NukeWorker Forum

Career Path => General => Topic started by: ToadSuck on Nov 09, 2011, 01:16

Title: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: ToadSuck on Nov 09, 2011, 01:16
I know that the craft jobs are generally 40 hours a week with a overtime list if you want it. Are there any other jobs out there that are 40 hours a week with limited to no overtime.

I am an Electrical Maintenance Instructor right now and I am slated to go to SRO cert and be an Ops instructor this summer. I have a Navy Nuke backround.

When I interviewed I asked if there was overtime and my boss and boss's boss assured me that outside of outages there is no overtime. This was true for about 2-3 months. Ever since then I have been working 60-70 hours a week.

I am looking for a job that is going to pay similar to what I make ($96k salary + Bonus), but with no OT. Do those jobs exist?? I am asking because I am new to commercial power and don't know about all the different jobs at the plant.
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: HydroDave63 on Nov 09, 2011, 01:20
I am looking for a job that is going to pay similar to what I make ($96k salary + Bonus), but with no OT. Do those jobs exist?? I am asking because I am new to commercial power and don't know about all the different jobs at the plant.

If they do, I'll gladly snipe one out from under you!  :P

On-topic: There are lots of jobs in that category, but they often require years of relevant in-plant ( not 'back on the USS Ustafish' ) experience. You are getting that experience now, consider the long hours a badge of honor and paying your dues, because a good site will acknowledge it.
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: ToadSuck on Nov 09, 2011, 02:15
It sure doesn't feel like there is a lot out there. I did 10 in the Navy, a year finishing up in college, and now I have been with _______ for about 10 months now.

I am more looking for suggestions in which direction to go to get jobs like that. I don't know the position titles...
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: LaFeet on Nov 09, 2011, 03:02
You can always try to branch out away from the nuclear aspect.   ;D

BTW  thanks for your service
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: Hawkbill on Nov 09, 2011, 04:23
Try Licensing/Reg Affairs or Employee Concerns Coordinator



Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: jams723 on Nov 09, 2011, 07:29
I am now in Licensing.  Best job I have ever had in the industry as far as working hours go.
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: ToadSuck on Nov 10, 2011, 06:14
I am now in Licensing.  Best job I have ever had in the industry as far as working hours go.


What prerequisites are there usually to getting into Licensing? (and I am assuming the pay is >90k)

Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: jams723 on Nov 10, 2011, 05:26
What prerequisites are there usually to getting into Licensing? (and I am assuming the pay is >90k)



Your salary assumption is correct but it is based on experience.

We look to hire in to replace people that retire or leave so the prerequisites may vary by need.

Previous licensing experience is always a plus.

The job application always have allot of verbage, but here it is in a nutshell:

technical degree or SRO
engineering degree (would get extra points)
ability to write license amendment requests would put you over the top.
strong verbal communication skills.
strong technical writting skills
strong conflict resolution skills.
strong ability to deal with internal and external customers.
ability to work independently and with little supervision.
very high standards
strong time management and organizational skills
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: Already Gone on Nov 10, 2011, 07:29
I know that the craft jobs are generally 40 hours a week with a overtime list if you want it. Are there any other jobs out there that are 40 hours a week with limited to no overtime.

I am an Electrical Maintenance Instructor right now and I am slated to go to SRO cert and be an Ops instructor this summer. I have a Navy Nuke backround.

When I interviewed I asked if there was overtime and my boss and boss's boss assured me that outside of outages there is no overtime. This was true for about 2-3 months. Ever since then I have been working 60-70 hours a week.

I am looking for a job that is going to pay similar to what I make ($96k salary + Bonus), but with no OT. Do those jobs exist?? I am asking because I am new to commercial power and don't know about all the different jobs at the plant.

I hate to throw cold water on this discussion, but I think you need to be realistic.
The assurance that there was no overtime outside of outages surely meant that there would be no paid overtime for a salaried person.  One must expect to work more than 40 hours per week for a salary of $96k.
The options discussed here are no exception.  A salaried position comes with at least occasional long hours and never comes with a guarantee of 40 hours per week maximum.  $96k/year is a LOT of money.  A LOT.  When you get that far to the right of the bell curve, the space gets a lot tighter.  What I'm saying is that there aren't that many jobs paying what you make - period - never mind jobs that pay that much for less work.

