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mtr1514

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NLO pay wage
« on: Mar 22, 2010, 11:50 »
Hello everyone,

It was my understanding that NLO's started at about $24-28/hr but jumped up to over $35/hr after qualification.  Is that somewhere in the ballpark.

After talking to a Harris plant recruiter, that isn't the case.  It was just mentioned that I could possibly be a senior auxiliary operator after 18 months.

Can anyone elaborate?  What do most plants offer?

UncleRico

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #1 on: Mar 23, 2010, 11:25 »
Your numbers are pretty close to what my plant pays NAO's. When fully qualified (about 2 years) our NAO's are making between $34 and $35 per hour and currently top out around $39. I believe we are on the higher side of the NAO pay scale but you can expect to be making at least in the low $30's, as a fully qualified Auxiliary Operator, just about anywhere. However, I read a post here discussing a utility that starts Reactor Operators at $33 so I would hate to see what Auxiliary Operators make there! Good luck.
« Last Edit: Mar 23, 2010, 11:26 by UncleRico »

Offline xobxdoc

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #2 on: Mar 23, 2010, 11:52 »
Topped out NLO at Calvert is 38 per hour. A principle is 10% higher

mtr1514

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #3 on: Mar 25, 2010, 08:18 »
Thanks for the responses.

I guess what I looking to find out that I havent seen in any thread is how are the pay increases distributed for a NLO during and after qualifying?  I know Excelon and Constellation start there NLO's about $24.50-26/hr walking in the door and then in 12-14 months after qualifing they are making over $40/hr.  I heard other plants give wage increase even during qualification after certain watch station qual's.

Are all plants this way? Only reason I ask is that I have a job offer at one plant for a non-operations position but have an invitation for another plant for a NLO position.  I'm just trying to gauge what the NLO payscale will be after a year or so.

Offline retired nuke

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #4 on: Mar 25, 2010, 08:51 »
Thanks for the responses.

I guess what I looking to find out that I havent seen in any thread is how are the pay increases distributed for a NLO during and after qualifying?  I know Excelon and Constellation start there NLO's about $24.50-26/hr walking in the door and then in 12-14 months after qualifing they are making over $40/hr.  I heard other plants give wage increase even during qualification after certain watch station qual's.

Are all plants this way? Only reason I ask is that I have a job offer at one plant for a non-operations position but have an invitation for another plant for a NLO position.  I'm just trying to gauge what the NLO payscale will be after a year or so.

You could always ask the folks that are interviewing / hiring you - they usually know, and I don't think they would keep it a secret. Every plant/ utility has it's own idiosyncrasies as far as advancement and pay. Asking about other places won't answer the specifics you really need to know in order to make the decision you seem to want to make.

Good luck
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Offline xobxdoc

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #5 on: Mar 26, 2010, 07:18 »
Thanks for the responses.

I guess what I looking to find out that I havent seen in any thread is how are the pay increases distributed for a NLO during and after qualifying?  I know Excelon and Constellation start there NLO's about $24.50-26/hr walking in the door and then in 12-14 months after qualifing they are making over $40/hr.  I heard other plants give wage increase even during qualification after certain watch station qual's.

Are all plants this way? Only reason I ask is that I have a job offer at one plant for a non-operations position but have an invitation for another plant for a NLO position.  I'm just trying to gauge what the NLO payscale will be after a year or so.

At Calvert, there are 5 steps in the NLO pay scale. The topped out operator is a step 5 at ~ 38.00/hour. A Navy nuke comes in at a step 3. After qualifying 2 watches I believe he is bumped up to a 4. A non-experienced person comes in at a step 1. There is a 5% difference between each step. On the average it takes about 2 years to get fully qualified. This was the process when I started so it may differ some now. This can be cleared up at your interview. Good luck. BTW Calvert is getting ready to hire again. Keep an eye on their job postings.

JustinHEMI05

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #6 on: Mar 26, 2010, 11:06 »
Thanks for the responses.

I guess what I looking to find out that I havent seen in any thread is how are the pay increases distributed for a NLO during and after qualifying?  I know Excelon and Constellation start there NLO's about $24.50-26/hr walking in the door and then in 12-14 months after qualifing they are making over $40/hr.  I heard other plants give wage increase even during qualification after certain watch station qual's.

Are all plants this way? Only reason I ask is that I have a job offer at one plant for a non-operations position but have an invitation for another plant for a NLO position.  I'm just trying to gauge what the NLO payscale will be after a year or so.

Unfortunately, every utility is different, and there is no one answer to your question. Even in Exelon, which you mention you know about, each plant is vastly different. We have union and non-union plants, and each handles NLO pay and raises in different ways, and at different rates. The local economies and "traditions" that existed at the plants before Exelon took over also influence how things are done.

So in short, you will have to ask someone at each individual plant how things are done there, to get full picture.

mtr1514

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #7 on: Mar 26, 2010, 01:30 »
Great answer Justin.  Thank you much.  I will take that route and seek to communicate with someone who works in Operations at that plant.

Offline wokrdan

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #8 on: Feb 12, 2011, 11:53 »
Does anyone know the starting pay rate for NLO/AO at Diablo Canyon for an ex-nuke w/ 10 years experience and Excelsior degree? (I understand the degree doesn't necessarily mean "pay raise" at most plants, as it is just a bargaining chip.) It seems anything about that plant is like trying to find out information about Area 51. Also, does anyone know if this is a union plant for ops positions?
« Last Edit: Feb 12, 2011, 11:54 by wokrdan »

Offline Smooth Operator

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #9 on: Feb 12, 2011, 12:02 »
Normally there isn't really any wiggle room with negotiating hourly pay wages union or non-union. Usually there are established pay bands and step progression schemes. YMMV though.

