Pay rates

[Dave Warren]

I think it just became a temporary assignment.
You answered my question.

[mathef]

Looking for additonal information for the average pay with overtime included for In House I&C Techs in the Southern Nuke Industry.  Any help would be appreciatted.

thanks
frank

[atomicarcheologist]

No response from anyone other than the road crews? 

[atomicarcheologist]

Good luck with your answer.  I have been trying to get pay scales for a couple of weeks now.  It would seem that only the road crew posts their pay.

[Nuclear NASCAR]

Looking for additonal information for the average pay with overtime included for In House I&C Techs in the Southern Nuke Industry.  Any help would be appreciatted.

thanks
frank

Not southern area, but the midwest is in the $30/hr range. 

[graydragon67]

Atomic,  I'm a DOD RCT at the norfolk naval shipyard.  I'm guessing we do approximately the same as an HP.  Then again I could be off target.  Anyhow, our pay is based on your Pay Grade which you can look up on www.donhr.navy.mil.  Presently as a GS-8-9 I'm making about 24.6/hr.  With on and off OT (pending on the schedule of boats/carriers).  The highest NON supervisor pay grade is a GS-10-10 which tops out at 29.49/hr. 

If you hit the road you are allowed diem pending on the area that you go to.  I believe it ranges from 50-110/day.  Those being say down in GA or the high bucks in Pearl Harbour. 

Hope this helps.

[vikingfan]

not sure if this will help or not but here goes, most sr. decon techs working for big blue (bartlett) make about 14$hr and 80-90 a day on average. but if your working d.o.e. the pay can be upwards of 22$ + an hour. if you work for another nuclear service company a decon tech you may make somewhere around 16$ an hr.

[sclong51]

I see no one is posting here, but maybe this will get it started.  PG&E had a posting for a house tech the end of February, starting pay just over $36/hr.  The current outages going on seem to range from $22/hr to $28/hr with per diem from $70 to $112.50 to none.

It is hard for me to believe that wages are not higher.  When I worked at a project in the St. Louis area they paid the Sr techs $26/hr, but the laborers were getting $28/hr.  In IL tech are getting $25/hr, journeyman electricial $38/hr.

It is hard to believe that tech pay isn't higher.  Most of the house tech at the plants I have worked at are making more than $30/hr.

Don't start with the PerDiem thing.  Skilled workers (ie electricial, pipefitters, welders, etc) are all making $35/hr or more.  When you work 6/12s, get $25/hr $100/day you get $2900/wk.  When you you are getting $35/hr you are getting $3080/wk.

I guess most senior don't consider themselves "skilled" and are happy with getting less than the individuals emptying the trash.

What will it take for techs to say enough.  With or without PerDiem we should be getting $40/hr or more.  I believe companies would bid more if the techs would just agree they are worth more.

What will it take for techs to make more?

[ageoldtech]

The average age of a senior tech is over fifty plus. It want be long before were all dead and the young ones that are left will get the big bucks.

[illegalsmile]

even if you're there for less than one yr you have to be careful. If the job is expected to last one year or more and you left on your own or were terminated for cause, you may not be entitled to deduct expenses.

[Dustball]

I see no one is posting here, but maybe this will get it started.  PG&E had a posting for a house tech the end of February, starting pay just over $36/hr. 

STARTING WAGE over $36/hr for a house mouse?  Either they have no room for advancement opportunities or we're getting screwed.  We should have contacted PG&E RPs prior to our last union negotiations.  I would be curious to find out what extras or premiums would be included in that.

I think getting a straight number from house RP's will be just as difficult as road RP's.  We have a base pay.  Our starting wage is 75% of the base.  In addition we have foreman pay/shift premium/fire brigade premium if you qualify.  To get to 100% of the pay you have to be here for 7 years.  Right now that "base" pay is $35.05.  Hope it helps.

[Mike McFarlin]

The average age of a senior tech is over fifty plus. It want be long before were all dead and the young ones that are left will get the big bucks.

Speak for yourself, you young whipper snapper!

[ALARA LOU]

It has been a very long time since I was on the road. How much can I expect to make per year working outages and special projects? I have over 25 years experience as an, RP Tech, ALARA Engineer/Coordinator, and RP supervisor.

[RADBASTARD]

You can expect $22-$25 hour,$80 -$100 per diem a day, $1-$3 an hour in bonus's.

There are a few exceptions as a contract tech ,bonus's at  dc cook are $3000-$3500 ,diem at ip2 and pilgram are around $135 a day.Fermi,millstone,and i think fitz may have given some good bouns's in the past can't say now.
Duke power pays the lowest in the country!
I thought slave wages in the south had been abolished ,but I guess not in the DUKE SYSTEM!
Florida plants, dc cook,wolf creek,clinton,and of course diablo pay the best hourly wages.

