New to the Forum and need some help

[Rifleman]

   New the the forum and still looking around for the answers...

I'll ask and see if anyone can point me in the right direction  (yes, i'm going to learn how to use the "search" function by the end of the day)

I'm looking for some good advice on how to go from point A to point B

Point A =  Ex navy Nuclear MM1/ELT (SS) with 15 years experiance in Nuclear Waste Research at a National Lab.  Remote Manipulator operations and REPAIR of CRL and AMF manipulators, hotcell facility operations and maint.  No college at this point.

Point B = DOLAP qualified External Dosimistrist HP...

I'm in Northern Illinois and have kids in high school so I would like to avoid moving at this time.

Looking for someone who has walked that path or a close fax. there of, information on a good, or good land grant colleges in Illinois that have reputable HP programs.

Thanks for any help... time for a change in my career path.

[hamsamich]

Don't know what DOLAP means but howdy, I was an ELT 88-95.  I know there are a bunch of nuke plants around you or close by so seeing as how your kids are pretty old and in high school, maybe you could get away to work some outages nearby as an HP if you need some dollars?  I dunno about the dosimetry thing though, used to be in charge of the tender's dosimetry program but haven't touched a TLD except to wear it in 12 years.  I'll help you if I can, I know some dosimetry people I could call, but most likely someone on here will see your post and help out.

[Rifleman]

ham, thanks... Norther Illinois is Nuc central if you want to work in the plants but I got a nice 8-4:30 in research.  Making good coin, but would always like to make better...

here is the real issue...  the HP's that I have to deal with are not the sharpest knives in the drawer if you know what I mean.  Maybe the bad thing is that I have experiance with a number of their areas of expertise.  Now I'm not saying I know enough to call BS on them, but I do have enough knowledge to know they are not doing things right.  Both from a RadCon stand point... and more so from a Management stand point.

I just got my Annual Evaluation and my boss (a PhD chemist) makes this statement that really REALLY stuck with me.  "If you know they are wrong, and you don't do anything about it... that leaves them to be the "experts" down the road... they are the people who will be advising policy."  Basically the 'all that is needed for evil to win, is for good men to do nothing' speech.

ok, I make the decission right then and there.  I'm wasting my talents... Yes I'm good at what I do, yes I have taught people, yes I have experiance... but I could do so much more if I got my azz in gear.

What I'm looking for is some advice from someone in the biz that would basically say, "if I had it to do all over again, this is the way I would do it."  I could go into it cold, but I would much rather have a bit of the inside scoop from someone who knows what they are talking about.

those are the long range plans.  One of the HP techs I work with pointed me here as a good place to start... kinda sad that he didn't point me to any of the HP's on site.

is it just me or are HP's kinda quirky?  the Techs are easy to work with, easy to talk to, make sense, know what they are doing... but the HP's  espically the PhD'ed ones... are in a much more eliptical orbit, ya'know?

[Fermi2]

At the RISK of sounding repetitive...

There are roughly 14.2 Million posts here covering the information you seek. Good nukes have the ability to research then ask questions, Might I suggest the search function?

Mike

[Mike McFarlin]

They are in a world of their own. I think they revolve around something different than the rest of us. Use your imagination. Good luck.

[Rifleman]

Broadzilla... I agree,  I've been working with the search function all afternoon.

maybe I'm doing it wrong but all I get when I do a search is

"Your query was not specific enough. Try using larger words, or less common phrases"

I don't know how to get any more specific then this.

"Dosimetry, College, land grant, Northern, Illinois"

[wlrun3@aol.com]

Master of Health Physics 

30 credit hours
Comprehensive examination 

Designed primarily for working professional health physicists in government, medicine, research and industry, this program combines technical depth with the interdisciplinary viewpoints of law, management and communications. The degree can be completed in four semesters and two summer sessions of part-time study. Applicants must have completed coursework in calculus through differential equations and a calculus-based general physics sequence. A course in modern physics, including some basic quantum mechanics, is strongly recommended. 

This program is also available on the Web, and at televised viewing sites throughout the Chicago area. Students should consult www.iit-online.iit.edu for more information. 

Required courses
PHYS 561 Radiation Biophysics
PHYS 571 Health Physics I
PHYS 572 Health Physics II
PHYS 573 Standards, Statutes and Regulations
PHYS 575 Case Studies in Health Physics
PHYS 576 External Dosimetry
PHYS 577 Internal Dosimetry
PHYS 770 Instrumentation for Radiation Health Physics
COM 421 Technical Communication
PSYC 556 Organizational Psychology
MATH 474 Probability and Statistics 

[hamsamich]

I know, i hate that search engine.  it doesn't work well for me either.  try searching with google or yahoo.  that seems to come up with better results which come from and don't come from nukeworker.

[Rifleman]

wlrun3...

that's a Masters.... I have a big fat 0 credit hours at this point...

plus 4 and 5 hundred level courses just give me the hebie jebies.

I'm going to see what info I can get from Excel. on the possible pathways to sheepskin'dom.

[wlrun3@aol.com]

...good land grant colleges in Illinois that have reputable HP programs...

...http://gotoltc.edu/programs/radiation_safety_index.shtml...

[Roll Tide]

wlrun3...

that's a Masters.... I have a big fat 0 credit hours at this point...

Excelsior would be a good fit, I would think. If you get your NRRPT, that will give you additional hours. In a short amount of time, you could have your BS (Nuclear Reactor Technology with concentration in Radiation Protection, or similar) and get into a Master's.

An AS will not impress as much as your experience, and a BS will only get your foot in the door for a program you should already be in. And you will be ahead of most everyone in the MS program because you have actually used it. Do you know how much that is worth? Don't dismiss it!

[wlrun3@aol.com]

   ...CLEP General Exam covers first two years...challenge exams cover third year...NRRPT covers fourth year...total hours actually sitting for exams-forty...

   ...examples of nukeworkers (myself included) that have done this, details about how to do this and assistance when actually doing this are always available, plus sincere encouragement, here on the nukeworker forum... 

   

[Samabby]

No credits? No problem. Don't forget the CLEP credits you get as a Nuke. You will be pleasantly surprise to see how much you know( or at least what an undergrad school thinks that you know). 

[Roll Tide]

Point B = DOLAP qualified External Dosimistrist HP...

We have a shortage of DUNLAP qualified External Dosimetry HP: must be able to assign names for all the points not previously analyzed on the reference man. Especially those points that DUN LAPPED over the belt and point every direction.   

Anyway...
Rifleman,
You are working in a college environment, so you may have many people giving you advice (in person) to go the other way. The way I am recommending, you could have a MS in 3 years. The advice they will give you will give you a BS in 3 years. It is your choice, but weigh out the full costs.


As a bonus, I can answer your implied question: Why aren't the sharpest techs here?

I considered a position providing dosimetry support for NASA a couple of years ago. It turned out they paid about half what the local nuke plant paid, but apparently got plenty of applicants from the education sector. MS preferred, but BS required, paying $40K annually with no overtime! Some people may consider it prestigous to work at a research reactor, or for NASA. But the payscales are distorted at those places. It takes a PhD to be a professor at most universities with a research reactor, so why would they pay big money to a lowly meter swinger?
A good commercial house tech is making >$80K a year (and many over $100K) and contract Techs can make more (though many choose to be particular about where and when they work).

[Fermi2]

Then a very nice alternative which works quite well is to start looking through threads. It only takes a few minutes. Again in my mind if goes back to being able and being willing to do research.

Mike