Looking to get more certifications under my belt

[S T I G]

This is probably going to be one of the posts where a bunch of people reply with links to other conversations so sorry ahead of time if thats the case. Anyways, I just got my A.A.S in Radiological Protection Technology. I have already received my 40hr OSHA HAZWOPER and passed my DOE CORE test. My Question is: are there any other certifications/ and or training that I could go ahead and get that might help me stand out in these early stages? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank You

[Fermi2]

How about getting a job?

[DSO]

Ditto what Broadzilla said...are you a professional student?

[S T I G]

How about getting a job?

I'm sorry, I thought it would have been obvious that I was already attempting to get a job. Why else would I would be asking this question? I wanted suggestions on certs./training that would help my resume stand out so that I could have a better chance of getting a job.

[Fermi2]

Experience gets you a good job. Not this BS.  Find a decon job, then work your way up. You spend more time hrere asking questions about certs than actual job hunting.

[S T I G]

Experience gets you a good job. Not this BS.  Find a decon job, then work your way up. You spend more time hrere asking questions about certs than actual job hunting.

You have absolutely ZERO idea how much time I have spent job hunting. And, since when did asking questions become "bulls**t;" I'm simply trying to be thorough. That IS one of the reasons behind this forum isn't it? Also, for your information, I graduated less than two weeks ago and have already filled out a number of applications and will continue to fill them out as time goes by. I won't be available to work for a little bit anyways, so seeing as how I have some time on my hands, I've been on here asking questions trying to learn more . If you can't appreciate that, then that's fine. All I ask is that you please don't leave stupid disrespectful comments that don't help me at all. For someone that is spoken of so highly on this forum I'm a little shocked that you would act this way

Edited for language

[Fermi2]

Life is tough. Oh well.

[S T I G]

If anyone has any helpful suggestions to my ORIGINAL QUESTION I would still love to hear them. Thanks

[Fermi2]

I gave you the most helpful advice you'll ever receive here. You might not like it but oh well. Life can be hard.

[thenuttyneutron]

If anyone has any helpful suggestion to my ORIGINAL QUESTION I would still love to hear them. Thanks

Try and get in with Bartlett or DZ Atlantic and work an outage.  Make sure you can get unescorted access to a nuke plant.  Start Building Time.

http://www.bartlettnuclear.com/

http://www.dayzim.com/Services_and_Products/ECM/Radiological_Services

[S T I G]

I gave you the most helpful advice you'll ever receive here. You might not like it but oh well. Life can be hard.

"Life is hard?" Is that all you have to say??. I have no clue why you insist on repeating that, especially after I asked you to stop leaving stupid comments on this thread . If I want to go hear someone blurt out meaningless clichés to me i'll go read some fortune cookies at the local panda express. In an attempt to get back on topic, I have actually looked into taking some RSO training courses. Does anyone think something such as that would be worthwhile for me at this time? Any recommendations would be appreciated. thanks

[S T I G]

Try and get in with Bartlett or DZ Atlantic and work an outage.  Make sure you can get unescorted access to a nuke plant.  Start Building Time.

http://www.bartlettnuclear.com/

http://www.dayzim.com/Services_and_Products/ECM/Radiological_Services

THANK YOU!!

[Rennhack]

For someone that is spoken of so highly on this forum I'm a little shocked that you would act this way

Not everyone speaks highly of him.

"Life is hard?" Is that all you have to say??. I have no clue why you insist on repeating that, especially after I asked you to stop leaving stupid comments on this thread . If I want to go hear someone blurt out meaningless clichés to me i'll go read some fortune cookies at the local panda express.

 

That's called feeding the troll.  Troll's should be ignored, not fed.  If you feed them, they will come back for more food, and bring their troll friends to feed as well.

[GLW]

Hate to break it to you but this answer:

How about getting a job?

Is the same as this answer:

Try and get in with Bartlett or DZ Atlantic and work an outage.  Make sure you can get unescorted access to a nuke plant.  Start Building Time.

http://www.bartlettnuclear.com/

http://www.dayzim.com/Services_and_Products/ECM/Radiological_Services

One was straight to the point, the other was hugs, pats (relatively speaking) plus a bit of spoon feeding the information which is all over these forums in literally tens and tens of posts,....

Neither answered your original question so I can only surmise the cap lettered "thank you" was for the hugs, pats and spoon feeding as the content was equivalent:

THANK YOU!!

To answer your question:

Yes, you can pay lots of trainers thousands of dollars to award you several certifications for jobs you are smart enough to pass a certification test for but have nowhere near the experience to be considered when giving the responsibility for performing.

So no, for practical field application nothing will make you stand out more from the crowd of hundreds of other non-qualed, non-experienced paper mill graduates and stimulus spawn you are now running herd with.

To the ugly point; you are now competing with healthy enough to do the job fifty somethings with thirty years plus of experience in a discipline where wide ranging experience trumps a two year degree every time.

