Leading ELT on the way out

[Rad Sponge]

Name is Jason and I will soon be honorably seperating from the Navy. I am an MM1/LELT and have a BA in Natural Science/Mathematics from TESC.

I've started sending out resumes and have contacted a few head hunters. Luck would have it that Duke invited me to SC for testing, etc, but I would not be discharged soon enough.

I am looking for some no-BS "what's it really like" kind of insight.

What is it truely like to be a Non Licensed Operator? Is it as bad as back to back patrols as ERLL/ERF day after day or is it a bit more mentally challenging?

I have done rotating shift work as a prototype instructor and that was pretty crappy, however the way the Duke rep explained it there were 4-7 day breaks every few shift cycles. Is this correct? Is civilian shift rotation less irritating than prototype?

What about being a LELT? Are there chemistry jobs out there where I can just be a chemist and focus on plant chemistry rather than juggle 4 different hats?

Finally, my wife would love for me to remain in Florida. I see that Turkey Point has a vacancy for NLO and Plant Chemist. Any insight into FP&L?

That's all. This board is great, so much knowledge and experience. I look forward to your reply.

R/

Jason

[Roll Tide]

Welcome! And thanks for the years of service you have given your country!

I will answer a couple of your points, and I encourage you to read all of the "Navy Nuke: Getting Out" daughter board. Many of these questions have been answered by people more knowledgeable than me!

What's it really like as NLO?
40 hours of straight time. Anything over that per week is overtime. That means if they require you to be there, they pay you for it. If you work 72 hours in a week (which will be very rare, but happens during refueling outages), you will be paid an obscene amount of money.
Operations as an NLO should be mentally challenging. If you do the least possible with the least understanding it might not be, but you should dig deep into every job you tackle in order to understand it. You aren't doing maintenance, but you are operating the plant. The division of labor is different than a submarine, and management does not want the control room staff compared to Maneuvering watchstanders. There are some parallels, but not exact.

Rotating shift work as bad as prototype?
See previous question!
Also, you will be scheduled for 7-8 days off every 5 weeks (unless you are in an outage). Some people work on those days off, others don't. It depends on the staffing where you work on availability of OT.

Turkey Point?
That's a great place to get in and move up quickly. That means that many people leave there every year. If you like the area (snorkeling and saltwater fishing) and don't have kids you may love it. If you have kids but homeschool or send them to private school you may love it. There are good public schools in the area, but it is expensive to be in those districts.
I guess you are at Kings Bay, since you mention living in Florida. You do realize that Charlotte is probably as close as Turkey point, right? There are good reasons to go to Turkey Point, but similarity and proximity to Kings Bay are not reasons to go to Turkey Point!
Read the "Talk about: Turkey Point" thread for more info.


GOOD LUCK!!

[shayne]

As far as being a NLO, we operate all the equipment in the plant, manual valves, check that motors/pumps ready to be started, oil levels, valve lineups, check local valve position on motor operated valves, operate EDGs, etc.  The logs (rounds) that you take are equal to the logs that you performed in the Navy however the buildings are much larger and you will have the whole day to get one set done.  This means that you actually have time to look over the equipment better than just getting numbers.  If you have rounds, you have the entire building such as Turbine, Reactor, Outside, and Radwaste. (May be different at each plant)  Much of the other work that NLOs are required to perform is tagging (mechanical and electrical) for maintenance. 

Try here for some shift schedules.  I did the shift work at NY Prototype and this is much better.

http://www.nukeworker.com/forum/index.php/topic,4202.0.html

[Fermi2]

Being an NLO is one of the best damn jobs in the world. I didn't move up the pipeline because I hated being an NLO. If I was told tomorrow I had to go back to being an NLO I'd do it in a heartbeat.

By the way, just about any job will put you on Shift Rotation.

If Florida doesn;t work out check out the Browns Ferry NLO on the TVA website.

Working at a BWR was quite nice.

Mike

[JnyMac]

Mike and Shayne

You guys must be working the nightshift tonight like me.  NLO is a great job.  We see a ton of guys go in the Control Room only to wish they could go back to being an AO.  The shift work is not so bad either.  Our Schedule is as follows  3 nights 4 days off, 4 days 6 days off, 4 nights 4days off, 3 days 1 day off, 4 days training 2 days off, and start it all over again.  Lots of days off 16 hours built in overtime every 5 weeks.

[Fermi2]

I actually just got home. I'm nightshift Management oversight for the Unit Two Outage Fuel Movement. We're done moving fuel and since I had to take a Reactor Theory test yesterday morning then come back on nights they let me go home.

I rather like Nightshift.

Mike

[kwicslvr]

Jason,

I got out in March 03 after 12 years as an ELT and instructor at NPTU also.  I was hired on in a Plant Chemistry position first time out.  We only do plant chemistry here were I work.  That includes secondaries, primaries and radioassey along with some aux systems.  As a chemtech over a 5 week period we do 7 days of swings and 7 days of mids the rest of the time you are working days from 6am to 2pm.  You start at 55k but after you are fully qualified (1 1/2 years later) your base is 65k/yr.  After bonuses and overtime, tack on about 15k-35k more a year.   I work for Constellation Energy.  Right now none of our plants are hiring chem techs but Ginna, in upstate NY, is looking to hire operators.  If you are interested just let me know and I can get you the contact info. 

Garrett

[Rad Sponge]

Thanks all for your guidance, next question...

After researching the NRRPT and CHP examinations, I overwhelmingly feel like a moron. Wow, there is so much knowledge out there that my LELT/ELT experience merely scratched the surface.

How do I start over again and work towards the professional level of knowledge needed to pass the CHP examination? Can anyone recommend a college program or private training program geared towards the working professional?

[aabrams]

Rad Sponge, I too was a LELT overfilling with my vast nuclear knowledge.  Like you I also realized that if I made a puddle with that knowledge, it was barely enough to wet the bottom of my feet.  I don't know if it was a rare act of kindness or not, but when I studied for the NRRPT exam, I went up to the local plant (Millstone) and the training folks were happy to give me some old NRRPT study guides.  Between that and a Golnick book, I didn't have any problems on the exam.  I haven't taken the CHP part 1 yet, but I would imagine a similiar tactic may work.  As for college programs, I know Oregon state has an online bachelors and masters in HP.  Illinois Institute of Technology also has an online masters in HP (no thesis requirement, just take their comprehensive exam or CHP part 1).

[PWHoppe]

You can find study guides on this site in the shop, they are very good and will help you tremendously.

[radgal]

You need to have a degree in a Physics discpline and 5 years experience in a professional capacity (Health Physicist) to be able to take the CHP exam. 

The NRRPT requirement stated on their website is " an applicant must have a minimum of 5 years experience.  Training may be substituted for experience if the applicant will submit to the Board information about the the program and proof of completion.  This information should include curriculum, typical examinations, and passing requirements for radiation related subjects.   Experience credit allowed for formal education, company training programs and applicable military training is cummulative up to a maximum of two years.  Note an applicant may not claim work experience while in formal classroom study.   An applicant must be at least 21 years old at the time of application. " 

Hope this helps.  As far as study material go to our shop and you can buy the NRRPT study guide.  I used it and it worked for me.