CAN I MAKE AT LEAST 60K / YR?

[ALARA DOG]

I have over 30 years as an RP tech, supervisor, and Rad Engineer if I go back on the road can I make $60K in 6 – 7 months every year?

[Rennhack]

I have over 30 years as an RP tech, supervisor, and Rad Engineer if I go back on the road can I make $60K in 6 – 7 months every year?

Depends.

$60k in 7 months is $1978 a week.  Are you counting per diem, and is that Gross salary?  Then easily.

$700/wk in per diem leaves $1278 to earn.  A  5 week outage is usually 1 week of 40's and 4 week of 72's.  That averages out to 78.4 equalized hours.  To gross $1278, you'd have to get $16/hr.

You think you can get 7 months of continuous outage work at $16/hr or better?  Not counting the per diem, you'd need to make $25/hr to GROSS $1978.

To not count Per diem, and to NET $1978... $38/hr.

My question is what is your REAL question.  Deconners make > $60k a year working outages.

Are you willing to take any job to stay working?  Are you only going to accept ALARA jobs?  What are YOUR parameters.  And why can't you figure this out on our own?

[RDTroja]

And why can't you figure this out on our own?

Because he has only been doing this 30 years and doesn't have enough personal data to go on. 

[Rennhack]

To do the rest of the math for you, you'd have to make $28.85 per hour to gross $60k a year, working 40 hrs a week, 52 weeks a year or only $25 per hour for 7 months of outages.  If you were to make $28.85 per hour, you would only need 26.5 weeks (6 months) of outages to gross $60k not counting per diem.

The first outage in spring 2013 starts on Feb 3rd (breaker date) and staffs a week before or more for training 1/27/13.  The Last outage of the spring season ends around June 19th.  That's 143 days or 20.5 weeks.

Just working the spring outages (20.5 weeks) getting paid $28.85, you would gross $46.4k.  If you add the $14.3k per diem (I don't), you'd be over $60 just for the spring outages. If you worked a full spring and a full fall outage season, you'd be over $120k at the technician level, with your summer and winter off.  Then you could take the whole next year off, and just work the spring and summer the year after!  Or buy a new Corvette.  Or another rental house.

I'm still amazed that a person with your vast experience; over 30 years in the biz, as a tech, supervisor and engineer, that you can't do the simple paycheck math.  I have to tell you, as a deconner, that's the first thing I did.

I hope my math was beneficial to you.  Let me know if you need me to factor in alimony, child support, 401k contributions, pensions, utility bills, car gas, oil changes, steel toe shoes...

[Rennhack]

I can't help myself.  This question is killing me.  A guy with 30 years in the biz as a tech, supervisor, and engineer wants to know if he can make 60k in 7 months. (Asked in all capital letters no less)

He has given us these variables:

Gross Salary Desired: $60,000 /yr

Number of weeks willing to work for said money: 30 weeks (7 months)

Number of hours expected to work: 78.4 hrs/wk equalized (typical outage)

Variable: Hourly rate. (Not really, he stated he is between technician and Engineer pay: $26-$65, more likely $26-$42 if he has to ask.)

Number of weeks x hrs per week = 2,352 expected outage work hours.

So, $60k/2,352 = $25.51 hourly rate to meet his desired parameters.  Even the Duke system pays their techs $26/hr, I believe.

I'm just not sure which part of the equation he doesn't have enough information to do the simple math himself.  Does he not know how many weeks are in 7 months?  How many hours are in a week?  If there are the desired number of outage weeks in a year?  What the pay rate is for his profession?  It's killing me!

[rlbinc]

Hence the question.
This man may lack the faculties to make $60K a year, particularly Math.

[ALARA DOG]

I have been house for about 24 years so I:
1. Don't know the hourly rates (Senior RP, Rad Eng, RP Supv)
2. Am not sure if I could get a Rad Eng / RP Supervisor job every outage
3. And most important wanted to know if I can get 6 - 7  months of work  every year

You notice I used numbers so I can do some math.