The longer they stay healthy, the longer the expected retirement age gets pushed out, the more the USN shrinks and RIFs out Navy nukes with 10 years plus, plus the more and more the market forces, NIMBYs and politics squeeze out the operating commercial plants or the government funded national labs, then the mountain pinnacle you have to climb to financial and professional contentment rises higher into the clouds of uncertainty,....

To get experience,...get a job,....any job,.....anywhere,....anyplace,...anytime,.....

Degreed, certified, qualified and licensed are not equivalent in presupposition or application,....

That's about as hugsy and snuggly as I tend to get, Broadzilla much less so, doesn't mean he's not right,....

Fewer than 10% of the posters in these boards are actually in a position to give you a job although 33% of them will wax eloquently about how you get a job,...

'zilla is one of the 10% more often than not,....

he's pretty much par for the course for those who actually hire and fire,....

get your advice for success where you will,...

[S T I G]

I don't have a problem with people telling me bad news. However, don't berate me and make assumptions about me in the process. There is no need for that.  GLW, thank for your thoughts they are appreciated.

[Fermi2]

Every bit of that information could have been found on your own if you had any gumption. Damn sense of Entitlement and it's bot good advice unless it makes me feel warm and fuzzy are what has ruined society. WAnt cookies and milk with spoon feeding too?

[Fermi2]

The 30 or so Navy Nukes I helped get jobs and helped through their classes are pretty happy with me. Thing is. They earned it, took their lumps and realized what they need ain't always pretty.

[hamsamich]

Warm and fuzzy is different from a basic amount of respect for people.  Asking for help to better yourself while you are on a job hunt = entitlement how?

This is a live forum and people ask questions.  If you don't like that why don't you go somewhere else?

[thenuttyneutron]

Hate to break it to you but this answer:

Is the same as this answer:

One was straight to the point, the other was hugs, pats (relatively speaking) plus a bit of spoon feeding the information which is all over these forums in literally tens and tens of posts,....

Neither answered your original question so I can only surmise the cap lettered "thank you" was for the hugs, pats and spoon feeding as the content was equivalent:

To answer your question:

Yes, you can pay lots of trainers thousands of dollars to award you several certifications for jobs you are smart enough to pass a certification test for but have nowhere near the experience to be considered when giving the responsibility for performing.

So no, for practical field application nothing will make you stand out more from the crowd of hundreds of other non-qualed, non-experienced paper mill graduates and stimulus spawn you are now running herd with.

To the ugly point; you are now competing with healthy enough to do the job fifty somethings with thirty years plus of experience in a discipline where wide ranging experience trumps a two year degree every time.

The longer they stay healthy, the longer the expected retirement age gets pushed out, the more the USN shrinks and RIFs out Navy nukes with 10 years plus, plus the more and more the market forces, NIMBYs and politics squeeze out the operating commercial plants or the government funded national labs, then the mountain pinnacle you have to climb to financial and professional contentment rises higher into the clouds of uncertainty,....

To get experience,...get a job,....any job,.....anywhere,....anyplace,...anytime,.....

Degreed, certified, qualified and licensed are not equivalent in presupposition or application,....

That's about as hugsy and snuggly as I tend to get, Broadzilla much less so, doesn't mean he's not right,....

Fewer than 10% of the posters in these boards are actually in a position to give you a job although 33% of them will wax eloquently about how you get a job,...

'zilla is one of the 10% more often than not,....

he's pretty much par for the course for those who actually hire and fire,....

get your advice for success where you will,...

*Shrug* I would say my answer was full of hugs or pats.  I tend to think that my answer was short and to the point in a helpful way.  I think you may just be seeing a generational difference here between Zilla and me.

Yes these answers were very close to being the same but I was being more tactful about it.  I remember sending my resume to every single plant in the country looking for my first job after school.  I never forgot what it was like to be looking for a job.  It is not fun.  I have found that giving and answer an then backing it up with a reason or a bit of information that lead you to that conclusion will go a long way for being a good answer.

Good luck to you Stig.  Don't give up the search for a job.  If you can get access to a plant in any job, you can always figure out where you want to go from there from within.  Don't take on any more debt for an additional training or certifications.  The thing you need most is to begin your real education which is only possible on the job.  You will figure out what you will need based on where you want to go later.

[S T I G]

Thanks for all the "hugs, pats, and spoon feeding" guys. It really means a lot. Maybe one day when I get a real job I'll be able to put my big boy pants on and actually go to sleep without my blankie and night light on.   

[RDTroja]

If you had really read as many posts on this forum as you claim you would already have know what responses you were going to get from certain individuals and you should have been prepared for them. You would already have known that Broadzilla is absolutely full of himself to the point of causing nausea and that complaining about the nature of the free advice given here will get you lots of criticism and little else. You would also have already known the answer to the question that caused you all of this grief.

Most of the massive quantity of contributions you have made to the site in your very short tenure have been reasonable for a newbie, but you sort of blew your cover with this thread. You should still be in the listen/learn/tyvm stage of your yet-to-start nuclear career. Try to find that spot and get comfortable there. You will end up in a much better place later if you do.

