First off, I want to thank the users of this site.. People seem to be very helpful, and there is a wealth of information here that helped me out over the last 2 years to break in to this industry as an NLO.
My background is obviously not Navy Nuclear, and on top of that I have no formal degree. However, I do have 3 years of college (1 year of engineering, 2 years of biochemistry, all 3 years heavy on the math and science). That essentially gives me an Associate's of Applied Science equivalent+, but makes me nothing more than a fringe candidate. I have worked at two nuclear plants in the past as a summer intern in the Supply Chain, and for a contractor in a Laborer's union during a refueling outage (so I'm at least familiar and comfortable with the nuclear environment and culture). From that point,the last eight years I spent at my family's mortgage company as a commercial and residential loan officer. So knowing these facts and looking at them objectively (as if I were the interviewer), how could I make a logical appeal to an interview panel and land a position? That's the question I answered myself and worked on for the last two years, in a concerted effort to change industries and careers and land my dream job as an Operator.
First and foremost, I learned as much as possible about the position and the career path. I learned alot from this site. I even personally interviewed, at length, two career (near retirement) operators that I knew through the mortgage business (clients). I decided that this was the path that I wanted to travel, and that was that. I envy people who know exactly what they want to do from a young age, but that just wasn't me. It took me until I was almost 30 to figure it out.
It became immediately apparent to me that the Navy Nuclear power school guys were the gold standard for the position. Look at almost any job posting, or even this site, and that's obvious. So what do they have that I don't have, and how do I get it? Short of enlisting in the Navy, I went to work on obtaining the basics. I downloaded and printed off every single DOE Fundamentals volume, and every single NRC exam bank and studied them religiously for over 18 months. It wasn't every day, but it was awfully close. It's a stack of paper about 4ft high. I asked a few people I knew in the industry if they thought this was necessary, and almost all of them said "Don't worry about it... they'll teach you that when you get in there." I did not see eye to eye with that because it was illogical. If asked the question, how could I possibly appeal to an interviewer that I should be hired over a Navy Nuclear candidate, when I don't even possess the fundamental knowledge that they have? So I studied my ass off at home every night and absorbed as much as possible. The NRC exam banks were also a critical part of my learning, since it showed me in what context I'd need to be applying the information I was learning in the fundamentals books. My college was also a military college (think Citadel). I thought that would be of value; being in a scrutinized and regimented military environment for three years. I perform well under scrutiny, discipline, and pressure. That, combined with the fundamentals, was about as close as I was going to come to Navy Nuke.
So the opportunity came to apply for a position. I got a sniff from one company, then turned down.
2nd opportunity came. I tweaked my resume, improved my cover letter, beefed up the references (particularly people I knew from the industry), and got a phone interview. Was sent a denial letter. I called the recruiter and left him a message seeking feedback for next time the position was posted. Called me back and invited me to take the POSS. Passed. Invited in for a 2nd interview. I thought the interview went well (first formal interview I've ever had). Took a plant tour. Followup/Thank You letters to interview panel. Ten days go by, denial letter. I was temporarily crushed. Thankfully I received feedback, and apparently they hired 7 Navy Nukes and a local candidate that had a completed engineering degree. I was denied because of no formal degree. This was starting to be an uphill battle, but I don't give up when I want something. I started taking courses towards a Nuclear Technology program the following week.
I also got to thinking about the interview, and as the weeks went by I started to pick apart each question.. Figure out why they asked a particular question and what were they really asking, what they were looking for, and what could I do better for next time. In hindsight, I may have bombed the interview. Hard to say for sure, but regardless I was going to do it better next time.
Opportunities #3 and #4 came and went (denial letters). What I deduced from this is that "fringe" candidates like myself, with relatively weak resumes, don't get interviews with nuclear plants that aren't local.
Undaunted, I kept on studying and taking courses. Finally an opportunity came along at a plant near my home. The posting required a POSS test and a GFES exam to get a 2nd interview. I knew I could pass the POSS, and was pretty darn sure I could pass the GFES. It covered math, chemistry, thermodynamics, nuclear and classical physics, reactor theory, plant components (pumps, valves, etc), I&C, etc, etc.. This was the opportunity that I had been waiting for, although I didn't know it at the time. Finding a utility that gives this test up front, and passing it, might be the only way a fringe candidate will get into this industry as an NLO. Resumes are debatable, test scores are not. From what I've been told since then, only eight candidates out of 30 passed both the POSS and the GFES, and we were all given job offers. I'm excited as hell, and hope to be on this career path until I'm retired and fishing in a boat all day. Thanks again to the users of this site. You were a great help, and I'll try to return the favor.
-ski
