Rad Engineers - Where did you go to school?

[raptor5k]

I just graduated from Eastern Idaho Tech's "Radiation Safety" program.  I am currently looking for entry level HP work, but that's another story.  I"m seriously considering continuing school to be a Rad Engineer.  I am having a hard time finding schools that offer this degree, can someone help me out?  I know several that have "Nuclear Engineering", but not Rad engineering.  Thanks for any advice

[RAD-GHOST]

That's not a Search, it's a Quest!

I've worked with hundreds of individuals titled as Rad Engineers, ALARA Engineers and sometimes Health Physics Specialists.  Some have degrees and some don't.  None had a degree in Rad Engineering and I haven't heard of any educational institute that offers such a program.  All of those individuals had an extensive industry/regulatory background, extensive knowledge of the facility design/operations and normally an extensive background with the specific facility.  Some of that can be converted to class room education, most can not!

There are some venues available that will move to the front of the class, but those will require a large investment and at least four years of commitment.

RG

[radbrat]

Michigan State, Rensselear Polytechnic, Purdue etc...

[RDTroja]

I've worked with hundreds of individuals titled as Rad Engineers, ALARA Engineers and sometimes Health Physics Specialists...

I have been given all of those titles over the years and have also been call an 'Operations Engineer' (but nobody could explain exactly what that was) and I do not have a college degree. I attended college, but did not finish. Those titles come with a job that you prove you can do to the satisfaction of the people you are working for. In other words, Rad Ghost hit the nail on the head. Years of experience are far more important than a degree, although you had better be paying attention for all of those years. I knew a guy that had a Masters Degree in Health Physics and no experience. The only job he could get right out of school was teaching the 'science' side of HP (as opposed to the 'art' side which has far more practical applications.) In this field, experience and no degree will get you farther then a degree and no experience. Combine the two and you can do a lot.

There are places to go for education, but don't ignore getting practical experience when you can.

[Mike McFarlin]

School of hard knocks!

[Protectologist]

Take a look at the Texas A&M program. That program is a "Rad" program in their engineering department.

[wlrun3@aol.com]

Oregon State online Masters in Health Physics would be an excellent long term goal for your purposes.

[Dave Warren]

Colorado Tech Online Degree in Project Management, OJT, Hard Knocks, US Marines.
Work in nuclear power, the environmental side and in medical. That is thorough training.

[macgator]

Since you are here in SE Idaho I suggest contacting Dr. Rich Brey at Idaho State University, they have an excellent Health Physics Program.
Good Luck!

[Marlin]

A thread with positive contribution and no sniping!!! Maybe this could be a trend.  




  for all the posters








  OK, back to reality and Curmudgeons-R-Us.  

[Marlin]

I agree with RDTroja and like him I have owned a number of titles that sometimes have more to do with paygrade than function. To answer your question as to where I went to school I would have to start with the Navy and then self study for the NNRPT and the use of both of those to get a degree. I transitioned from Radiation protection into safety analysis not a great leap you just have to add non-radiological components to the mix and learn to document in the required format. I then transitioned into Waste management where I had to incorporate environmental and transportation into the mix. In each position I could have been called a Radiological Engineer as easily as anything else, it's just a title.

[HousePuke]

I have been given all of those titles over the years and have also been call an 'Operations Engineer' (but nobody could explain exactly what that was) and I do not have a college degree. I attended college, but did not finish. Those titles come with a job that you prove you can do to the satisfaction of the people you are working for. In other words, Rad Ghost hit the nail on the head. Years of experience are far more important than a degree, although you had better be paying attention for all of those years. I knew a guy that had a Masters Degree in Health Physics and no experience. The only job he could get right out of school was teaching the 'science' side of HP (as opposed to the 'art' side which has far more practical applications.) In this field, experience and no degree will get you farther then a degree and no experience. Combine the two and you can do a lot.

There are places to go for education, but don't ignore getting practical experience when you can.

Mr Troja hit the nail square on the head.  I too have had many titles over the years including Rad Engineer, RP Specialist and many more.  I don't have a degree, but I tried like hell to pay attention and learn all I could along the way.  An education would have been the perfect way to round things out, but I've done OK.
Good luck to you!

[greenbean]

Texas A&M has an ABET certified Radiation Health Engineering Program. It has been ABET certified since 1987 and several very influential faculty can be found teaching the program.

As mentioned above, getting a RHEN degree does not necessarily make you more competitive than someone with years of experience. That being said, getting a quality education from a well respected college and making connections through internships and co-ops is not a bad way to start a career.

Undergraduate degress:
http://nuclear.tamu.edu/academics/undergraduate/degreeplan/

Graduate degrees:
http://nuclear.tamu.edu/academics/graduate/degreeplan/

I'm here at A&M now, feel free to ask questions and I'll see about getting good answers for you from this side.

Good Luck.

[Rennhack]

Mr Troja hit the nail square on the head.  I too have had many titles over the years including Rad Engineer, RP Specialist and many more.  I don't have a degree, but I tried like hell to pay attention and learn all I could along the way.  An education would have been the perfect way to round things out, but I've done OK.
Good luck to you!

Most people know this, but you can add me to the list of no education but paid attention and tried to learn/teach myself.

[RAD-GHOST]

Most people know this, but you can add me to the list of no education but paid attention and tried to learn/teach myself.

I believe you mean, "No Formal Degree"!

RG

[gratefulkarma]

If you're in SE Idaho, have you been hitting hard on getting on site at INL?....my particular site just took on a few juniors (they just "tested" in with the DOE Core I believe).  I'm not sure about hiring out here as everyone in management is real dodgey about the funding, BUT you should contact Jody Nix at Bartlett here and Marcom and see if they can get you on site here.  I'm "restarting" a nuclear career after getting out of the Navy Nuclear world in 2004, working everything including golf courses until last year.  I agree with everyone's assessment about the "practical" vs. "academic" experience.  The nuclear world is RIFE with smart people and, most importantly, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY!...experience is the most important asset you'll have (as I hit my head on the keyboard lamenting what I did from 2004-20010!). Our rad engineer is brilliant (an ex-navy nuc elt) and he didn't HP, but just learned the rad eng material on his own.  As for degrees, I'm finishing my nuc eng tech degree with Excelsior this fall and that should open up even more opportunities for me.  You might want to look into it.  Colorado State has both an undergraduate and masters program in radiation protection and is well regarded.  Last but not least, get on the road this fall and do some outages.... You can PM me here if you need help with contacts at INL (I don't know a  bunch of people but I can ask around/forward resumes etc.)...