Vogtle (Alvin W Vogtle)

[Rennhack]

Don't forget to vote.  Keep your comments civil.

[HAIRDUDE]

I went to Vogtle in September of 1988 for the first refuel of unit 1. Unit 2 was still under construction. I didn't leave there until around June 1992. It was a great place to work and the people were wonderful. Kerry Brown, Jim Dixon, Ken Petrofski, Steve Burris, Curtis Peters, Rick Riley, Jerry Lucott, Gloria,Brad,Tweed, Wayne, Humpey, Jimmy, Steve (McCloud), Art, Mike, Dave (Rochester), Jeff, Nelson Rayburn, Burnis Coleman........The list goes on and on and I can't think of a bad thing to say about a single one of them. For those of you who don't know me....That's sayin' a lot. Who knows.....Maybe someday I'll have that red clay under my feet again.....Maybe....just maybe......This time I'd stay.
Floyd

PS
Tarbox,
You swung through a few times while I was there. You were one of the brightest young road scholars I ever ran across in my travels. I'm glad to see you're doing well.

[Haz-Mater]

I was there in 1990 and 1991.  I like everything there was about Vogtle...the house techs, the hours, the work conditions, Joey Crider, the deconners, and especially the south and the state of Ga...being from GA.

[Radcat069]

HAIRDUDE-Yes those were the days.

I WAS a house puke there until yesterday. As a Christmas present SNC fired me after almost 14 years. One of our "shared" read (house techs from Hatch or Farley) personnel claimed I created a hostile work environment. Down with the hammer, up with the knee and out the gate.

But I digress, much has changed. The house guys(at least the ex contract)try to treat the contractors well.  More and more of the old breed is leaving and being replaced by folks who know everything they were taught in SkcooL.

tarbox - no it has gotten worse, not better.

[Camella Black]

If anyone has a favorite hang out, place to shop, or local information for this area please post it here.

[MrHazmat]

Hey JessJen, if you are coming this way let me know. If you have time in your schedule I can get you and some of the other Nukeworkers in to the Carolina Dragway. I am race director and we run every Thursday and every Saturday night. Thursdays are the biggest party nights. Just give me a holla if ya interested.

[badger]

If I want to
a) live in the south east, ideally Georgia (I love my grits)
b) live near a large town or small-medium city
c) work on a nuclear reactor

is this a good place to work?

[Fermione]

Yes.

[MrHazmat]

Sure come on down I am just across the river at SRS.

[TN-Man]

I worked there in 2001 and 2004 (I think. I will have to go home and look at the t-shirts) Great place to work the people are fantastic, the contractors are all returnees and everyone plays well together. I would recommend night shift. In addition to the above ,the music is great. You'll know what I mean when you get there. Best run outages I've ever seen.

[B.PRESGROVE]

Hey Mr. Hazmat,

I did work at SRS until April of '07.

[MrHazmat]

Hey Mr. Hazmat,

I did work at SRS until April of '07.

Well at least you escaped the Funny Farm.

[B.PRESGROVE]

  Funny farm isnt quite how I would describe it out there.  I have to keep things civil here on the posts, but all I'll say are the folks I worked with were great,  the management.................I'll leave it at that.

Hope you get a chance to hop the fence soon.

[number41]

Anybody with recent Op's experience here?  I'm considering calling them up for an SRO position, but would like some head's up.  PM's welcomed for those wishing to remain anonymous!

[B.PRESGROVE]

Have a friend in my sunday school class that I teach who is an SRO out there, and says he really enjoys it.  Great managment, people, and work atmosphere.  Hes been trying to help me get on out there.

[number41]

I think they have an SRO class coming-up soon, so I'm going to start calling soon since I'm only a couple of months away from EAOS.  I'm a little nervous now since I'm without a job for the first time in 13 years, but I think it'll work itself out.  That's assuming I can't get my sugar momma to support me for the rest of my life.

[MrHazmat]

I'm too old and been here too long to leave now.  :-[Management , depending on who you work for can be trying at times, but I guess I will stay here shipping this stuff all over the world until they run me off.

[B.PRESGROVE]

Hey all just wondering if anyone has heard when Vogtle will be hiring nuke techs this year.

[McBride]

How are the negotiations going over there?

[B.PRESGROVE]

  Uuuuhhhh what negotiations?  If there are some going on I havent heard about any yet.  What have you heard?  I applied at VC Summer and Duke energy so maybe one of them will bite.

[McBride]

Apparently the IBEW and Southern Nuclear stopped talking.  The current contract expires in September-ish (I think) after a 90 day extension.  It looks like there are no further talks scheduled.

