NLO pay wage

[HydroDave63]

It ain't going to be more than most other places that already posted. It will be in the range people have been posting.

"Please, Suh, may oi 'ave anotha?"

[Kakashi86]

33/hr previous experience/technical degree at Ginna, otherwise I believe no experience/relevant degree is around 26. I heard Fully qualed AO, non-PPO, top out around 41-42. PPOs making 44ish tops.

[redline]

Duke will top you out at thirty four and change plus about 6% annual bonus. Where they bring you in depends on what you bring with you, minimum would be low mid twenties. Raises come every six months until you top out, you need to train to quals as you go but there is usually more than enough time to get it done. I believe license pay is about $5-6/hour and a slightly higher bonus percentage.
Although you can find some very expensive places to live around all Duke sites, but the overall cost of living is well below average, the quality of life is good. I wouldn't trade it for $50/hr. at an excelon site.

[shipoffools]

VCS starts ex-nukes around 30, tech degrees around 24.  Top out is about 35.  The "bonus" program is a laughable 3% max for AO/NLO. 

[WMX289]

Palo Verde was offering 27-30/hr for new AO hires depending on experience.  It has gone down 2-3/hr from there over the past few years.  The problem is that the experienced AO's that make the most money are retiring, at many plants.  That makes the calculated average wage go down.  So when they benchmark pay with other plants, they can conclude that pay should go down to be in alignment with the rest of the industry.  Palo Verde is non-union so they can get away with this (a dirty trick if you ask me).  However it is cheap to live in Arizona and there are two outages per year and plenty of opportunity for overtime as an AO.  They are hiring large classes of AO's so there is opportunity to get your foot in the door, especially if you are ex-Navy.  They also have the largest license classes in the industry and this will likely continue for years due to so many retirements.  They have begun picking up qualified AO's to go instant SRO also.  I have seen people get selected for license class right after completing their AO qualifications.  There is a ton of competition for class spots now due to the number and quality of the AO's being hired.  AO qualifications take about two years from date of hire.  You get a small raise after half your quals are done.  Fully qualified AO's start at about 33.50/hr with 1.5x overtime and annual bonus up to about 9% base pay.  The shift differential pay is an insulting 1.20/hr for nightshifts.  They also get very small raises which probably cap out around 42/hr (only for the AO's that have been there forever).  Newly qualified RO's make just under 40/hr plus license bonus.  SRO's and STA's only get straight time OT.  However RO and SRO pay is top secret for whatever reason.  Don't expect to get an offer letter.  You won't know what you will make in training or what you'll make when training is over.  The only offer letter you will ever get is your training rate when hired to be an AO.  There is no retention bonus for license holders.  SRO instants and upgrades get a raise during class, but AO's stay at their AO rate.  So, you will lose almost all of your overtime for almost 2 years while in class.  Essentially you take a sizable pay cut for two years to go to class from the AO position, which really sucks.  By the way, APS pays operators at non-nuclear plants considerably more than the nuclear operators.  They start at 36/hr.  Then again, they are union.  Also, most other technicians at the site seem to make as much if not more than the AO's, and they don't do shift work.  They work 4 days at 10hr/day, a much better schedule.  You have a decent chance of getting a license at Palo Verde, but you will make less money than at other plants.  If you aren't interested in a license, you are probably better off going to a conventional plant or being a technician.  The pay and quality of life would be better.  The AO is just not as respected a position as it once was, at least in management's eyes.

[Xenon_Free]

From your post you look bitter.  I am sure it is just how it looks and not actual bitterness, but I am not sure.  Are you serious? Serious about the complaints?

XF

This is not a flame war, do not turn it into one, I have respect for what NLOs do.

[pole 53]

Does anyone have any current NLO pay wage information for Calvert Cliffs?

[WMX289]

From your post you look bitter.  I am sure it is just how it looks and not actual bitterness, but I am not sure.  Are you serious? Serious about the complaints?

XF

This is not a flame war, do not turn it into one, I have respect for what NLOs do.

No real bitterness.  They have been pretty good to me.  Like any job, there are always gripes.  I just remember how hard it was to find info when I was looking for a job years back.  I spoke to one of our new operators in training and he mentioned he wasn't happy and he wished he knew more before he was hired on etc.  So I figured I would just post some facts....good, bad or indifferent for anyone looking to come here. 

They did just bump AO pay up a buck an hour or so.  They are also really going after reducing overtime payouts and the workload is ever increasing.  That's business though.  Hopefully I will get picked up for license class next time around.  Once you get the license, you have options.  Anyway, it's a good place to get a license as the older guys are retiring.  It is getting tougher though as they are hiring 20-30 AOs per year.  So there is a lot more competition than in recent years.  However, they are now picking up AOs for instant SRO.  Hopefully those guys do well in this upcoming class and set a precedent for everyone else.  Personally, I think the only reason they are allowing AO instants is because they can't afford to take ROs off shift to upgrade them.  Most of them don't want to anyway since they will lose all overtime for 2 years to make the same money basically.  In fact, they just announced that all operators in training, even license training, cannot get overtime.  You get a few bonuses in class, but nowhere near enough to cover two years of no overtime.  So there it is.  So if you come here after reading this, you know what to expect.  18-24 months to qualify AO, a year at minimum before a license class starts probably, and 20-24 months of license class.  It would be a minimum of 5 years to get your license that way, assuming you impressed enough to beat out the 60 or so other AOs trying for that same class.  They are the biggest classes in the industry though.  I wish all the job hunters the best.  Good luck.

