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KevinH

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Facility tours, possible career
« on: Nov 09, 2015, 06:04 »
Hi,
I'm a new member here. I have had a certain fascination with Radiation and electronics and want to see if a career in the nuclear power industry might be right for me. First off, Do facilities give tours any more in a post 9/11 world? The closest to me would be Monticello, MN NPP, though I'd be willing to travel for the opportunity to see a working facility and talk to the workers first hand.

I also don't know where to start to look into which particular niche in the field would be best for me. I graduated from college a few years ago, with a degree in German after flunking out of mechanical engineering school because I couldn't handle the calculus needed. Does this more or less dash my chances? Or are there jobs where minimal math or more basic math is all that's needed?

I have a small collection of obsolete radiation monitoring equipment which I love to tinker with. I am also beginning to dabble in gamma spectroscopy, so I thought that maybe radiation monitoring at a plant could be an option. I am aware that this could involve a lot of math though.. or if there are positions that deal in calibrating and repairing radiation measuring equipment that might interest me too. I also had thought about the possibility of something like general maintenance of a plant, which would be pseudo similar to what I do now for a living, just more complex and important.

The only nuclear industry person that I talked to told me that the industry really only hires Navy nuke vets, I don't know if that's true or not.. So you see I really know very little about the industry. Any insight, or if you guys can point me in the direction of information I would be very appreciative.
« Last Edit: Nov 09, 2015, 06:05 by KevinH »

Offline Mounder

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #1 on: Nov 09, 2015, 07:12 »
Consider the other military branches besides the Navy.  All the branches have reasons to swing rad survey meters.
Get an officer's slot in whatever they'll offer and cross over into radiation safety down the road.  I would not accept an enlisted offer unless it was in exactly the field you're interested.

KevinH

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #2 on: Nov 09, 2015, 07:32 »
At almost 30, I feel like the opportunity to join the military has passed me by. Not that I'm totally against it, I just don't know if it's for me.

Offline Mounder

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #3 on: Nov 09, 2015, 09:19 »
Too bad the language isn't Russian.

Offline SloGlo

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #4 on: Nov 09, 2015, 09:52 »
Too bad the language isn't Russian.

oar chinese.
that sayed, hook up with won of the hp contract companies: bhi (bartlett), day & zimmermann are the bigies, and convince them yew want two bee a jr hp tech, a decon tech, a trash n lawndry specialist, etc.  this spring season (starts Jan 2 sew git going all ready!) may well bee the most demand driven in 5 years n cood bee the best time ever to brake inn two the biz.
good luck.
« Last Edit: Nov 09, 2015, 09:55 by SloGlo »
quando omni flunkus moritati

dubble eye, dubble yew, dubble aye!

dew the best ya kin, wit watt ya have, ware yinze are!

KevinH

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #5 on: Nov 10, 2015, 12:54 »
Yeah, I do wish I had studied Russian.

What do you mean when you say "hp" SloGlo? That's encouraging at least to know demand is up.

Offline ddickey

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #6 on: Nov 10, 2015, 08:05 »
You may want to check into St. Cloud Technical & Community College. They have an Energy Tech/Power Plant Tech program for nuclear.

Offline Ksheed

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #7 on: Nov 10, 2015, 09:14 »
New threads like this make me long for the days when Content1 was still with us...... :)

Offline Frank Cable

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #8 on: Nov 10, 2015, 09:49 »
SloGlo's posts make me wish he knew English...

Kevin, from the sounds of your interests you should look at chem tech positions.  Find postings for the position and meet the requirements.  Its that simple.  Your buddy in the industry you talked to doesn't know what he's talking about.  Navy nukes aren't the only thing going.  I know many non-navy nukeworkers.  I also wouldn't worry about the math.     
« Last Edit: Nov 10, 2015, 10:05 by Frank Cable »

KevinH

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #9 on: Nov 10, 2015, 10:44 »
Thanks for the help guys. I'll definitely look into chem tech jobs. I have done a little looking around and something like this looks compelling: https://bhienergy.tms.hrdepartment.com/jobs/2278/Radiation-MonitorChalk-River-ON

I was looking for trade schools or community colleges in the minneapolis/st. Paul metro that had programs since I might be able to work while I study and stay in my house for the time being.