[B.PRESGROVE]

It figures. 

[TheTeej]

Howdy,
I'm a navy nuke EM1 getting out in 80 days (January 12th 2009). 
I did 8 years, 2 as a staff pickup in Charleston, SC.
From what I've read all over these forums, I should try to get a NLO/Aux Operator job to get my foot in the door and eventually work my way up. 

I think the first step though will be getting my resume to the right person...

Does anyone know who I can contact at plant Vogtle?  I've been checking https://southerncompany.taleo.net (the job application website for southern company) frequently, but haven't seen much there.  I posted an application for a "Nuclear Operations Plant Instructor" job, the only thing I have seen there anything close to nuclear plant operation. 

I'll be in Augusta Georgia for most of December trying to find a job near there, Ideally at Vogtle or SRS.  Admittedly, Vogtle is my dream job.  I'm from Augusta, and I want to stay close to home.  Anyone who can help in any way is my new friend^

-TJ Swan (Teej)

[B.PRESGROVE]

I'll check into it for ya, I am good friends with and SRO out there and maybe he can give me a name.  I know that they are in a shutdown right now but from what ive heard they will be looking for new hires starting in march time frame.  I know also they are pretty close to getting underway with the 2 new reactors they want to build out there.

[McBride]

First hurdle cleared for Vogtle 3 & 4...

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200903171410DOWJONESDJONLINE000584_FORTUNE5.htm

[mchance624]

 Would anyone happen to have any info on any sub contractors working or preparing to do work at Plant Vogtle. I have been laid off for about two months and need to go to work. I only live about 30 minutes from the site.  I do know that SHAW is the general contractor and I have applied for a couple different jobs with them.

[B.PRESGROVE]

Good friend of mine is SRO out there and said they should be getting ready within the next few months to get underway.  Hope that helps some.

[shipoffools]

I noticed on a recent construction status update for Vogtle 3 & 4 that Southern Co is conducting "pre-training" for Operators at Augusta Tech.  Does anyone know if this is something that's done for "new hires," or a tool used to screen potential applicants?  I've heard rumors that a 2-year NET Associate's Degree was in the works at Augusta Tech, but have seen nothing official listed on their website - not sure if these things are related. Any info is appreciated.   

[Robnknoxville]

Hello,seeking lodging/housing for the March outage within driving range w/consideration of working overtime hours.Prefer furnished/clean/secure,etc type environment.
Any suggestions appreciated on lodging/housing and outage expectations!
Worked the outage in '99  and drove from Augusta but prefer something closer!

Rob 
robknoxtn@yahoo.com

[gcirelli]

I am an out of work fire protedtion engineer looking for a job at Vogtle, anyone know who I can contact???

[matthew.b]

You better do a grammar check before Broadzilla comes along.

[HydroDave63]

I am an out of work fire protedtion engineer looking for a job at Vogtle, anyone know who I can contact???

I hear it helps to be fluent in Mandarin  

[rlferguson19]

I have an interview schedule here and would like any insight into the job of  Nuclear Plant Operator in Training (Reactor Operator, AP 1000). Also I was told there would be a POSS and Profile XT exam. The POSS I found helpful materials on, but the Profile XT nothing. Any help on either one of those would be nice as well. I really am trying to contact anyone who might currently work there to get a feel for the area and environment. Thanks in advance.

[caliban10010]

I interviewed for a (SRO)SSS-IT position late last year. I wasn't selected, but I'll let you know about my experience. I have no idea of your background, I was a Navy nuke. The POSS is pretty easy. It's all about speed, the concepts aren't too difficult to grasp. The ProfileXT is also fairly simple. It's similar to a psych exam. Most of the questions asked how you feel about something. The last part of the exam had a few problem solving questions, similar to what you would see on the math section of the POSS. 

The area is nice and quiet. Nothing much in Waynesboro, but Augusta has plenty to offer. Savannah, Charleston, and Atlanta are close enough for a weekend getaway. Be prepared to lose your phone signal around the plant, most of us interviewing didn't have signal. I forgot already, but I think Sprint or Verizon is the only carrier with enough signal around that area.

Good Luck!

[LaFeet]

My Sprint phone worked fine in that area

[Mike McFarlin]

Did you turn it on?

[Gamma Glue]

My Sprint phone worked fine in that area

It does work fine in the area, just not at the actual site. Verizon is the only real carrier option. They just installed a new repeater as well to help. Also, Southern has it's own cell service, SouthernLinc, which works as well.

