Career Path > Radiation Safety
Zero to ANSI 3.1 in Six Years
Rennhack:
Some HPs went to college. It is assuredly the fastest path to becoming a Sr. HP. A two year degree from one of the many colleges, available online, will assure you a fast track to being a Sr. HP and collecting those pay checks. College people like other College people, who shared a similar experience.
Other HPs started in the nuclear Navy. The Navy has an incredible training program, and instills a great work ethic in young people. It is NOT a fast path, as the typical Navy commitment is 6 years for the nuclear training. However, later down the line, you will learn that the nuclear industry is full of ex-Navy people. Navy people like Navy people, who shared a similar experience.
The third path, the path few have chosen, is the slowest path of them all. The start at the bottom, and work your way up path. To be an ANSI 3.1 Sr. HP, without college or Navy time, you will need 156 weeks (3 years) of HP experience. That is 39 of the 4 week outages that we currently enjoy. If you work 24 weeks a year, it will take you 6.5 years of HP time to become a Sr. HP.
Be sure to read this article; "Acceptable Experience and Training for HP Technicians at Nuclear Power Plants": http://www.nukeworker.com/forum/index.php/topic,4395.0.html
If you work 3 months as a deconner, and are meter qualified, you will get 3 months of Jr. HP experience. After that, you get nothing. You can work as a deconner for 6 years, and you will only get 3 months of HP experience.
Work no more than 3 months as a DECONNER, 3 months as a as a LAUNDRY MONITOR (Deconners often do this), 3 months as a CONTROL POINT MONITOR (JR HPs often do this), 3 months as a COUNT ROOM TECH (JR HPs often do this), 6 months as a DOSIMETRY TECH (JR HPs often do this), or 6 months as a RESPIRATOR PROTECTION TECH (Deconners/JR HPs often do this), after that, you will get NO HP credit.
First Year: So, to recap, work 3 outages ~ 3 months as a Jr. deconner, pulling trash and laundry. Make sure you get meter qualified and put on your resume that you were meter qualified (and used it, i.e. Operation of RO-2 and HP-210). Then work 3 outages ~ 3 months as a deconner either deconning respirators, or washing the laundry. Either way, make sure you operate the monitor and put on your resume that you monitored the laundry or respirators. One year has passed, you were a deconner, and you have 6 months of experience toward being an HP.
Year Two: You tell the recruiters that you will only accept a Jr. HP position, because you have maxed out your decon time towards being an HP. Spend 3 outages ~ 3 months as a control point monitor, and 3 outages ~ 3 months in a count room counting smears and air samples. Two years have passed, and now you have about 1 years of HP experience.
Year Three: You have to insist on doing real HP work, like routine surveys, etc. You will have ~1.5 years of HP time at the end of the third year.
Year Four: Same as year three, wash, rinse, repeat. Tag along with Srs, and help with job coverage. You will need the experience next year. You will have ~ 2 years of HP time at the end of the fourth year.
Year Five: Now you have to insist you will only accept 18.1 Sr HP slots. The older power plants can call HPs with 2 years of experience a Sr. HP. The newer plants require 3 years. You will get a lot of great experience at those plants, and the people are wonderful there. You will have ~ 2.5 years of HP time at the end of the fifth year.
Year Six: Same as year five, wash, rinse, repeat. You should be studying for the NRRPT (a national certification for HP techs), they require you have five years experience. Congratulations! At the end of the 6th year, you should have 3 years of HP time, and are a real live ANSI 3.1 Sr HP. Dont forget to apply for the NRRPT whne you have 5 years of experience.
Rennhack:
Additional Notes:
1) If you went to college and got a 2 year degree, they will credit you with 12 months of experience once you get 24 months of experience. so you skip the '18.1' 2 year senior and go strait to a '3.1' Senior once you get twenty four months of RP time.
2) Be warry of some companies/plants that will credit you as a 'two year senior' once you have 20 months time (instead of 24 months). Their math includes giving you 5 months of credit for 4 months worked (counting hours worked instead of actual months). The ANSI standard (linked above) makes no such allowance. It requires "2 years of experience". You can't get two years of experience in 20 months. You can get a LOT of experience working overtime, but a week is still a week. A month is still a month. And a year is still a year.
gravy58:
They are handing out 2 year degrees like hamburgers at McDonalds. If you super size it, you can be a lead Tech. with in your first year of work and never have to cover a hot job. Of course if you through in a happy meal, they'll make you a Supervisor.
Chimera:
--- Quote from: Rennhack on Oct 14, 2013, 10:59 ---Additional Notes:
1) If you went to college and got a 2 year degree, they will credit you with 12 months of experience once you get 24 months of experience. so you skip the '18.1' 2 year senior and go strait to a '3.1' Senior once you get twenty four months of RP time.
2) Be warry of some companies/plants that will credit you as a 'two year senior' once you have 20 months time (instead of 24 months). Their math includes giving you 5 months of credit for 4 months worked (counting hours worked instead of actual months). The ANSI standard (linked above) makes no such allowance. It requires "2 years of experience". You can't get two years of experience in 20 months. You can get a LOT of experience working overtime, but a week is still a week. A month is still a month. And a year is still a year.
--- End quote ---
That's been a long-standing discussion from way back. Most places have opted to define a year as 52 weeks versus 2000 hours. The Standards don't differentiate. They just say "year".
Lip2303:
In the above linked article, it states that a maximum of 50 hours per week should be accepted towards your experience when working during outage times. It also states that 2000 hours of verified experience is equal to one year experience. Wouldn't this make it possible to accumulate your two years experience in 20 months vs 24 months?
I understand what you posted, but the link you reference states something different, unless I am completely mistaken (which is entirely possible and has happened before).
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