Sequoyah, you managed to push almost all of my buttons. I'll leave it for now at....
1. I went through NPS around the same time as you did... About 19 years ago. They had these little plaques on the walls on the Orlando NPS quarterdeck showing the top 3 GPA's for MMs, EMs, and ETs. They must have left you off, because no one, and I mean NO ONE, ever aced NPS at that time, nor when I returned years later as an instructor.
2. How, in a six year tour, did you get through the pipeline, go to sea, return to AIW, and qualify EOOW? Were you a SPU who went from ERLL to EOOW?
3. Where did you get the idea that commercial power plants get the cream of the crop as operators?
OK, LT, as I've only been out a year, and I'll readily admit that my commercial experience is limited, there is some truth to be found here in other posts. You can certainly hire into operations in some plants, if they are hiring at all. However, you'll have a much better chance going into system engineering, getting your feet on the ground, finding out what's what in the commercial world, then transfering into OPS as a instant SRO/RO. There are many RO's here at Wolf Creek who've worked there way up from NLOs, then gone to License class. Some get their degrees, then go on and go SRO, and work there way up through shift manager. You have great experience, and although a little more complex, a reactor is a reactor. Sure, the fuel isn't enriched, and they care about fast fission more, but reactivity is reactivity, NI's work almost exactly the same (well, ex-core) they operate with rods at the top, and control reactivity with Boron... All these things make sense to you, I'm sure, as they don't build commercial reactors on mars with this massively different technology. I would not sell yourself short by hiring in as a NLO. You've got the degree, and loads of experience which has a good value out here. You have proven leadership... Also a value... But, don't close off your options and only look for a direct path to SRO... There are many ways to reach that goal.
Bill