[rlferguson19]

Thanks for the info. I too was a Navy Nuke, but I got out 5 years ago. And thanks for the heads up on the cell phones as well.

[Bigmo6967]

I am scheduled to take the POSS test for a system operator in training position for Plant Vogtle this week. If selected and I do take this job I will be walking away from another Nuclear field job I have held at SRS the past 5 years. Someone please throw out some great selling points for me to pursue this position. The base pay is already around 3,000 more yearly than what I would make now so including how fast after training you can jump up your pay would be a big plus as well. The drawbacks right now are that it is about twice as far for me to drive to work and I have absolutely no idea about their benifits/ retirement. Feel free to dump as much info on me that you want. I want to make the best decision for the future going forward and am really excited about the opportunity if selected.

[UncaBuffalo]

I am scheduled to take the POSS test for a system operator in training position for Plant Vogtle this week. If selected and I do take this job I will be walking away from another Nuclear field job I have held at SRS the past 5 years. Someone please throw out some great selling points for me to pursue this position. The base pay is already around 3,000 more yearly than what I would make now so including how fast after training you can jump up your pay would be a big plus as well. The drawbacks right now are that it is about twice as far for me to drive to work and I have absolutely no idea about their benifits/ retirement. Feel free to dump as much info on me that you want. I want to make the best decision for the future going forward and am really excited about the opportunity if selected.

If you can make it into commercial power, you will wonder how you ever put up with DOE life.  In my experience,  commercial work is always more entertaining and rewarding, the attitudes are usually more positive, and the level of boredom significantly reduced. A longer commute is a small price to pay for the increased job satisfaction you will experience.

Good luck!  

[Bigmo6967]

Thanks for the insight and encouragement. I have already discussed it with my wife and if offered the position I am definitely going to take it. I really enjoyed my time in the nuclear Navy and would have not gotten out then if not for the horrible marriage I was trying to save then. I will keep my fingers crossed that this is going to be my opportunity to get back into nuclear power.

[MrHazmat]

BigMo are you RadCon here on site?

[Bigmo6967]

BigMo are you RadCon here on site?

No but my brother works Radcon for SRR. I worked in operations and am now in engineering.

[Bigmo6967]

Just as an update I got my POSS test results back and am good to go. Now I get to wait and see if I am contacted for an interview.

[Bigmo6967]

I do not expect to hear anything back around the holidays. Saying that, does anyone have insight as to when they may start bringing candidates in to interview?

[Bigmo6967]

I guess that I may have to accept the fact that I am not going to be called in to interview for a position despite passing the POSS test. I could not imagine that it would go this long before interviews were scheduled and it seems that there is no one with insight on if they have already happened. I can hope that with the completion of the new reactors at Vogtle they may seek to fill more positions in the future and I have already passed my POSS and could perhaps get an interview. 

[Bigmo6967]

I got an email on January tenth stating I was no longer under consideration for the position. I really wished I could have at least been selected for an interview. I heard from another applicant who knows people at the site that there was a large number of internal applicants. Hopefully there will be more postings for this job in the future since there are two new reactors under construction. I am a little disheartened that I did not get it this time around but will probably still be here looking when they hire again. 

[richwopper]

Nov.17,2015 we are building units 3 and 4. we have been sold 3 times in two years. in Jan. 2016 we will go to work for fluor which is a Westinghouse sister company. I have worked for them before at Savannah river, they are very easy to work for. 

[kfj3]

Hello all,

On 07/11/16 I took the POSS test in Augusta as the first step towards hopefully being a SOIT for Vogtle Units 3&4...The job posting I submitted to stated that the class would start in October.  Have any fellow applicants heard back yet about interviews or do any employees have any insight into where Southern is currently at in the hiring process?

[jone5328]

Hello all,

On 07/11/16 I took the POSS test in Augusta as the first step towards hopefully being a SOIT for Vogtle Units 3&4...The job posting I submitted to stated that the class would start in October.  Have any fellow applicants heard back yet about interviews or do any employees have any insight into where Southern is currently at in the hiring process?

I am in the same position as you. I took the test for Exelon and did not need to retest, and HR mentioned my resume would be included in the pool of applicants. I have not heard anything back yet. Keep in mind the last POSS exam was on 07/19/2016, which was just a week ago. If I don't hear anything back by this Friday (07/29/2016), I'm going to assume I didn't get the interview.


From my previous experience interviewing with Southern Nuclear, I got an email asking to complete a background check prior to the interview. Apparently that background check email is a precursor to the interview. So, if that email comes, you definitely will have an interview.