My plant is non-union and we all came in at the same wage (about 24.00) We received a letter listing our pay progression. It was a 30 month progression that started when we qualified. There were 6 month and annual incremental bumps.

We qualify everything at once. The training program is a little over a year from Day 1 of Classroom until you take your field test for qualifications.

Our plant tops out at around 43.00/hr for top rate NLOs

Offline hamsamich

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #10 on: Feb 12, 2011, 12:33 »
There may be no wiggle room for TOP starting pay but there are almost always increments of increased pay due to experience AND/OR level of education.  For instance, A person with no experience and the minimum education might start at 23$ an hour at a utility, while a person with 10 years of experience and some extra education might start out at 28$ an hour for the exact same job.  Navy experience is not always given a 1 to 1 ratio with true commercial experience, but experience to pay judgements are probably very different at different plants.  I've seen this in job offers I turned down and job offers I accepted, and friends of mine have talked about this.

Sun Dog

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #11 on: Feb 12, 2011, 01:13 »

is a union plant for ops positions?



Operators at DCPP are members of the bargaining unit.
« Last Edit: Feb 12, 2011, 03:24 by Sun Dog »

ski2313

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #12 on: Feb 21, 2011, 06:29 »
I don't wish to share my plant name or company affiliation, but the wage I was offered as a new NLO in training was $33.45 starting.. just to add a "data point" to the discussion. I have no idea what the wage progression is after training, if any..


jwhite

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #13 on: Feb 23, 2011, 11:30 »
Thats better than the $25.00/hr for an NLO in training at SouthernNC.

Cycoticpenguin

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #14 on: Feb 23, 2011, 02:20 »
Thats better than the $25.00/hr for an NLO in training at SouthernNC.

whats your progression like though? If it trends right, you will eventually be making more money then higher starting guys. for example, as per smooth operators post, they start at 24, but bump to 43 in 30 months. (thats astounding!), whereas my plant starts at 31, and bumps to 39 in 24 months (thats capped minus 3% tenure raises)


Offline buckeye99

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #15 on: Feb 23, 2011, 04:58 »
Southern tops out NLO's at $33.XX.
« Last Edit: Jan 10, 2012, 06:02 by buckeye99 »

MacGyver

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #16 on: Feb 23, 2011, 05:08 »
Thats better than the $25.00/hr for an NLO in training at SouthernNC.

That depends on which plant site you are working.  It is lower at two and higher at one initially.

Southern tops out an NLO's at $29.XX.

That depends on which plant site you are working.  It is higher at one plant site.

BUT, stay tuned.  All of those numbers are about to change and change drastically.

Offline buckeye99

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #17 on: Feb 23, 2011, 05:31 »
 :o
« Last Edit: Jan 10, 2012, 06:00 by buckeye99 »

Offline HydroDave63

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #18 on: Feb 23, 2011, 05:38 »
That depends on which plant site you are working.  It is lower at two and higher at one initially.

That depends on which plant site you are working.  It is higher at one plant site.

BUT, stay tuned.  All of those numbers are about to change and change drastically.

Well yeah, the pay better go up, now that they don't let you have all the fries you can eat in the take-out box! :P

MacGyver

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #19 on: Feb 23, 2011, 07:51 »
Well yeah, the pay better go up, now that they don't let you have all the fries you can eat in the take-out box! :P

Really, it was a small box.



jwhite

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #20 on: Feb 23, 2011, 09:01 »
I'm not complaining about the wage. After a year of being unemployed, I would have done it for less. There are many others that would not agree with my opinion and are ready to jump ship to another utility, locals included.

Offline DangerNut

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #21 on: Feb 28, 2011, 01:03 »
At my plant NLO's start out around $26/hr and there are raises every step, with a fully qualified NLO making just over $35/hr. We get a little more than a $1/hr increase each year per our union contract. Also per this contract RO's make $5 more an hour than the qualified NLO plus their $9,000 annual license bonus.

MacGyver

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #22 on: Feb 28, 2011, 09:56 »
I'm not complaining about the wage. After a year of being unemployed, I would have done it for less. There are many others that would not agree with my opinion and are ready to jump ship to another utility, locals included.

This is managements (fire training) response to SO's leaving.  To their credit they haven't lost a foundation yet!



"Anyone smell anything?"
« Last Edit: Feb 28, 2011, 09:57 by MacGyver »

Offline wokrdan

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #23 on: Mar 01, 2011, 01:44 »
So no one has answered my question yet. I get that it's going to start fairly low at DCPP for a new hire even with experience, but when looking for a house anywhere remotely near the area, the best I found was a double-wide for $200K. I've heard great things about this place, but if I'm going to be living paycheck to paycheck just to make my mortgage, it almost makes it not worth even applying. Can anyone give me a range on hourly pay for AO/NLO's there? It would be greatly appreciated.

JustinHEMI05

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Re: NLO pay wage
« Reply #24 on: Mar 01, 2011, 02:22 »
So no one has answered my question yet. I get that it's going to start fairly low at DCPP for a new hire even with experience, but when looking for a house anywhere remotely near the area, the best I found was a double-wide for $200K. I've heard great things about this place, but if I'm going to be living paycheck to paycheck just to make my mortgage, it almost makes it not worth even applying. Can anyone give me a range on hourly pay for AO/NLO's there? It would be greatly appreciated.

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

 


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