If your idea of a quality life means spending less time at work ( a very healthy and reasonable outlook ) then you ought to consider a lower-paying job.  I'm not suggesting that you apply to Wal-Mart, but there is a price for everything.  The price for more time with the wife and kiddies might be driving a Ford instead of a BMW.  After all, what good is a membership to a country club if you never have time for golf? 

On the other hand, if your idea of happiness is a $70,000 car, a boat, a Jet-Ski, a 4000 sq. ft. house, a Harley, top-shelf liquor, Davidoff cigars, Italian shoes and suits, Kobe beef, high-maintenance women, four star vacations, and season tickets to your favorite team, you're going to have to be independently wealthy or put in a lot of time at work.
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: ToadSuck on Nov 10, 2011, 07:46
I just an offer for doing the same thing I do now for a different boss at the same site for $108k salary and a higher bonus percentage...

Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: Already Gone on Nov 10, 2011, 08:15
Great.  Now figure out how many more hours you are going to work, 'cause it won't be 40's.  Assuming, of course, that your present boss agrees to release you.  Look out for the old trick of giving you a "new' job that happens to also include your present job "until we can find your replacement".  Usually, when that happens, the "replacement" is still begging his parents for a drivers license.
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: Safety Matt on Nov 10, 2011, 08:27
Which is it?


I just an offer for doing the same thing I do now for a different boss at the same site for $108k salary and a higher bonus percentage...



Just got my offer today for Oconee. I will take a large pay cut (38% cut) coming over from Entergy as an instructor, but I really don't like my job and the way we are treated here.

Plus once I qualify and get licensed I'll be back up to that amount or more in 2-3 years.


Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: jams723 on Nov 10, 2011, 08:57
Great.  Now figure out how many more hours you are going to work, 'cause it won't be 40's.  Assuming, of course, that your present boss agrees to release you.  Look out for the old trick of giving you a "new' job that happens to also include your present job "until we can find your replacement".  Usually, when that happens, the "replacement" is still begging his parents for a drivers license.

Still, I may work a few hours over but nothing like when I was in Ops or Training.
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: Already Gone on Nov 10, 2011, 09:20
Here is the place where I make the contrast.  You have a lot more experience than the OP does.  You have had his job, and others.  You're in licensing.  He's in training.  There are probably a lot fewer guys in your position than in his.
He is suffering from Sushi Syndrome.  These fresh-off-the-boat navy nukes all think they are going to triple their pay and cut their hours in half as soon as they get the discharge papers.  They're setting themselves up for disappointment.
It takes time to get there, but they are all under the impression that they have already put in the time.
As of this afternoon, he was either willing to believe that another boss with a few more bucks was going to abuse him less than the current boss (whom he believed wasn't going to pile OT on him), or he is going to believe that it's going to be better at Oconee (better enough that it would be worth a 38% pay cut).  If he goes there and gets his license he will be back to his current pay in 3 years.  Then, when he is working rotating shifts and still doing overtime, will it have been worth the trouble?

The lesson that the navy nukelings need to learn is that nobody ever gives you money for what you have done for someone else in the past.  We didn't earn this week's pay back while we were playing with those toy reactors on the boat.  They pay you for what you are going to do for them NOW.  Big money means big job.
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: jams723 on Nov 10, 2011, 09:31
AG you are right on target. Though my hours are going to go up for a while since I have to be the Acting Licensing Manager for the next few months... But you take the good with the bad (so to speak).
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: ToadSuck on Nov 11, 2011, 07:30
Yes I do have options. Part of it is OT, but part of it is location and situation. Still trying to weigh which way I want to go. I am not trying to sound like I deserve anything, but if I have options I want to explore them all.

No matter what job I take, I don't ever see myself staying in one place more that 5-6 years.

Also, about that job switch with a different boss...Yes I would work for the new boss while filling in for my old job until June, but the SRO cert class starts up and I am on that bus if I decide to stay.

I am extremely grateful for my job because it was the "new" boss who is my friend that got me my present job for more than what anybody was gonna pay me.
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: Laundry Man on Nov 11, 2011, 08:56
It only took me 29 years of working tons of OT to obtain a 40 hour per week good paying position.
LM
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: LaFeet on Nov 14, 2011, 10:25
It only took me 29 years of working tons of OT to obtain a 40 hour per week good paying position.
LM

  Dang  sorry it took so long.   
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: Fermi2 on Nov 14, 2011, 04:41
GUARANTEE the poster won't get his 40 HR a week job either.
Darn whiner. Let me guess ex Navy Nuke right?
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: HydroDave63 on Nov 14, 2011, 04:49
GUARANTEE the poster won't get his 40 HR a week job either.
Darn whiner. Let me guess ex Navy Nuke right?

