Career Transition To NEO

[ascend68]

Hello All,

I am currently a chem. operator making 38/hr in the NE. I like my job (generally 4 hours of work per 12 hour shift) but I don't find it all that challenging anymore. In addition I have topped out on pay, the only increases I will get now are annual cost of living increases. I may have an opportunity to enter the Nuclear Industry as a NEO, but I would have to take a pay cut throughout training and even when I am fully qualified I will still be making a couple bucks less /hr. Is it worth it? I look at the future of my career and I definitely want to pursue RO and SRO licensing. I feel drawn to the Nuke Industry and the prestige of licensing and am genuinely interested in becoming a part of the industry. I like the training, the opportunity to grow and learn. As far as the work, I am a field operator 50% of the time now. Job tasks are regular field operator tasks in addition to getting suited up and wearing an air mask from time to time. I am looking for opinions to help guide me in this decision. Thanks in advance.

[UncaBuffalo]

Hello All,

I am currently a chem. operator making 38/hr in the NE. I like my job (generally 4 hours of work per 12 hour shift) but I don't find it all that challenging anymore. In addition I have topped out on pay, the only increases I will get now are annual cost of living increases. I may have an opportunity to enter the Nuclear Industry as a NEO, but I would have to take a pay cut throughout training and even when I am fully qualified I will still be making a couple bucks less /hr. Is it worth it? I look at the future of my career and I definitely want to pursue RO and SRO licensing. I feel drawn to the Nuke Industry and the prestige of licensing and am genuinely interested in becoming a part of the industry. I like the training, the opportunity to grow and learn. As far as the work, I am a field operator 50% of the time now. Job tasks are regular field operator tasks in addition to getting suited up and wearing an air mask from time to time. I am looking for opinions to help guide me in this decision. Thanks in advance.

Strictly from a monetary standpoint, I'd say stay where you are, bank an extra 10-20% of your salary (since you indicate you can afford the initial paycut of coming over to nuclear), and retire early...

From an entertainment/challenge standpoint, I'd say COME ON OVER! 

[thenuttyneutron]

$38/ hr, WOW!  I have a license and don't come close to making that.

[M1Ark]

$38/ hr, WOW!  I have a license and don't come close to making that.

Really???  Who do you work for, TVA?

[thenuttyneutron]

No I am not joking.

http://www.hrs-s.com/documents/FENOC-IBEW-2452007-2011.pdf

Go to page 123 and page 126.

[ascend68]

I thought after 2-4 years (is this true?) as a NEO and getting licensed as a RO i would be close to 45/hr and then after SRO licensing (real world how long would it take to get there?) I would be in the 120k-180K range, making it worth the sacrifice early on. If I am wrong please let me know. I appreciate the information.

[Smooth Operator]

Broadzilla will answer, but he went from NLO to RO to SRO to SM in like 2 weekends, but in his defense the sim was broke the first weekend.

[UncaBuffalo]

No I am not joking.

http://www.hrs-s.com/documents/FENOC-IBEW-2452007-2011.pdf

Go to page 123 and page 126.

Ouch! 

That's a GREAT reference.  Here's ours...page 79ish...

http://www.pnps.entergy.com/gmpo/369_Contract/Local%20369%20PMOTP%202008-2012.pdf

[M1Ark]

No I am not joking.

http://www.hrs-s.com/documents/FENOC-IBEW-2452007-2011.pdf

Go to page 123 and page 126.

A good case where sometimes union wages keep you down.  EVERY RO at my plant will make over 170k this year.  We are non-union.

[thenuttyneutron]

A good case where sometimes union wages keep you down.  EVERY RO at my plant will make over 170k this year.  We are non-union.

This is so true.  I saw two old letters from 2000 on the subject of wages that another guy I work with had saved.  They tried to give a $3.00 per hour raise then to get the EO and RO pay closer to the industry average.  The union shot it down because it did not give the linemen a raise.  The linemen make up the majority of the union.

The pay is ok with me as long as the pension plan does not go away.  I fear that is the next move of the company.  I do also wonder how much it would help if the operators showed up at the Union hall to vote.  I only went once to vote on a proposal to vote off the company health plan.  I showed up to vote no and it still passed 

Some how people think that a self insured health plan is not as good as a third party health plan.  I guess they never read the little papers saying you are responsible if the insurance does not pay the bills.  If the insurance has troubles with money, you are screwed.  I saw it once with a Kroger Union plan where the union plan went bankrupt and left a lot of people in bad spots.  I know a utility has deep pockets and is probably a safer move.

[Nuclear Renaissance]

A good case where sometimes union wages keep you down.  EVERY RO at my plant will make over 170k this year.  We are non-union.

I am wondering if you could quantify approximately how may annual hours above 2300 the ROs have to work to get to $170k? I use 2300 hours as the baseline for nuclear operators, derived from 9 5-week cycles of 48-36-48-36-40 and 7 60-hr weeks of scheduled/forced outage and outage prep.

[M1Ark]

I am wondering if you could quantify approximately how may annual hours above 2300 the ROs have to work to get to $170k? I use 2300 hours as the baseline for nuclear operators, derived from 9 5-week cycles of 48-36-48-36-40 and 7 60-hr weeks of scheduled/forced outage and outage prep.

600 hours.

[Nuclear Renaissance]

At the risk of sounding judgemental...

In my world $170K is a fantastic annual income.  However, I think that working 2900 hours a year to achieve that figure would leave little time for anything other than work.  What good does that amount of cash do if you are not home long enough to enjoy life?  I would be concerned that when I did get home the dog would think I was a stranger and bite me!  Or worse, there would be a different brand of barley pop in the refer!!

Indeed knowing the actual hours can put things in perspective. The tremendous annual numbers coming out of a plant like Turkey Point, for instance, are also in part due to tremendous hours worked. Personally, 200 hours of coverage/callout OT (2500 total hours) is my comfort zone, which basically makes every non-training week of a cycle 4-12s.

[UncaBuffalo]

Indeed knowing the actual hours can put things in perspective. The tremendous annual numbers coming out of a plant like Turkey Point, for instance, are also in part due to tremendous hours worked. Personally, 200 hours of coverage/callout OT (2500 total hours) is my comfort zone, which basically makes every non-training week of a cycle 4-12s.

...and with the new fatigue rules, operators at plants like Turkey Point will probably see their gross drop...

[M1Ark]

600 hours.

Clarification.   Thats 600 equivalent hours extra not actual hours worked.  Also we get paid for 40 hours on weeks we are scheduled 3 12s.  We also get paid for 13 hours a day for 12 hours scheduled work.  On weeks we are scheduled for 3 12s and work a fourth 12 hour shift.  We still get our free 4 hours to get our 40 for the week and then get time and a half or double time for that fourth 12 hour shift.  2900 hundred paid hours a year sounds bad but that is not actual hours worked.  It really works out to be 50 hour actual work weeks which I think is reasonable for a 170k/year compensation.  Nobody at my plant is even considering a union.  Who needs them.