NukeWorker Forum
Career Path => Training, Tests & Education => Topic started by: buffaloslobber on Nov 11, 2007, 09:33
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I'm a former navy nuke mechanic. I'm going to school to get an engineering degree and have stumbled on ODU's engineering technology degree which would cut my college time in about half. This one is ABET recognized so it can be used to take the PE/EIT exams...my question is how marketable is this thing, because what i'm worried about is always being second to some frat boy with an engineering degree vs ODU's engineering technology degree. I've learned that when you are trying to find a job the guy who comes in second doesn't get the job.
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Relax dude, you're a navy nuke, therefore you are part of the only fraternity that matter.
You will have no problem getting a job with your background.
Also, new engineers out of college are mostly retarded.
Any HR worth his salt will take you, your degree, and your training over a fresh nub from Theory University, any day.
Unless they want to pay the nub less, then so be it.
Stick to your guns and be well.
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It really depends on where you want to go work. Most jobs that aren't engineering intensive won't care where you went to school. There are a great number of companies though that only want top of the line engineers, and may or may not give you an interview. You really have to decide what you want to do. I looked at the curriculum for ODU, and to be honest, if you tried to take the EIT based on knowledge from the navy, and this curriculum I don't think you would pass. They are giving you credit for classes that you should take on the college level, and don't even require you to take differential equations. Just my $ 0.02.
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I used to think that a person with Navy Nuke experience would have an edge in the NLO positions compared to college kids. I have since changed my mind after seeing the quality of work, qual progress, classroom performance, and error events of the two groups. The "college kids" from my NLO class are destroying the navy nukes every measurable way. The college kids have scored the highest in the tests, qualified faster, passed requals in higher percentages, and made far less errors than the Navy Nukes.
I think the main reason for this is the POSS test. This tests acts like a filter and gets all those "retarded" college kids out of the running. Navy nukes sometimes seem to have an entitlement attitude that gets in their way. I also think most college kids resort back to their college habits and study the hell out of stuff they have never seen/had experience with. I am just calling it the way I see it.
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First off, a degree is a degree in my mind. I have never seen any job posting read "only degreed individuals from the following universities apply". It only gets you in the door. You still gotta interview well.
The engineering technology degrees tend to serve a different crowd. You dont attend State University with the intention of working all day and taking classes at night to get your engineering technology degree. Those folks tend to be bright, young folks who go straight to college to get real engineering degrees. Those technology degrees serve folks like myself and others who are at different points in their respecitve lives. I do wish I could have enjoyed all that college life had to offer, but I was that guy who worked during the day and took classes at night.
Do what makes sense for your life and dont get caught up in the Navy Nuke vs Academia side debate here. If it was as one sided as Nutty or JMK make it sound, then I wouldnt have a job and nor would Nutty. Just know that he and I are proof that it could work either way.
What you failed to mention is what types of jobs are you considering applying for with this or any degree? I could be giving you false hope when you all you apply for are site VP or GM jobs. 8)
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Okay okay, semi-retarded and only some of them.
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I am not trying to make an academic vs navy nuke debate out of this. I was just making a counter point to Jason-YP.
In all honesty, a full engineering degree is not useful for a NLO. I don't use any of the theory/academic training to do any part of my job. I simply follow procedures, learn the systems, and show up on time for every shift. The only place where a degree matters is in the instant SRO ranks. The ABET accredited degree is good for the shift engineer position. To be a shift engineer, you must have a certain amount of calculus and physics. I am not sure of the number, but I think it is 2 semesters of each.
Any ABET accredited degree will matter. Get that degree as soon as you can.
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This one is ABET recognized so it can be used to take the PE/EIT exams...
Yes, in some states. Yes, in some fields. Some states require much more experience for an Engineering Technology Degree than for an Engineering Degree. Most jobs in nuclear don't require PE; those that do are pretty elite.
With an Engineering Technology degree from ODU as a former Navy Nuke Mechanic, you would be hard to beat for OPS positions in nuclear power. But you would not be first in line for Reactor Engineering. Your interview itself would probably determine how you would line up for other positions (e.g. Mechanical or Electrical Engineering).
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I am not trying to make an academic vs navy nuke debate out of this. I was just making a counter point to Jason-YP.
In all honesty, a full engineering degree is not useful for a NLO. I don't use any of the theory/academic training to do any part of my job. I simply follow procedures, learn the systems, and show up on time for every shift. The only place where a degree matters is in the instant SRO ranks. The ABET accredited degree is good for the shift engineer position. To be a shift engineer, you must have a certain amount of calculus and physics. I am not sure of the number, but I think it is 2 semesters of each.
Any ABET accredited degree will matter. Get that degree as soon as you can.
I understand why you said what you said. I dont believe all college grads are retarded and I dont think all navy nukes would shame their non-navy nuke counter parts.
The degree will help a person. Whether or not it is a true engineering degree.....I would only be speculating really. I think the type of job being applied for matters more.
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I agree with CincinnatiNuke... the type of job you are applying for should dictate the type of degree you get. My degree is in computer engineering and it's helped me alot. It's not all theory that you get if you go for a full engineering degree, either, though I guess that depends on the school.
One thing I do have to say, going back to school was a very valuable experience and I'm very glad I did it.
Some of the civil engineers out here are PE, though I'm not sure if it is a requirement. It isn't for digital system engineers.
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I'd take exception to the statement "Most jobs in nuclear don't require PE; those that do are pretty elite." I've been in engineering at 2 plants (Perry and SONGS), and both wanted you to have a PE, especially to get the higher levels. At SONGS, there are 5 steps in the engineer level, and you're limited to the bottom 2 if you don't have a PE. Probably 75% of the engineers on site have a PE, and most of the ones that don't aren't yet qualified to take the PE test.
A general recommendation to any recent / upcoming engineering graduate is to take the EIT, as you will never know all that stuff as well as you do when you graduate.
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A technology degree if you stay in the nuclear field and in ops is just as good. If you want to go into another field down the line, you need the engineering degree. With nuclear on the rise, you should be OK. If this was 1988, I would recommend the engineer degree so that you would have options as the nuclear field entered a 15 bear market.
I don't see any reason to want to be a regular engineer at a nuclear plant. the pay is bad and not competitive with other opportunities. So, go ops with the tech thing, get into the SRO/NLO class and don't look back. the cost of the engineer degree when you add up the time not earning money is huge. Engineering school is not a vacation. It harder than work and no pay. And if you stay in nuke opertions, it won't get you anymore money. Forget that, go into ops and get paid.