Former Sub EM looking to get into Conventional Nuclear Power

[deerislandor]

Hello,

My name is Mike and I was discharged from the Navy in 2000. I've maintained a very good job in the Semiconductor Industry for almost 8 years, but more and more I think I would like to go back into the Nuclear field. I know that I would be taking a hefty pay cut to start, but I wanted to ask everyones opinions about my options.

A few facts:

1) I work in a highly technical field, and I have been slowly chugging away on my BS in Nuclear Field Technologies from Exselsior. (I only have 2 courses till I'm done). Will the college help me in attaining a position? Also I took the EEI practices test while my friend timed me and I thought they where simple. Are they an accurate reflection of what to really expect?

2) I also have about 1200 hours of continuos training from my job, and a lot of it is on HAzardous materials and safety. (Does that translate well into the Nuke world? ie HAZWOPER?)

3) How bad does it look to go on a 8 ear hiatus from Nuclear Power? My current job is actually saturated with Navy Nukes. The work is pretty much the same minus the watch standing. All of the work is similar to SUBSAFE work, except we perform or own QA.

4) I've been trolling the forums to get an idea of what to expect when I send my resume to the company I wish to work for (Dominion). But I get mixed feelings. It seems like a lot of the posts discourage trying to go dierectly for a unliscenced RO position. What should I reasonably expect to be offered, or be qualified to do?

5) In my position what would the starting pay be and how soon would it increase. I am under the impression that I am only qualified to make about $40K-$50K to start and that it will stay at that level of income for a while. (Thats a 40-50% cut for me, but I think it may be worth it for the long haul)

6) I have worked rotating compressed shifts (13 hours a shift)for my entire post Naval employment, is this how it will be in the Nuclear World to?

7) I travel frequently to Asia and Europe. Is there a lot of travel for operators?

I live in Oregon, but I'm planning on appying for a job with Dominion. Can I take the IEE test in Oregon?

Any comments would be great. I will continue to read posts onthe forum and run searches for more info, but I though I would just post my questions and see if a few souls would answer.

Lastly, this is a really great site. My hats off to the people that run it. Good job.

R/
Mike in Oregon

[Roll Tide]

I can reply to some of your questions. But you didn't say if you were interested in OPS or Maintenance. So far everything you have posted allows for either, but you surely have a preference. But I will give answers to what I am qualified to address (using your own numbers)

1) The degree will help you advance. It may not GET you a job, but it will help you get a promotion. Finish it. Also consider STA qualification (you have been reading and probably learned how to search this site already); you need 2 Calcuclus classes and 2 Calculus based Physics classes to get there, even though not required by Excelsior. (Not an issue for Maintenance.)

2) I have never done Hazwoper. If you were looking at INEL or Oak Ridge, it would probably matter. But I am willing to bet it won't matter for Dominion (other than to demonstrate you can perform under the most demanding situations...)

3) 8 years in Katmandu would require much explanation. 8 years working in another technical field is just that much more experience. Besides, you will find that your experience on the "test source" in Uncle Sam's canoe club may have you thinking too small. You have to think big in commercial nukes (where decay heat loads can be higher than rated power at some NNPS designs)!

4) Keep trolling. But I would not recommend instantly getting an SRO license for you. If you are hired into a "Leadership Academy" and will be developed prior to license class, that is another story. Don't know if Dominion does that, but some utilities do. You have to finish the degree first for that.

5) Look at the  http://www.nukeworker.com/forum/index.php/topic,10317.0.html  thread. The money should be about what you are making now within 2 years of going to nuke.

6) I am not sure about your exact schedule. Other threads on this board have covered the schedule issues (sorry, my time is limited) http://www.nukeworker.com/forum/index.php/board,45.0.html

7) There is no travel for many operators, limited travel for some, and much for very few operators. If you managed to become a representative of INPO / WANO from your new utility, you could potentially travel a lot. But in general, it is limited to a few bench-marking trips a year unless you get assigned to INPO.

8.) You will have to take the test for Dominion. If you plan on working in VA, that probably means testing there.

Good luck!

[deerislandor]

Thanks Roll Tide.

I guess I don't know what I want to do. I've been reading a lot more today and I'm pretty depressed by what I read. I had a very naive notion that I could go get hired as an Auxiliary Operator (Like Auxilliary Electrician Aft maybe?) and progress over a year or 2 into standing watch as a reactor operator. It seems like this isn't usually the case, or it takes much longer. Can anyone provide some comments on what I should consider looking into before I drop my resume?

My 8 years in Katmandu have been working on some very complicated Semiconductor Manufacturing systems. We specialize in installation and maintenance on very complicated machines that incorporate being extremely familiar with digital elctronics, electrical systems, chemical delivery systems (toxic gasses and liquids), and mechanical systems. We perform complex calibrations and complex maintenance in addition to tracking process data via logs and computer tracking.
I also spend quite a bit of time draftig procedures and technical documents (simiar to the SSPS for all you Navy guys) and profilerating it out to the rest of the world. I currently supervise 2-3 people that are junior to myself as well.
I have to be able to speak accurately to a very hostile audiance on manufacturing and design issues with our equipment and collaborat with other technicians and design engineers to provide sucessfull solutions to their problems ASAP with no technical issues.
I feel like I'm tooting myown horn, but I've been very succsessfull at my job, and was hoping it could translate well into Nuclear Power. Am I off base?

I should mention that I've seen a lot of discussion about 'Outages" and people that travel all over the place form job to job. I really really don't want to deal with that or the risk of constant layoffs. I would like stability and to do the same thing at the same plant. So I think I would ideally want to go into OPs. But what does "going into Engineering" really entail?

I just got done readung this: http://www.nukeworker.com/forum/index.php/topic,5434.0.html

I was pretty bummed by what a lot of people had to say about former Nukes going into the Ops field. (But right on about Junior Officers being a bunch of Eletist know nothings!!!)

Could I get some more feedback please.

[Roll Tide]

I guess I don't know what I want to do. I've been reading a lot more today and I'm pretty depressed by what I read. I had a very naive notion that I could go get hired as an Auxiliary Operator (Like Auxilliary Electrician Aft maybe?) and progress over a year or 2 into standing watch as a reactor operator. It seems like this isn't usually the case, or it takes much longer. Can anyone provide some comments on what I should consider looking into before I drop my resume?

Depending on the site, it takes 1-2 years to complete the AUO program. AUO is qualification for everything outside of the Main Control Room. You will Operate every system, but you do none of the maintenance.

Depending on the site, it takes 0.5 to 10 years to get into license class for reactor operator. License class is scheduled to last 1.5 - 2 years. The times are shorter than they were 10 years ago, because a bunch of the people are retiring. If you go to the right place, you can be a licensed Reactor Operator in under 5 years. But that may be a place that others are leaving because it is not desirable.

You probably aren't going to get an Engineering job with the degree you have described (which I also have, and it is great to have one). But you will have much interaction with Engineering and perform parallel functions to engineers in many other available plant positions. Procedure writers command big $$$ right now, which could be something you either work alone or as a part of an OPS position.

Licensing would be another possible path, but more likely after you have held a license (as OPS).



I know you have done a lot of searching the threads on this site; also check out the job postings to see what is out there. Let me know if I can help.