What to do

[aabrams]

   I am a former Navy Chief ELT with 5 years of Ops experience and 4 years of instructor experience.  I have a BS in Radiation Protection and have passed the NRRPT exam and will be starting a Masters of Health Physics this summer.  I am currently an Engineering Duty Officer, and am considering departing the Navy.  What opportunities are out there in HP?  What kind of salary should I be looking for in the northeast?  What other certs should I pursue?  I know I need to take ABHP Pt 1. I'm looking for permanent positions in power generation, pharmaceuticals, hospitals etc.  Thanks for any guidance.

[Already Gone]

You didn't mention taking the ABHP Part 1 Exam.  Someone pursuing a MS in Health Physics or Radiation Protection is normally going to look for certification.  You should me more than eligible to sit for the Part 1 exam at this point.
BTW, and just to nitpick, but we who took the NRRPT Exam are in no way "certified".

I hate to pound on yet another Navy guy, but RTFP!!!!!!   As a former instructor, you will recognize that to mean Read the Postings.  If you want to know what jobs are available, and what they pay, look at the jobs section at the top of the home page.  That's a lookup for you.

[aabrams]

While I appreciate your rapid response to my questions, my posting was more of a general nature.  I understand how to look up job listings.  As I have not worked in the private sector, I am not familiar with all of the acronyms (HAZWOPER etc.) that are used.  Rather than ripping into the NUBs, you should RTQ and ATQ.  This will prevent another GCE.  I'll give you the BOD that you understand these abbreviations.(Yes, I know many instructor abbreviations).

[Already Gone]

I never meant to imply that you didn't know how to read job listings.  I meant to imply that you need to put some effort into doing that.  You will get a more comprehensive picture than we can give you here because there are actually only a few of us who are not technicians.  I'm assuming that you are pursuing a higher position than that.

I appreciate the advice, but I'm running out of time for reading and answering questions, especially when better answers already exist just a few clicks away.  If you need help with the language, there's a few postings here abour nukespeak.  No point in asking the recruiters - they don't always know what all the stuff means either.

But, I'll give you a little info while I'm here.
1. A Chief ELT has exactly the same monetary worth as an MM3 ELT once you get out here.  So is a non-nuke who qualified as RCSS on a tender.  A person who started pushing a mop at a nuke plant while you were sweating out HTFF and ETMO will be your boss.
2. A BS in RP is worth about $1.50 ber hour more than that
3. That MS in HP is a great idea.  DO NOT give up on that.  It is a huuuuuuuge difference in responsibility and pay.  It is the difference between technician and technical staff.
4. Alternatively, your ops experience is already worth a lot of bucks.  I take it that you are currently a commissioned officer, which will make nuke plants consider you for management-track if you go ops.  They'll drool all over you.  This is the area where it matters that you went beyond MM3 and qualified more than ELT.
5. Of course, it won't help you if you are looking at med/pharm jobs.  But, they don't pay very well at the upper levels anyway.  The technicians working for you will probably make more money because they get paid for overtime.

A person in your shoes has a wider than normal range of choices out here.  From where you are now though, it's basically a fork in the road.  If you're going to stay with HP, get the grad degree.  If you're going to go ops, you could end up on the top floor.  Depending on what you choose to do, you could be grossing anything from $18/hr without benefits to six figures and your own parking space.