3.1 pay rates

[atomicarcheologist]

After scanning pages of threads, I cannot find a listing on pay rates.  I'm primarily interested in 3.1 HP rates, but I also need rates on associated occupations (JR, Deconner, Rad Eng, etc.) that are current or near to current.

[retread]

http://www.nukeworker.com/job/jobfind.php?action=search&jids[]=100
http://nuclearstreet.com/jobs/jobs.aspx
http://www.simplyhired.com/a/salary/home
http://www.google.com/search?q=indeed.com+jobs&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Two or three minutes of research.

[atomicarcheologist]

http://www.nukeworker.com/job/jobfind.php?action=search&jids[]=100
http://nuclearstreet.com/jobs/jobs.aspx
http://www.simplyhired.com/a/salary/home
http://www.google.com/search?q=indeed.com+jobs&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Two or three minutes of research.

I'm not looking for a job, I'm trying to find out current rate of pay.  The url given that most closely resembles my parameters give the following:

Average 3.1 Hp Tech Salaries
Currently there is no salary data for 3.1 Hp Tech.
Salary Information
This free salary calculator uses salary data from millions of job listings indexed by Simply Hired's job search engine. This salary comparisons feature allows job seekers to get the information required to make important career decisions and negotiate salary ranges.

However, they do give a place to chase which gave the following data;


Base Salary : $43,881 to $70,209
       
Next Step:
Add your years of experience

So, is this rate relevant in the market today?

[Old HP]

Sad to say but pay rates have not increased much in the last 3-4 years. Results of bad economy and more people returning to the industry because of lost jobs in other sectors.
3.1 Sr. Tech= $24.00 - $28.00 depending on the utility

[RTRT]

At STP for in house: Junior RP I       28.89             
                               Junior RP II      29.67
                            Associate RP I     30.45
                            Associate RP II    31.62
                            RP Tech I            32.79
                            RP Tech II           33.96
                            Senior RP I          35.14
                            Senior RP II         37.48
                     Journeyman RP Tech    39.04
                             
                        For Contractors: Non Local/Outage
                                                   
                                  Adv. R P Tech.        27.87
                                  Sr. R P Tech.          26.77
                                  Associate R P Tech. 25.68
                                  Jr. R P Tech.             20.70 

[hamsamich]

I don't know anyone who pays less than 25 bucks an hour for a power plant outage 3.1 tech.  Duke power and brunswick pay that I think.  Brunswick may be less.  If you add in bonuses and the higher paying plants, I bet the straight time average is somewhere just under 30 bucks an hour.

[shupack]

I've averaged 28.50 the last 3 cycles (3.1 over 7).  Commanche Peak is paying me 33/hr next month 

let the bidding wars commence!

[Old HP]

The pay rate for Comanche actually went down from the spring outage. So I'm not sure the bidding war has begun. It is a nice plant to work but the outages are VERY short. The other company paid a bonus whereas the new company does not and the result is less money in your pocket when you finish the job.
Call me old fashioned, but I have never gone back to a plant for less money than I made the last time I worked there. More than 80 outages and the formula still works.
   

[Content1]

Does anyone have a rule of thumb for what each utility is paying 3.1 HP's?  I have heard it has not changed much during the recession since Obama came in back in 2009.  Are 3.1's getting enough work nowadays, or are non-traveling jobs comparable? I left traveling back in 2009 due to short outages and pay stagnation.  I was getting 3 week outages maybe 4 times a year, not enough to survive.  It got to the point where I would need a second job to do between outages.  Has anything changed today?  Has any new nuclear plants got off the ground?

[Rennhack]

Has any new nuclear plants got off the ground?

No.  They are firmly on the ground. -- Construction has started on a couple, but nothing will be operational for 6-10 years.

Outages haven't changed.

Pay hasn't changed.

[Already Gone]

The pay rate for Comanche actually went down from the spring outage. So I'm not sure the bidding war has begun. It is a nice plant to work but the outages are VERY short. The other company paid a bonus whereas the new company does not and the result is less money in your pocket when you finish the job.
Call me old fashioned, but I have never gone back to a plant for less money than I made the last time I worked there. More than 80 outages and the formula still works.
   

I wouldn't be so quick to equate the lack of bonus with the change in company.  This fall season is a dry well.  There is no need to offer a bonus anywhere when they are turning away some of the best techs because outages are all staffed.