I notice the decon and monitor jobs I've been finding only list highschool education as a requirement. They do wand experiance in the field though and famillarity with practices. I assume this is where an appropriate trade school program could come in handy.. Would any of the 24 to 48 hour crash courses ouyt there in ALAMA practices, medical radiation safety or hazmat be of any help to me? Or should I really look for an actual program at a trade or community college?

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #10 on: Nov 10, 2015, 11:37 »
hp references health physics, also known as radiation protection. this group consists of meater reeders with the capability too perform algebra functions in there head while influencing peeple inn a positive manner.
quando omni flunkus moritati

dubble eye, dubble yew, dubble aye!

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #11 on: Nov 10, 2015, 11:42 »
SloGlo's posts make me wish he knew English...
.     

iffen aye could use a redd pen on this web sight, most threads would look like an emergency room post mortem, pre decon.
quando omni flunkus moritati

dubble eye, dubble yew, dubble aye!

dew the best ya kin, wit watt ya have, ware yinze are!

JsonD13

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #12 on: Nov 10, 2015, 12:22 »
I agree with what Frank Cable said.  Dont worry too much about calculus (unless you wanted to be a health physicist), and the Navy isnt the only gig.

About 30-50% of our techs have Navy experience, only 1 of our non-technician level RP dept personnel does.

At 30, your chances of joining the military arent gone, you still have 5 more years.  However, if you have a wife and/or kids, that might not be the best option for you.

The St. Cloud Tech program won't get you much of anywhere unless you are looking to go on the road for a job.  That said, HP/RP is difficult to get into if you refuse to travel for a while (around 6 years).  You wont be able to meet the ANSI requirements to get a senior house tech job without experience, which is pretty much gained through doing outages on the road, or the military (Monticello does not have a deconner/junior program at the moment).

You say you live near Monti, whereabouts? 

JsonD13

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #13 on: Nov 10, 2015, 12:24 »
Oh and faciity tours dont happen much anymore.  You have to get pre-approval through security to see the plant.  Simulator tours are easier to obtain, and are what we normally do for tour groups.

Offline GLW

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #14 on: Nov 10, 2015, 12:47 »
Hi,
I'm a new member here. I have had a certain fascination with Radiation and electronics and want to see if a career in the nuclear power industry might be right for me. First off, Do facilities give tours any more in a post 9/11 world? The closest to me would be Monticello, MN NPP, though I'd be willing to travel for the opportunity to see a working facility and talk to the workers first hand........

Wanna work nuclear?!? move south and east, very far south and very far east,...

Monti is a great little station with really awesome people, it is also stuck at the far northwest end of commercial nuclear power east of the continental divide,....

you may start at Monti, but most likely will not complete a full career there considering your age,....

the greatest opportunity is in Region 2,....

Regions 1 and 3 are either places to begin a career fully knowing you will be moving on, or places to fade into the sunrise because quite frankly; you don't need the utilities' retirement plan, but you do like the money and the change of seasons,...


....I also don't know where to start to look into which particular niche in the field would be best for me. I graduated from college a few years ago, with a degree in German after flunking out of mechanical engineering school because I couldn't handle the calculus needed. Does this more or less dash my chances? Or are there jobs where minimal math or more basic math is all that's needed?........

there are a slew of threads here concerning the various utility screening and entrance exams,...

read through those threads to assess your ability to do well on the peculiar aspects of logic and skills the utilities require for new technical hires,....


....I have a small collection of obsolete radiation monitoring equipment which I love to tinker with. I am also beginning to dabble in gamma spectroscopy, so I thought that maybe radiation monitoring at a plant could be an option. I am aware that this could involve a lot of math though.. or if there are positions that deal in calibrating and repairing radiation measuring equipment that might interest me too. I also had thought about the possibility of something like general maintenance of a plant, which would be pseudo similar to what I do now for a living, just more complex and important.....


radiation monitoring at a plant is not like tinkering and dabbling at a workbench,...

