Qual's, Qual's and more Qual's!

[RAD-GHOST]

Here we Go Again! 

Obviously the more Qualification a Techs has, the more sellable they are.  Not even I can dispute that!  Sellable at What Price?  A couple of recent job posting caught my attention with the MINIMUM requirements for consideration.  The list is long and all at the Techs Expense!  It is a wonderful thing to spell out all the particuliars up front, but I have to ask, when will the Company Required Qualifications, Equate to a Real Value? 

For the Techs searching the recent jobs postings, I suggest you research the whole picture.  The up front offer may look rather appealing, but they may not be selling the actual pay rates!  DOE contracts, under the Services Contract Agreement, offer a set of perk to the employee's.  Some companies offer the employee an hourly payout, 40 hour based, for benefits.  Some offer an hourly payout for Vacation time, also 40 hour based.  Other benefits may run the same course. 

What does this all mean? 

Simple, if a company is advertizing $27.00 an hour, $2.50 may be compensation for company benefits, $1.50 may be for Vacation time and so on.  The actual base hourly wage may be somewhere around $23.00.  Not bad, but any overtime will be paid at 1 1/2 $23.00, not $27.00!  If you bang out an extra 20 hours of OT, your looking a $120.00 less then you anticipated!  Fun with Numbers!

If you take the benefits, you loose the extra cash, plus pick up your portion of the benefit costs.  Pretty much the same boat you've been in for years!  Think about it, more cost from your bottom line, with next to nothing off of theirs!

As you can see, the extra Qual's, at your expense, don't Equate to a lot of Value, just your position in line!  Every season somebody pop's into the picture requiring more, for less!  It's getting scary, pretty soon I can see them asking the techs, to supply the cost for their Background Clearences!  Did I say that out loud!   

Get the bottom line, before you sign, RG!

[Roll Tide]

Excellent information. I feel like I am watching one of those local news segments when they warn about the most recent scam and realizing I had already been offered the scam.

For the record, I noticed a company was posting for DOE RCT's. I submitted my resume (NRRPT, BS degree, ANSI 3.1, 20 years commercial and navy nuke experience, ....... ) and never heard a word back. Am I going to pay for HAZWOPER out of pocket? Core test out of pocket? If I were unemployable, I would.

I say that because I paid for my degree and paid for my NRRPT. I got both because it would make me more employable, but I think those are both broader than the relatively narrow Core / HAZWOPER. Just my thoughts.

[dblaies]

Yep,

I'm hearing the same things. Go get Hazwopper on your own money ($500 about) and then travel to Oak Ridge and take the test...then we'll see if you're accepted. Ouch!

Like Ross Perot once said: "When your full-time job is finding a full-time job..."

-Ain't gettin' no nukie either

[RAD-GHOST]

Roll Tide,

You would think a BS and NRRPT would get you a better place in line, and in some cases it will, but one has to keep the proper perspective of who your dealing with, in the Modern Nuclear Recruiting World!  The recruiters in the Commercials sector have a fairly good grasp on what they are selling.  The newbies to the industry haven't!  They think NRRPT is a stuffed animal in the Blues-Clues section of Walmart!  They have a list of required qualification, have no idea what any of them mean, or how they apply!  I feel sorry for their Customers!  Afterall, who knows what talent passed through the portal and tagged their facility as a dump, due to the poor qualities of the recruiting firm?  After all, I measure the quality of the Company, by the quality of who they hire to Represent them.     


Radman, 

When you see one of these Generic Job Postings, it is a must call!  I have almost pee'd my pants on some of them.  If you think the information supplied on the job posting is bad, wait till you talk to some of the representatives!  They are not prepared to answer questions.  It sort of reminds me of some of those street corner, labor pool recruiting stations, in Florida.  Hey if your there at 07:00, you have a job!  Two Hands, Two Legs, Your Hired!

[alphadude]

those extra quals do matter-just not for tech work.  a tech is a tech is a tech- now on the other hand Radman5030 can bake an excellent ham and wears snappy sweaters to work!  hey are the reds runnin yet?