How much free time do you have initially starting out in the industry?

[jrb14@ignmail.com]

I am a Navy Nuke ,ET1, (hit 5 years a couple of months ago) and I will be gettin out in a little less than three years. I am married and my wife will be completing her PhD at her Notre Dame about a year before I make my exit. I am considering a job in the nuclear industry when I get out but I am wondering what kind of free time you all had when you initially start out. I am juggling the navy and my relationship with my wife just fine but I am a fitness buff and I feel like it is going by the wayside as of late. I also hear alot about working a lot of overtime hours in order to make some good money. I did some math, radcon math, but I guessed that with 70 hr work week, 50 hrs of sleep, 10 hrs of working out,and 7hrs of commuting I will be left with about 30 hrs for my wife and outside activities. This is a little more than I am used to now, not including deployments, but I was wondering if you all actually do have a fair amount of free time while initially starting out.



Since this is my first post I will tell a little about myself:
I am pursuing a degree ( 103 hours in electrical engineering at an ABET certified university), EWS and I will hopefully make E-7 in the next 2 years . I was unsure what route I want to take when I apply for a job in the nuclear industry but i am literally 30 hours from graduating and still debating whether I should. I enjoy being in the navy but my wife and myself both think it is time to settle down somewhere outside of Virginia. I just recently became a member of the site after reading for a couple of days and I look forward to becoming a power user.

[Nuclear NASCAR]

New fatigue rules going into effect in October, 2009 will limit work hours further than the current limits.  At the present time you're limited to 16 hours in a 24 hour period, 24 in a 48 hour period, and 72 hours in a 7 day period.  These will still be in effect during refuel outages but during normal operations I believe it's a limit of 54 hours average over a 6 week period.

I work most all overtime that gets to me and still have time to 6 to 10 hours in the gym each week so it's pretty easily achievable.

Thank You for serving our fine country and keep posting and looking around.  I'm willing to bet that the answer to most all of your questions are here.  If they're not posted already they're just a post away.

Take care,
Tom

[G-reg]

I retired from the Navy about 9 months ago, and obviously there hasn't been a single underway or duty day for me since.  It doesn't matter at all how many hours I put in at work work - there has never in my adult life been as much time to spend with my family as I've had in the last 9 months while starting out in commercial nuclear power.  Furthermore, I enjoy my new job tremendously.

I have come to realize exactly how much is being sacrificed by our service men and women each long day they work, every duty day they spend, every underway, and every hour they spend on an extended deployment.  For the sacrifices they make every day, God bless those that continue to serve.

- Greg

[JustinHEMI05]

I retired from the Navy about 9 months ago, and obviously there hasn't been a single underway or duty day for me since.  It doesn't matter at all how many hours I put in at work work - there has never in my adult life been as much time to spend with my family as I've had in the last 9 months while starting out in commercial nuclear power.  Furthermore, I enjoy my new job tremendously.

I have come to realize exactly how much is being sacrificed by our service men and women each long day they work, every duty day they spend, every underway, and every hour they spend on an extended deployment.  For the sacrifices they make every day, God bless those that continue to serve.

- Greg

Well said, can't be said any better.

Thank you for your service.

Justin

[PapaBear765]

Do commercial plants have gyms on-site?  If so, then it wouldn't be difficult at all to work out while you're on the clock, right?


And, yes, it's shocking sometimes when you actually consider what service members go through and how unappreciated their sacrifices are.  I went through some hard times on the boat, but it's nothing compared to those who are actually on the ground in Iraq with their life on the line, like my cousin in the Army.

When I read/hear about those who jump in the way of a grenade to save a fellow soldier and lose a limb over it I think how pathetic it is when I go to work at NPTU and hear some a-hole complaining about not getting out early.

[Creeker]

I wouldn't count on lots of overtime in either your personal or financial planning.  That is a huge variable, depending upon where you work, down to the shop level.  I hired in here in I&C, and the shop OT policies for new guys was different than the other crafts (Electricians/Mechanics).  They took the guy with the most OT hours, added one, and assigned us that many hours when we came in.  Generally, except for job continuity, when OT is given out, it is offered first to the guys who've worked it the least.  Since us new guys were hired in with several thousand hours of OT to our credit, I figured it would have taken about 7 years before I would be offered OT.  (And no, it isn't reset on a year to year basis)  I had job continuity OT several times, and everyone gets a chance at package walkdowns prior to outages, but in my 3 years in I&C, OT was pretty negligible.

As for Ops, things are going to change, as has been mentioned previously due to the FFD rule changes.  The rotating schedule certainly has a small amount of OT built in, but filling in for other crews on relief week is going to be curtailed a bit.