I do not know a good analogy for commercial power radiation protection monitoring in any other endeavour,...

it's a bit unique, and it seems to attract unique folks,...

as to math,...

at the technical level it involves being able to manipulate mathematic formulas and models, not develop them,...

more complex?!?!? probably,... I would dam near bet a bunch that 70% of that complexity is procedural compliance driven,....

more important?!?!?

if you're keeping the nursing home cool in the summer and warm in the winter for my grandmother you got a pretty important job from my perspective,...

but the work is important to the plant's licensed activities, so you have some intrinsic and negotiable value within the arena of licensed activities,...

oh yeah, thee licensed activity(ies) is all about pushing electrons into the grid, it's the only reason the plant exists,...

contrary to some opinions; commercial nuclear power plants do not exist to give radiation protection and security protection types jobs, that's a good thing to keep in mind some days,...

........The only nuclear industry person that I talked to told me that the industry really only hires Navy nuke vets, I don't know if that's true or not.. So you see I really know very little about the industry. Any insight, or if you guys can point me in the direction of information I would be very appreciative.

no,...

Navy nukes are a known commodity, not a demonstrated commodity,...

a Navy nuke should be able to successfully complete a commercial nuclear power training program,...

but many people who were never Navy nukes also perform quite well to exemplary,...

DO NOT join the Navy because you want a commercial nuke power job,...

that is not enough reason,... 8)
« Last Edit: Nov 10, 2015, 12:52 by GLW »

been there, dun that,... the doormat to hell does not read "welcome", the doormat to hell reads "it's just business"

Offline peachie

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #15 on: Nov 10, 2015, 01:10 »
JsonD13, you might want to take another look at our contract.  We DO have a junior program.  It was negotiated during our last contract.
Better living through chemistry.

KevinH

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #16 on: Nov 10, 2015, 02:56 »

You say you live near Monti, whereabouts? 

I'm in the north suburbs of Minneapolis, probably 45 minutes or so from the plant.

Living out of hotels for six years would be an issue as my wife would probably like to see me. I don't have any kids at least so moving wouldn't be doing anyone an injustice.

I like tinkering yes, and ok so that isn't what a RP does, but that's not all I like about the idea. What I also like is Just using survey meters and geiger counters. It's mesmorizing.. I Just never know how to explain what it is, or why I like it. Having a purpose for doing it would be pretty neat I think.

What about waste management, storage sites or transportation companies?

JsonD13

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #17 on: Nov 10, 2015, 03:37 »
Peachie,

LOL I would say I'm pretty darned familiar with Monti's labor contract.  Just because a company has an ability to hire a junior technician does not mean they have a junior program.  In fact, that same contract states that Xcel should make every attempt to hire ANSI 18.1 techs......in my understanding, that line discourages a junior program from occuring........along with the fact that Monti has yet to post a job for a junior RP tech, since said contract had been changed.....but I suppose you are more familiar with the discussions that took place to negotiate it than I am, so you might know something I am unaware of.  ;-)

Kevin,

As far as radiation protection type jobs, there are few and far between unless you are willing to leave MN.  The Xcel plants are the biggest employers in the state for RP's.  Next its probably a toss up between the department of health, u of m, mayo, 3m and various hospitals. 

If you're not going to do military, the road is probably your best bet.  You can road tech without having to move your primary home, and there are plenty of threads on here for how to become a senior RP tech regarding that path......

KevinH

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #18 on: Nov 10, 2015, 08:38 »
Kevin,

As far as radiation protection type jobs, there are few and far between unless you are willing to leave MN.  The Xcel plants are the biggest employers in the state for RP's.  Next its probably a toss up between the department of health, u of m, mayo, 3m and various hospitals. 