Good luck with that whole contract hp thing.

[RRhoads]

Hey..you are forgetting about "B" GREAT bennies like 401k & 401k match & Insurance..Um..i know iam forgetting ..oh yeah! 1/2 a day sick time a month! And an Award Program...I can't even count how times i got one of those!
Boy..i betcha can't wait!

[RRhoads]

STARTING WAGE over $36/hr for a house mouse?  Either they have no room for advancement opportunities or we're getting screwed.  We should have contacted PG&E RPs prior to our last union negotiations.  I would be curious to find out what extras or premiums would be included in that.

I think getting a straight number from house RP's will be just as difficult as road RP's.  We have a base pay.  Our starting wage is 75% of the base.  In addition we have foreman pay/shift premium/fire brigade premium if you qualify.  To get to 100% of the pay you have to be here for 7 years.  Right now that "base" pay is $35.05.  Hope it helps.

Where i work...we hire HP's "topped out" at Journeyman wage, ~$32/hr..You can get more(~3/hr) $$ if you're a lead either outage or non-outage..a raise this year will get us to ~$33/hr.

[ALARA LOU]

Thanks for the information on hourly rates and PerDiem. Now, all I need to know is the average number of weeks per year a contract RP Tech / ALARA Specialist can expect to work. What I am trying to do is figure out how much per year I will make if I need to go back on the road.

[illegalsmile]

if the schedule works at it's best for you, you might get 6 outages/yr, most likely 4 or 5. that would give you 20-24 wks/ yr. if it's been a while since you worked any commercial plants, you may have a hard time getting in on special projects like FP cleanouts, new fuel receipt and such. These, if you can get 'em, usually give you 40 hrs/wk and can go anywhere from 4 wks up. As for Bennies, insurance is pretty high, 401k's don't give you much and if there is any paid sick time for a contractor, I haven't seen it. I'd say, figure $50k-65k/yr including per diem.

[hamsamich]

I know some guys work way more than I do;  I only work 5 to 7 months a year.  If you REALLY want to work, there might be jobs, but not ALWAYS power plant jobs, and you may not get but 40 to 50 hours of work a week, and per diem may not be available.  There are always trade-offs, and things aren't always what they seem.  For instance, you could work out in Idaho if you really wanted to during the "off season".  I've worked for 20 to 27$ an hour and per diem of 85 to 135 a day.  I've heard of moderately higher rates occasionally coming up but not much lower.  Bonus will be as high as 3500$ for 6 weeks of work, as low as nothing. Alara, rad engineer, instrument tech, and a couple other type of specialists can make a good bit more, but sometimes those guys won't get the 72 hour work weeks.  Supervisors and "lead techs" (if they have them) get paid from 0 to 15 dollars an hour MORE than regular rate but again, they may not get 72 hours and they may not get time and a half at the much higher rate.

As a regular senior technician not living the life of luxury when working, you should be able to BANK an average of 8 grand a month plus a little unemployment to boot later on, depending on how you spend your perdiem.

[ALARA LOU]

So, just to make sure I understand this, a senior RP Tech with a good resume can expect to make at LEAST $40k (NOT counting PerDiem) if they work ONLY 4 outages/year at commercial plants?

I also want to thank all who have responded to my post. The information provided will be most helpful if I go back on the road.

[thenukeman]

True about the 40 K, But if you break up your quarters right and are smart about per diem you should make about 70K counting diem and Unemployment. Remember Diem is untaxable so it is actually worth more.  File in Massachusetts, Remember you can do this if you have never worked there or live there by filing a combined wage claim if you work outages in more than 1 state. That is under the interstate claim section in this forum if there are questions.

[ALARA LOU]

Thank you.

Now, can anyone tell me how best to get life & disability insurance? Fortunately my wife has excellent medical coverage so I am all set on that front.

[illegalsmile]

1) get a government job
2)marry someone with a government job
3) get a house job
4)start your own company.
those are the best routes for a contract HP/RP/RC Tech to get good bennies.

[sclong51]

Just a note to Dustball, I see that PG&E post house jobs on July 19 on Nukeworker and it says starting pay $36.30/hr.  After talking to some tech that have been there they top out over $40/hr.

[RRhoads]

Just a note to Dustball, I see that PG&E post house jobs on July 19 on Nukeworker and it says starting pay $36.30/hr.  After talking to some tech that have been there they top out over $40/hr.

I wonder if a person could buy a house & live there, grossing $1600/week when they get maxed out???