1. RO's are like everyone, it's called a job, not vacation.
2. Sure. So is being a pre-school teacher.
3. You never know. I've seen deconners and laborers get jobs as RO's. But Navy experience certainly helps.
4. I disagree with the bullet on pay. I believe the pay is very good.
5. It is in a 'transition' period, so is Oil. Both of which will have casualties (Stock: LINE). Thats how the power market is today. Have you seen the price of a barrel of oil recently? Now, brick and mortar book stores or block buster video ... that's not a good industry to be in.
6. A Masters is entry level at the National labs, but a PhD is preferred to advance. You could consider NOT being an operator, and become a "Nuclear Engineer" at a power plant (like a civil, mechanical, electrical engineer), the hours are better, and the pay is good.
7. Define nuclear security. Cyber Security? Physical Security? What does any of that have to do with your degree?
8. Getting a job, any kind of job, is not selling out, it's providing for your (future) family.
1 & 2. I guess you'll get a spectrum with different levels of satisfaction for any job. I was just really surprised after looking at a few threads here how frustrated many ROs were. Then again, people love to rant on the internet. It seems that he most prominent complaints were the long hours and the position lacking a high level of autonomy due to regulations. 10 hour days are nothing unique to this industry, however.
3. So without much hands-on experience (except operating a small research reactor at my school a couple times), what would be some steps to take to demonstrate competency as an operator? I suppose I could look into internships at this reactor, but currently I have research obligations. Maybe after graduation I'd have time to find one. Do commercial reactors offer many internships to new grads?
4. Okay that figure was provided by a quick search for median nuclear reactor operator salary. Even $80k would make me happy; it looks like that is a low-ball estimate though. I'm not sure why anyone would have trouble maintaining their budget with +$80k. For the first time in my life I made about $2k a month and I felt like Bill Gates.
5. Yeah, maybe not quite so soon, but eventually fossil fuel reserves are going to deplete and their prices won't be competitive for too long. That leaves nuclear as the only non-intermittent energy source available.
6. I'd say my background fits lab research more closely. Although I am in the Power Engineering specialization, my research is computational based, so it's kind of funny. With a physics undergrad, I am better with theory. I don't have a strong design background, so I don't really know if I would be competitive with other engineers who are really good at making/designing stuff. Is there a role for theory based/computational skills as a Nuclear Engineer for an energy company (without plans to construct new reactors)?
7. I don't know very much but - designing radiation detectors, algorithms to track fuel/waste distribution and minimize proliferation risk, planning how to minimize doses in the event of an emergency. I currently do not do any of this work, I work for the computational methods department.
8. My lame attempt at a joke. You just have a bit of hope that when pursuing degrees like this, you can stay on the sciency side, but honestly I don't have a problem with doing this - there is nothing wrong with doing whatever it takes to provide for your family.
Thanks for your response