 

[S T I G]

I'm certain there will be plenty of more opportunities for me to reveal how little I know in the future.   I will say this though, at no time have I ever claimed to be anything more than a newbie with an Associates Degree looking for help, so maybe i've just been delaying the inevitable by posting generically safe topics for you guys. Truthfully, all I've been doing this past week is drinking coffee, crossing out names on my list and posting stuff on nukeworker  .  I've been wanting to make more technical posts, but I don't think I have anything new to add in the calculation or technical design realm. To be honest I'm running out of ideas . I made that age pool post a second ago which I hope will yield some interesting results but you know, there's just too many cob webs in certain areas of this forum if you ask me. Some stuff hasn't been touched in ages. Anyways, I am an amateur, but i'm cool with that because i'm pretty sure I know more than whats required of me at this point anyhow. Even though I know i'll probably be doing the most basic of duties I feel really really anxious. I've been waiting a little less than 2 years to apply what I've learned and sometimes it feels like i'm about to burst at the seems. It is all about learning for me at this point, that's why I'm happy to have the old vets at my disposal.

[Old HP]

Be patient grasshopper and get your first job. Then learn the good and bad from those around you.

[Content1]

I'm certain there will be plenty of more opportunities for me to reveal how little I know in the future.   I will say this though, at no time have I ever claimed to be anything more than a newbie with an Associates Degree looking for help, so maybe i've just been delaying the inevitable by posting generically safe topics for you guys. Truthfully, all I've been doing this past week is drinking coffee, crossing out names on my list and posting stuff on nukeworker  .  I've been wanting to make more technical posts, but I don't think I have anything new to add in the calculation or technical design realm. To be honest I'm running out of ideas . I made that age pool post a second ago which I hope will yield some interesting results but you know, there's just too many cob webs in certain areas of this forum if you ask me. Some stuff hasn't been touched in ages. Anyways, I am an amateur, but i'm cool with that because i'm pretty sure I know more than whats required of me at this point anyhow. Even though I know i'll probably be doing the most basic of duties I feel really really anxious. I've been waiting a little less than 2 years to apply what I've learned and sometimes it feels like i'm about to burst at the seems. It is all about learning for me at this point, that's why I'm happy to have the old vets at my disposal.

Perspective should be looked at here.  I was a 6 year ex-navy nuke, along with 4 years at a nuclear plant, yet, it still took me a year to get my first position with Numanco back in 2003.  I later went to work for Bartlett as my main contract employer.  Patience is in order here and persistence.  I got family members in the business after 6 month and even paying $2200 for the Bartlett RCT training class.  A 2 year degree is usually associated with a plant while in training with a company to give your internships to give you the experience you need.  I met some interns last September 2013 at Peach bottom.  You are entering in competition in essentially stagnant industry.  At your first job you need about 2 weeks of training before you can enter the plant.  This can amount to thousands of dollars for a new person, verses experienced people can cut this out of the employer's bottom line.  Companies do not want to risk this kind of money if they can avoid it, and many people are already trained waiting ahead of you.
Your posts come off as impatient, verses a response to less helpful posts should be a humble one, as you are essentially asking people who have worked hard to get the jobs they have to help train their replacements.  If you treat them humbly they may help because overall nuclear workers are good people.

[S T I G]

Perspective should be looked at here.  I was a 6 year ex-navy nuke, along with 4 years at a nuclear plant, yet, it still took me a year to get my first position with Numanco back in 2003.  I later went to work for Bartlett as my main contract employer.  Patience is in order here and persistence.  I got family members in the business after 6 month and even paying $2200 for the Bartlett RCT training class.  A 2 year degree is usually associated with a plant while in training with a company to give your internships to give you the experience you need.  I met some interns last September 2013 at Peach bottom.  You are entering in competition in essentially stagnant industry.  At your first job you need about 2 weeks of training before you can enter the plant.  This can amount to thousands of dollars for a new person, verses experienced people can cut this out of the employer's bottom line.  Companies do not want to risk this kind of money if they can avoid it, and many people are already trained waiting ahead of you.
Your posts come off as impatient, verses a response to less helpful posts should be a humble one, as you are essentially asking people who have worked hard to get the jobs they have to help train their replacements.  If you treat them humbly they may help because overall nuclear workers are good people.

I merely stating that I was eager.

[mars88]

Forget all of these posts.

What you need to certify in is stuff beyond mere rad--there are a lot of opportunities both in the real world and the rad world that require other certs.  

Center on things such as 0SHA construction safety, DOT hazmat, dangerous goods shipping (which includes rad), haz waste operator, and industrial hygiene.  Many of these are required to perform both nuke and non-nuke work outside of commercial plants and DOE facilities (environmental remediation, laboratories, manufacturing plants, etc.).  Some are computer-based and inexpensive, and some are classroom-based and cost up to $1500--but you might be able to get a union or a veteran's group to pay for these.

You mentioned in another post that you have a bachelor's degree.  If so, and you end up working at least 900 h/y in some safety capacity, you can apply to become a CSP (Certified Safety Professional) thru the Board of Safety Professionals.

The worlds of safety and IH are the way to go--not rad.