If you're not going to do military, the road is probably your best bet.  You can road tech without having to move your primary home, and there are plenty of threads on here for how to become a senior RP tech regarding that path......

If the road is my best bet, are there outage positions that require 0 nuclear experience? Decontamination tech?

From what GLW was saying, i'm only guessing that this might be the case with passing entrance exams stepping in for actual experience/schooling in the industry?

I was also reading up on the forum about the two year online school route, though with contradictory opinions on whether it's worth it. Most of the threads I read forecast a gloomy outlook for outages and RP jobs in the US, but these threads were from a couple of years ago. As much as the industry fascinates me, I sure don't want to blunder into yet another dead end. I already did that once. :x I suppose this is where wishing I spoke Russian comes in. haha

Then theres the ever present issue of pay. I don't know if salaries are discussed on this forum, since I haven't found any discussion on the matter. But if it's fair game, what can an entry level grunt doing outages expect to make? I'm seeing between $38-$48 thousand a year in my searches for decontamination tech, but I suppose that's assuming you can keep busy...
« Last Edit: Nov 10, 2015, 08:42 by KevinH »

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #19 on: Nov 10, 2015, 08:57 »
To get your foot in the door, Call Bartlett (BHI) and DZ Atlantic for JR decon, Firewatch, Scaffold builder, Laborer, etc. and be willing to go anywhere to get in. The jobs starting out will be short, but you will get some training and plant experience. Then you can build on that. Also you will be able to tell if this business is right for you.
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KevinH

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #20 on: Nov 10, 2015, 10:18 »
Oh one more question.. Which I might be laughed out the door for.. Do the staffing agencies provide room and board/transportation? I'm assuming not.

Offline GLW

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #21 on: Nov 10, 2015, 10:42 »
Oh one more question.. Which I might be laughed out the door for.. Do the staffing agencies provide room and board/transportation? I'm assuming not.

typically:

travel pay in at GSA rate per mile,...

per diem at some percentage of the GSA rate, sometimes 100%, but not always,...

travel pay out at GSA rate per mile,...

some sorta outage bonus redeemable by the staffing company and payable to the employee AFTER the outage is over for the utility, not after it's over for the staffing company employee (that's another usually but not always),...

been there, dun that,... the doormat to hell does not read "welcome", the doormat to hell reads "it's just business"

Offline GLW

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #22 on: Nov 10, 2015, 10:59 »
If the road is my best bet, are there outage positions that require 0 nuclear experience? Decontamination tech?

yes,...

and yet another reason to contemplate moving,...

once upon a time there was a spot in Region 1 where you could live and choose from amongst 20+ nuclear plants within an easy six hour drive, most of them within three hours,...

nowadays not so much,...

in Region 2 that is still possible,...

middle eastern Region 3 is close to that number,...

but not where you live,...

you know there's nothing quite as nice as getting to the hotel after shift and finding the missus has decided to drive out and surprise you,...

well usually,....there are a few old hands with some not so happy ending stories,...

but those belong in another thread,... :P ;) :) 8)

been there, dun that,... the doormat to hell does not read "welcome", the doormat to hell reads "it's just business"

KevinH

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #23 on: Nov 11, 2015, 07:09 »
Hmm.. Would central to Eastern PA be a good place to live? My wife's family is in PA.

Thank you all so much for all the replies. Y'all've been a big help!

Offline GLW

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Re: Facility tours, possible career
« Reply #24 on: Nov 11, 2015, 07:24 »
Hmm.. Would central to Eastern PA be a good place to live? My wife's family is in PA.

Thank you all so much for all the replies. Y'all've been a big help!

It's not bad, it's a commonwealth, which does not have a lot of practical distinction unless you find a gold vein in your backyard,...

If you're a rifleman, the Pennsylvanians love their hunting seasons,... 8)
« Last Edit: Nov 11, 2015, 07:24 by GLW »

been there, dun that,... the doormat to hell does not read "welcome", the doormat to hell reads "it's just business"

 


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