It sure doesn't feel like there is a lot out there. I did 10 in the Navy, a year finishing up in college, and now I have been with _______ for about 10 months now.

What was your first clue?  :P
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: Fermi2 on Nov 14, 2011, 05:13
My favorite part of this sad tale is he seems to think an SRO cert will get him a 40 Hour a week job.

Dang whining rookies.
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: ToadSuck on Nov 14, 2011, 05:22
I don't think that at all.

The training supt is a personal friend for several years before I took this job. He and 2 others that I talked to said that unless you are a program lead...you work about 45-48 hours a week. That is much better than the 65 hrs I am working now as an maintenance instructor.
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: ToadSuck on Nov 14, 2011, 05:46
I think I have done pretty good for a guy who did 10 with no "extra" quals, no degree, and shore tour was recruiting (not A school or prototype).

All the head hunters told me I needed to set my sites on 65k, but at 30 my 1st job out of the Nav was 96k + signing bonus (5k grossed up ~7400)= >100k for my 1st job year out of the Nav. Then I made straight pay OT for the outage...I am set to hit around 115k this year.

Just because you settle to work long hours doesn't mean I have to. Also, I am exploring other jobs that won't work long hours, but are obviously less money. Money is not what is important to me as long as my family is taken care of. I want to be home...
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: SloGlo on Nov 16, 2011, 09:31
I want to be home...
home 'n nuke career in the same breath with big bucks.  whew! ::)
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: HydroDave63 on Nov 16, 2011, 09:58
home 'n nuke career in the same breath with big bucks.  whew! ::)

Indeed. I'll bet a case of pop that even the Site VP/Nuclear VP etc. works more than 40 hrs/week.
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: Laundry Man on Nov 16, 2011, 10:53
It only took me 29 years of working tons of OT to obtain a 40 hour per week good paying position.
LM

I'm not complaining, it was a good ride!
LM
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: gogamecocks on Aug 31, 2012, 03:58
GUARANTEE the poster won't get his 40 HR a week job either.
Darn whiner. Let me guess ex Navy Nuke right?

Dang! I've noticed you guys sure are hard on Navy Nukes. My husband is a Navy Nuke and I can guarantee that he works more than 65 hrs a week and has for the past 20 years. He will be happy to get to the civilian world and only work 60-70 hrs per week and not be out to sea for most of the year. He does get those annoying young people coming in who think the work day should end at 4pm. He tries to cure them of that attitude but my guess is those are the ones that are getting out and giving the other Navy Nukes a bad rep.
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: DSO on Sep 01, 2012, 03:39
And this my chickadees is why I am hourly and base pay is off 40 hrs/week. I get paid 1.5x or 2.0x for every minute over 40 and its funny how your no longer abused with extraneous BS requiring overtime when they have to pay out their noses if that occurs. 65 hrs a week would gross me out at 230k for the year. Its funny how with more responsibility and titles usually decreases your average pay for hours worked. When I got out of the Navy and recruiters mentioned salary I refused because of its abuses.
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: Fermi2 on Sep 01, 2012, 10:51
And this my chickadees is why I am hourly and base pay is off 40 hrs/week. I get paid 1.5x or 2.0x for every minute over 40 and its funny how your no longer abused with extraneous BS requiring overtime when they have to pay out their noses if that occurs. 65 hrs a week would gross me out at 230k for the year. Its funny how with more responsibility and titles usually decreases your average pay for hours worked. When I got out of the Navy and recruiters mentioned salary I refused because of its abuses.

Where do you work? Or what do you do?
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: HydroDave63 on Sep 01, 2012, 11:09
Where do you work? Or what do you do?

I think there is a search feature for that ;)
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: Fermi2 on Sep 01, 2012, 12:46
I COULD give the time honored nuclear response! TBH I'm working on going the contracting route.
Title: Re: 40 hour jobs...are there any out there??
Post by: DSO on Sep 02, 2012, 03:18
Where do you work? Or what do you do?

NERC qualified Senior Power Dispatcher --Socal..union....ex-Navy Nuke Submariner