[Rennhack]

ALARA Dog,

Please understand that I was not trying to insult you.  I have walked in your shoes.  Well, I was never house, and I started as a deconner, but other than that, I was a deconner, then a rad tech, then a supervisor and then an engineer.  I can accept that you don't know what OTHER places pay, but it's a fair assumption to bet they pay about the same as your site pays.  If they didn't, no one would go there.  The technicians at Duke make $26. (I believe, I've never worked at Duke as an RP, but I DO ask questions, and that's what I'm told.)  I've seen RP techs get as much as $35/hr.  $28 is probably the average at power plants.

I think Sr Deconners get as much as $18/hr.  At least thats what I was told at DC Cook.  I haven't been a deconner in almost two decades.

ALARA people get different pay at different sites, with different titles.  An ALARA Tech gets less than an ALARA Engineer, which gets less than an ALARA Coordinator... all pretty much the same job.  Pay ranges $32-$42 for the average joe.  Radiological Engineers Typically get $42-$65, but can get over $100 easily if they are special.

If you want to know how many outages you can get a year, check out our outage schedule, or visit the major companies wish lists.

It's VERY likely that you will not get Rad Engineer, Supervisor, or ALARA jobs every outage until you are 'established'.  Established meaning you have been one at enough plants that you can return as one.

If you are too proud to swing a meter, and you only want Engineer work every outage, you most likely will work 5 weeks in the spring and 5 weeks in the fall until you are 'established'.  If you are willing to swing a meter to fill in the gaps, you will never be unemployed.  Heck, when I was interested in traveling for a living, I was lucky to get the week of July 4th and the week of Christmas off.  I worked the rest of the year and saved every dime.  I took every job offered to me until I was able to be picky.

Also be advised that 30 years at one plant does not equal 30 years at 40 plants.  They don't all do things the way you are accustomed to doing them, and its not the wrong way.  It's like benchmarking for the rest of your life.

[ALARA DOG]

The information you provided is what I was looking for, thank you. I was not aware of the rates because staffing was not one of my duties and until now I had no reason to ask. As for different ways of doing things I am not too worried I worked at a few... stations long term and have done a little... benchmarking over the years. Also I love swinging a meter and would be proud to do so, thanks again.

[Old HP]

We;come to the ranks of the old farts club that are still able to swing a meter. I hope your new plan works out.

[Rennhack]

Ok, time for me to flip flop a little.  

The other side of the coin is; if you accept a tech job, then they will really try hard to push more tech jobs down your throat.  I'd hold off on accepting a tech job unless you really really need to take one.  TRY hard to only take 'professional' level jobs.  At Bartlett I think it's Marie that handles the pro's.  I could be wrong, its been a few years since I called looking for a job.  I don't know who handles it at other companies. Just call and ask.  Try hard to only take the professional level jobs.  Once you take one tech job, they will be over joyed to give you more.  -- Then again.... as a tech you will have less stress, and more work (more job offers).

I think your biggest problem will be learning to say 'no' to the other 5 months a year they want you to work.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

[duke99301]

yes you can but you have to be ready to do more. I not made less than 110k for the last ten years. I bounce around from alara to safety life is good

[Rennhack]

yes you can but you have to be ready to do more. I not made less than 110k for the last ten years. I bounce around from alara to safety life is good

I thought about adding a little something about safety (That's what I've been doing the last few years) but decided not to.  Since you brought it up, there are different levels of Safety as well.  The 'Technician' levels are typically referred to as "Safety Observers" or "Safety Coaches", they get paid about as much as an RP tech.  Then there are the Professional Safety levels, which have a few different titles.  "Safety Professional", Safety Engineer", Safety Coordinator", etc.  The professional levels get paid about the same as a Rad Engineer.  A lot of safety organizations have ex RP's in them, RP's transition well into safety.  It's another avenue worth looking into.

[ALARA DOG]

Thank you for all your help, and I will keep you posted once I make my move.