As far as the bidding war goes... maybe it would be best if that didn't happen.  If it starts, the ones bidding will be the people looking for work.  That can only mean one thing - wages going back to the 1995 rate at least until spring.

[shupack]

The pay rate for Comanche actually went down from the spring outage. So I'm not sure the bidding war has begun. It is a nice plant to work but the outages are VERY short. The other company paid a bonus whereas the new company does not and the result is less money in your pocket when you finish the job.
Call me old fashioned, but I have never gone back to a plant for less money than I made the last time I worked there. More than 80 outages and the formula still works.
   

I didn't realize it was less than last outage, this is my first trip here.  Yes, it's short but I'd rather make the same total money in less time.  This season is LIGHT on outages, CP was the only one that I picked up.  I know a few guys that didn't get anything this fall.

By bidding war, I meant companies bidding UP wages to get staffed.  Enough old guys retiring to keep us short-handed across the board

[RTRT]

At STP the pay rates are stated in the union contract. Next raise for contractors is 10/31/11.

For Contractors: Non Local/Outage
                                                   
                                  Adv. R P Tech.        28.78
                                  Sr. R P Tech.          27.64
                                  Associate R P Tech. 26.51
                                  Jr. R P Tech.           21.37 

[Already Gone]

I didn't realize it was less than last outage, this is my first trip here.  Yes, it's short but I'd rather make the same total money in less time.  This season is LIGHT on outages, CP was the only one that I picked up.  I know a few guys that didn't get anything this fall.

By bidding war, I meant companies bidding UP wages to get staffed.  Enough old guys retiring to keep us short-handed across the board

Don't look for the bidding war to start this coming spring.  They finally gave us what we asked for - the outages are spread pretty evenly across the season.  I don't think there will be more than 10 - 12 simultaneous outages at any given time this spring.  There will be package deals of two, three or four consecutive outages for some people.    With this schedule, they can do quite well staffing with only the people they have, not offer bonuses (there will be bonuses somewhere because there always are, but not like they were this past spring) not raise rates, and not worry any more than they ever did if you and I like it or not.
Yes, it would be nice if they were bidding up, but they don't need to do that this season.  There aren't enough old guys retiring to make a dent.  Even if they did, who would notice?  Well, that's not fair.  Certain people will definitely be missed if they decide to pack it in.  The paradox here is that there are only two kinds of people who may retire - the ones who will make your job harder by not being there, and the ones who won't be missed at all.  The problem?  You just can't make that second group go away, and they are the reason why wages do, and will continue to, suck.

[LaFeet]

Outage wise I believe I am out of the loop.  I have managed to sneak into a better desk job (benefits and all) and no longer need the 72+ hours/week schedules.  I will miss the people out there though.  I would have loved to gone back to IP, Cook, and even Fort Calhoun.  But I think I may only be a part time tech from this point on.

Good luck all and I hope you all get raises.

[Content1]

Don't look for the bidding war to start this coming spring.  They finally gave us what we asked for - the outages are spread pretty evenly across the season.  I don't think there will be more than 10 - 12 simultaneous outages at any given time this spring.  There will be package deals of two, three or four consecutive outages for some people.    With this schedule, they can do quite well staffing with only the people they have, not offer bonuses (there will be bonuses somewhere because there always are, but not like they were this past spring) not raise rates, and not worry any more than they ever did if you and I like it or not.
Yes, it would be nice if they were bidding up, but they don't need to do that this season.  There aren't enough old guys retiring to make a dent.  Even if they did, who would notice?  Well, that's not fair.  Certain people will definitely be missed if they decide to pack it in.  The paradox here is that there are only two kinds of people who may retire - the ones who will make your job harder by not being there, and the ones who won't be missed at all.  The problem?  You just can't make that second group go away, and they are the reason why wages do, and will continue to, suck.

It sounds like the free market is at work here.  Since you just can't pull workers off the street, you work with the available trained people and those few new ones making the 3.1 status.  It is a horrible economy, and many are sitting out in unemployment land or going to other fields.  There are enough left to supply the outages, and if they ever had a shortage, they could make spot bonuses to attract retirees.  I found I made so little I was planning two careers if I had stayed on the road, kind of like the Egyptian, who worked on Pyramids when the Nile flooded, then back to the farms to plant their crops.  The companies don't care if you have enough work or not, so it is up to the worker to figure a survival strategy. 

[spikeree]

I just started a full time job 62k/year full benefits, before i am qualified.