is hurting me now and the boredom takes its toll.I get one week a month in addition to vacation and sick time to recover from shift. I live at home all the time, and I just got through planting peach and cherry trees and azaleas at my new house that I live in all the time. But, I still miss the road, its difficult to get it out of your blood. I met my most excellent wife of 15 yrs on the road. I learned a lot about a lot of things on the road. And I have found that I still am able to learn.
Bitter? yea,sometimes. Life is good but it could be better. I just don't do well with the boredom, but I'm working on it.
Discussions in a break room? Give me a break, have you ever been in a break room? The topics are as wide and varied as you can get. That is another thing I miss. A little less political correctness. But I can contribute to a discussion on many subjects, like this one. I have been there, both ways and respect each. This is a great site. You can put your opinion out there for anyone to see. That is if you can articulate one and are not scared. But I digress. I guess it does boil down to personal preference.I wish I could have it both ways.