Career Path > Training, Tests & Education

Going Commercial Nuke (how?)

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dga212spam:
Wow, what a community of knowledge here!  I graduated from NYU ugrad Stern business program with  degrees in finance & accounting 2years ago. I then spent 2 years working as an analyst on wallstreet and am considering a career change- going nuclear.

I did AP sciences and scored really well back in HS, AP Chem - 5, Calc B - 5, Physics C - 5/4 (Mech/EM). I also got a 1310 on my SAT.  Unfortunately I didn't do any science in college, and I had a low gpa (2.7).  Although, there is a strict curve at Stern.   I really think I made a career mistake by going to ugrad business school (although it was a great program). 

I can see that there is a coming construction boom in nuclear (17 new reactors in application here in the US) after not building ANY for decades.

What is the best way to get into the field?  I would considered going Navy, as that would help me get the most technical experience the most rapidly. 

1)  What are the chances for a guy with my background getting into NUPOC as an officer?
2) If I can't go officer what is the difference in level of training and experience with the Nukes?  Do officers learn more about the technology?  Do they do better after the Navy than enlisted guys?
3)  What the chances I can convince a power company to train me?  Do they need guys with finance degrees in the reactor room? (i doubt it but hey they hired Homer Simpson right?).
4)  What do people earn in this field?  Or more precisely, what kind of career path can a guy like me get on?

Thanks to all in advance, great site!

thenuttyneutron:
I can't help on the Navy side.  Utilities like to hire navy nukes.  The requirements for becoming an operator with just a college degree, I assume that is what you want from your post about the control room, you will need a BS in a science.  Engineering is the most common type I see.  I do however know a few people with just an associates degree in a science. 

The pay is great if you can handle the rolling shift work and the long hours of an outage.  The rate at which you can get paid on a outage schedule per week exceeds $120k per year if you are an hourly worker.  But this does not keep up forever.  On a 36/48 hour work week cycle expect to start making about 44k-50k a year.  This all depends on the employer.  Some places are better than others about pay.

The degree is not the only barrier.  You must pass a test called the POSS and get unescorted access to a nuke plant.  If you did as well as 1300 on the SAT, I think you can pass the POSS.  Search the site and you will see more info about it.  The background is big too.  You better have a clean record for the last 5 year at a minimum and don't lie about anything on the paper work.  They will also do a head check on you.  The MMPI is a popular test they give.

If you can pass all this and get into a plant as an AO, you will be good to go.  The only way to get in the control room is with a licence.  The license takes about 1&1/2-2 years of class room/simulator training to earn.  With a 4 year degree in a science, you can go the instant SRO route after 3 years of being a qualified operator.  The other way is move up through the ranks and just become a reactor operator.  It is not easy to get in.  These plants are multi-billion dollar machines and they can't afford to let just anyone operate them.

Roll Tide:
See if Big Blue (Bartlett) will pick you up as a Jr. HP or a deconner for an outage.
They advertise here (heck, the big man even posts here!)

I know you are interested in an exciting career; give it an outage season and then commit one way or the other. I hate it when people go through a long period of training and relocate their families, but then find out they hate the job.

Roll Tide:
So that this thread will be useful to someone else in the future, I split the Navy responses off to the other topic started by dga12spam

The Navy is a great way to get nuclear experience, but it is not the only way. Look into direct commercial hires before you talk to the Navy recruiter.

Roll Tide:

--- Quote from: honeycomb on Apr 18, 2006, 10:00 ---That would have been great info when I was looking at the Navy. 


--- End quote ---

No one can ever take that experience away from you. It is valuable, especially in the commercial nuclear field. While there were hardships in the Navy, at least there is a payback.

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