How does one get hired by DOE?

[eric9dodge]

Hey all,

I've just found this website a few days ago.  I wondered if anyone could give me any advice or point me to any direction on how one would get hired or learn of job openings by DOE.  I was medically discharged by the Navy earlier this year(nearly had a waivor, but Navy decided against it).  I have been working for a defense contractor the last few months in D.C., but I really would like to get on a Federal job so my last 7 years will still be worth something. 

I have looked at the DOE website as well as USAjobs but I feel that there must be some other way to find a DOE job out there that I am overlooking.

Thanks in advance!

-Eric

[halflifer]

All federal jobs can be found at www.usajobs.opm.gov
DOE has its own website: www.doe.gov where MOST, but not all DOE jobs can be found.
Good luck

[DecommMan]

More and more - the support structure/functions at DOE sites - even those with continuing missions in addition to the closure sites - like waste management activities and others similar to that are being looked at for outsourcing.  I see it happening.  Its just the latest new thing on the block - rising costs for benefits is a big driver.

I would recommend as an alternative you might consider - to get hooked up with a strong contractor supporting or performing D&D/ER at a DOE site and other nuke sites for that matter as well - thats who is doing the work these days.  The DOE and contractor operators sites are program managers.  Coordinate and select - little 'self-performing' any more for larger jobs.  Its just the way its happening out there right now.

[Already Gone]

It depends on what you do.  The DOE itself has very few actual employees, and most of them are beaureaucrats.  Nearly all their work is performed by contractors.  Unless you have a lot of letters after you name, there is not much in DOE for you.  You'd be better off looking for a civilian job with the Navy https://chart.donhr.navy.mil/index.asp, at a shipyard, or (if you'd like some actual money in your paycheck) some private sector company.

Actually, I'd like to offer some advice.  Stop thinking of that 7 years as wasted.  That time was well spent in teaching you a set of skills (more than you know about) that can be the foundation of a career.

If you think that the only way to make those years valuable is to add them in with a bunch more years at a low-paying job with no hope for advancement or control over you own destiny, you are wrong.  People who work for the government are paid only a fraction of what they would be paid in the private sector with the same skills.

If you think that you need a government job to follow up on your Navy time, that is like turning down $100 bills because the $1's match the ones you already have.

By the way, if you limit yourself to Rad Protection, or nuclear power, because that is what you did in the Navy, you are making the same mistake.  If you were a Navy nuke, you can do almost any job there is.  Most of us start out with what we know best, but we almost all end up discovering that we can do other things as well if not better.

If that job you have now is a good one, keep it while you put out some feelers for better ones.  If it sucks, do the same thing only faster.  But don't think that you need a government pension to win at this.  In reality, you should think of that as your plan of last resort.

[cal403]

If looking for work @ a DOE Site, you need to apply with the prime or subcontractors @ that site.  For example:  Bechtel, Babcock Wilcox, Philotechnics, etc.  Alot of these contractors post jobs at sites such as Monster.com, roadtech.com, or you can usually go directly to the Site's or contractor's home page for career opportunities.

[alphadude]

You will not have a lot of luck with DOE unless you have an eng degree or hard science degree with a business background,  masters preferred, are young, just out of school, or were an inspector, etc. or have some inside line on a gov. job. (relatives or political pull from someone you know)Now with a contractor its a different story.

You are more likely to get an NRC job, then you can move over. You may get a job with one of the labs but that is sorta kinda a sub set of DOE (LANL etc.) You must have a perfect background since you will be a P Sapper more than likely.

[JustinHEMI05]

Necromancer thread alert! 



Justin

[Rennhack]

Necromancer thread alert!

Wow, a dead thread from 2004 got replied to in 2008, then again almost a year later in 2009.  The original question poster "eric9dodge" isn't even a member of the site anymore.