[allenmurrow]

Palo Verde was offering 27-30/hr for new AO hires depending on experience.  It has gone down 2-3/hr from there over the past few years.  The problem is that the experienced AO's that make the most money are retiring, at many plants.  That makes the calculated average wage go down.  So when they benchmark pay with other plants, they can conclude that pay should go down to be in alignment with the rest of the industry.  Palo Verde is non-union so they can get away with this (a dirty trick if you ask me).  However it is cheap to live in Arizona and there are two outages per year and plenty of opportunity for overtime as an AO.  They are hiring large classes of AO's so there is opportunity to get your foot in the door, especially if you are ex-Navy.  They also have the largest license classes in the industry and this will likely continue for years due to so many retirements.  They have begun picking up qualified AO's to go instant SRO also.  I have seen people get selected for license class right after completing their AO qualifications.  There is a ton of competition for class spots now due to the number and quality of the AO's being hired.  AO qualifications take about two years from date of hire.  You get a small raise after half your quals are done.  Fully qualified AO's start at about 33.50/hr with 1.5x overtime and annual bonus up to about 9% base pay.  The shift differential pay is an insulting 1.20/hr for nightshifts.  They also get very small raises which probably cap out around 42/hr (only for the AO's that have been there forever).  Newly qualified RO's make just under 40/hr plus license bonus.  SRO's and STA's only get straight time OT.  However RO and SRO pay is top secret for whatever reason.  Don't expect to get an offer letter.  You won't know what you will make in training or what you'll make when training is over.  The only offer letter you will ever get is your training rate when hired to be an AO.  There is no retention bonus for license holders.  SRO instants and upgrades get a raise during class, but AO's stay at their AO rate.  So, you will lose almost all of your overtime for almost 2 years while in class.  Essentially you take a sizable pay cut for two years to go to class from the AO position, which really sucks.  By the way, APS pays operators at non-nuclear plants considerably more than the nuclear operators.  They start at 36/hr.  Then again, they are union.  Also, most other technicians at the site seem to make as much if not more than the AO's, and they don't do shift work.  They work 4 days at 10hr/day, a much better schedule.  You have a decent chance of getting a license at Palo Verde, but you will make less money than at other plants.  If you aren't interested in a license, you are probably better off going to a conventional plant or being a technician.  The pay and quality of life would be better.  The AO is just not as respected a position as it once was, at least in management's eyes.

Well put. I agree that this is not a complaint in any fashion. This is good information to consider for people looking at getting into this industry.

[mhs25]

The job posting for Quad Cities equipment operator (and I assume Byron since it was the same union) said starting at $29.xx and after 9-12 months of qualifying, it would be $45.xx.

Just wanted to add another data point...

[pro_nuke]

Does any one have the current starting pay rate of Comanche Peak Equipment Operators?  If you want to keep it private you can P.M. me if you know.

[SleepyNuke]

The job posting for Quad Cities equipment operator (and I assume Byron since it was the same union) said starting at $29.xx and after 9-12 months of qualifying, it would be $45.xx.

Just wanted to add another data point...

That's the same pay for Limerick and Peach Bottom this year.

[JROB]

I recently accepted an offer for a Southeast plant and with prior Navy experience start is 31ish/hr.

[Jon92179]

JROB, do you know what the journeyman pay rate will be?

[Rerun]

@#$% thats low




Modified for language

[JROB]

JROB, do you know what the journeyman pay rate will be?

Not sure. That is before completing the basic operator training.


Rerun, is it that low? I know it's not as much as some NE plants, but the start pay is better than I would have had at Comanche Peak.

[ddickey]

I recently accepted an offer for a Southeast plant and with prior Navy experience start is 31ish/hr.

That's really good starting pay. I started 5$ an hour less than that. How long is your training before you go to the plant?

[JROB]

That's really good starting pay. I started 5$ an hour less than that. How long is your training before you go to the plant?

5 months. April to August.

[Willy]

That's not a bad wage to start off at.  We start most NLO's at 24/hr and top out at around 40ish.

[Rerun]

Yes its low. 24/hr is low too.

[JROB]

Well, regardless of where it stands, it's more than I initially expected and I'm happy with it.

[Ksheed]

Looks to me like mid 30's is average: http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Nuclear_Power_Reactor_Operator/Salary

[ddickey]

Looks to me like mid 30's is average: http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Nuclear_Power_Reactor_Operator/Salary

We're talking NLO's not RO's. That chart is incorrect big time.

[hamsamich]

31 is a low starting pay in the south?  Really?  Haven't seen much higher than that down south.

[Red Gold]

I've recently been hired by, I believe, the same utility JROB is going to be working for. Everyone ends up at a decent industry-competitive fully-qualified hourly pay when qualified. As a day-zero trainee / nublet / etc, what's offered can vary quite widely up and down the payscale, dependent on the new hire's qualifications, background, experience etc. Union plants are a totally different ball game, of course; usually, then, the starting rate for trainees is fixed in the contract, but obviously that depends on the bargaining unit in question.