But, let me chime in...  After working 3 section Enterprise in the yards, standing 24 hr PPWO, and then a regular work day following that...  Falling asleep at red lights on the way home...  Well, even when I was on 6 section rotation in the best of times...  Commercial power has allowed me a ton more time off!!  (Until I started License class, but that's another story)

[Preciousblue1965]

Well unless the commercial industry starts expecting you to sleep on site for 6 months or more once out of every 2 years or so, then you are guaranteed to have more personal at-home time compared to the Navy.  Not to mention the simple fact that the more they keep you on site the more they have to pay you, that tends to minimize the "just in case" hours that were so common in the navy. 

Don't take my word for it though.  I got a cushy non-nuke job that is M-F pretty much whatever hours I choose to work as long as it equals 40 in a week.

[Laundry Man]

Just remember,

Not to mention the simple fact that the more they keep you on site the more they have to pay you, that tends to minimize the "just in case" hours that were so common in the navy.

Unless you are non-exempt (i.e., hourly employee), expect to work some "casual" overtime for no money.  As an example, Exelon  requires management to give five free hours OT a week.  And believe me, that can just be the start.
LM

[jrb14@ignmail.com]

Commercial power has allowed me a ton more time off!!  (Until I started License class, but that's another story)

Thanks a lot....That is really what I wanted to hear because I am really considering having kids and I have nothing against navy families but I don't want to put that strain on my family or myself. I also need to figure what I want to do but I guess I still have a couple of years to figure out what exactly I want to make a career out of ( this site is making the power industry look very promising though!!).

[Fermi2]

Do commercial plants have gyms on-site?  If so, then it wouldn't be difficult at all to work out while you're on the clock, right?

Fastest way to lose your job in the big leagues is to be caught working out when we're paying you to be useful.

Quite a few sites have Gyms. SQN has a very nice facility. DTE had what was sort of a gym but they charged you to use it. TVA facilities it's all free.

Mike

[Nuclear NASCAR]

Do commercial plants have gyms on-site?  If so, then it wouldn't be difficult at all to work out while you're on the clock, right?

Not difficult while on-site, just not on the clock.  We've got a nice facility with a nominal cost to join and very nominal cost per year.  We have a group of people who come in early and get a workout in and some who stay after.  For those of us with unpaid lunch 1/2 hours we can get a quick workout over lunch if we choose also. 

[PapaBear765]

Fastest way to lose your job in the big leagues is to be caught working out when we're paying you to be useful.

Mike

Are all of the big league'rs as fabulous as you Mr. Deon Sanders?

[Smooth Operator]

Taking an hour to exercise in the middle of the day is a no-no, HOWEVER, taking a dozen or so smoke breaks is just plain A-OK!!!!!

[JustinHEMI05]

Taking an hour to exercise in the middle of the day is a no-no, HOWEVER, taking a dozen or so smoke breaks is just plain A-OK!!!!!

+1. It is defenitely a culture that needs to be changed. Thankfully there are companies taking the lead out there.

Justin

[RDTroja]

Taking an hour to exercise in the middle of the day is a no-no, HOWEVER, taking a dozen or so smoke breaks is just plain A-OK!!!!!

Years ago when it was politically correct to raise fur-bearing animals to harvest their pelts (as opposed to now when it is only OK to kill an animal if you eat it) a man went on a business trip and on his expense report he wrote off a mink coat he had given his wife. When the employer told him he was crazy if he thought the company was going to pay for the coat, the man replied "That's OK. I will just get it from you one hair at a time."

It is hard to take an hour from your employer but if you do it 10 minutes at a time, no one even notices.

[jrb14@ignmail.com]

I would like to pose an additional question not completely related to my initial post. Does anyone have any information about working at national labs (i.e. Argonne, Lawrence Berkeley, Oak Ridge, or Los Alamos) seeing as these are all prospects for my wife to do her post-doc. I am usually against working at the same job but seeing as she is a nuclear chemist (That is not an exact title but I don't know what else to call it) I doubt we will ever interact if we worked at the same facility (in a work environment at least). I already know she will start out making a lot more than I will as they have already offered her starting above 100k. I feel weird not being the bread winner  but I'm happy as long as she is.
I did notice on the site that you have all of these labs listed on here and I have visited their websites but I was wondering if there were any members on this forum who knew anything about working there, hiring schedules, and any other good information like good places to stay/ visit while there. I can't really tell if all of them even have reactors there or nearby but I am under the impression that they all do. I did notice however that I don't like los alamos because it is literally next to nothing but if we end up there the houses have a beautiful view.

[jrb14@ignmail.com]

My wife gives me information as it comes to her, but I feel lazy not asking around myself. I have a need to stay proactive.
edit*** she has corrected me, she is a " nuclear- actinide- organic/inorganic crystallography chemist" ,** rolls eyes and laughs**, "OK babe, I'm not putting all of that"