Palo Verde

[jcaron9999]

Thanks JnyMac.  I'm going after the I&C position first and I'm taking the MASS tomorrow morning.  I've been studying for it about two weeks now.  I remember the ASVAB...  The book I'm using is similar.

I've applied for the AO job as well, so if the I&C thing doesn't fly, hopefully I'll get to take the POSS and get a second shot at getting into Palo Verde.

Do you like working there?  How's the atmosphere?  I haven't found anyone yet that didn't like the place...   

[JnyMac]

It's like any other job.  I like the atomosphere.  I've worked out here since I was 19.  The pay and benifits are great.  I hate the drive.  I don't like the cold so the heat doesn't bother me.  When you spend time in the Turbine building the 115 outside is Air Conditioning.  The 5 week rotation has good and bad points.   I guess I wouldn't still bne here if I didn't like it.

[russysgirl]

My husband is an ex-navy nuke, he has been out for about 5 years.  He has applied to DTE twice without response. The first time we were told that he didn't make it through the HR screen.  This last time, in October, we were told that they pushed the hiring back until the spring. We live in AZ and have been waiting for Palo Verde to hire so we would not have to relocate our family.  I am looking for any suggestions to help secure at least an invitation to take the POSS. Do you think being out for 5 years is hurting his chances, making his Nuke expereince out dated? During his time out he obtained he's bachelors degree in finance, it has been suggested that his degree might be hendering his chances.  Any thoughts?  Any suggestions or help is greatly apprecaited!

[JnyMac]

I am an AO at Palo Verde.  First of all they are looking for Navy Nukes.  He has a degree.  If he has any other Nuclear exp.  I would say he would have no problem getting to atleast take the POSS test.  Make sure everything is on his resume.  all certificates and  such that apply to environmental, nuke, etc.  Good Luck.

[russysgirl]

Thanks for the words of encouragement.  It's frustrating when you've gone throught the application process before without any feed back.  It's hard to figure out why someone else was chosen over you when you meet all the criteria.  We'll keep hoping!

[jcaron9999]

I Passed the MASS this morning.  No pun intended.  Interview is late next week.  From the sound of it, there are 24 of us trying to get the I&C job.  The interview is one hour long and I'm wondering what's coming.  Can anyone share their experiences?  Is it usually one on one or a group format?  Is it behavioral or technical?

Has anyone taken both the POSS and the MASS?  I'm hoping to get invited to take the POSS for the AO position and I'm wondering if it's more difficult.

And thanks for the info.  It's really, really valuable to someone on the outside...

[Flooznie]

How much does Paolo Verde start out at per year as an AO?

Paul

[Fermi2]

Russygirl.

I'm the guy who does the hiring for DTEEnergy Nuclear Operators. Our Human Resources Department doesn't contact you unless I say so.
We start initerviews in about 4 or 5 weeks.
We never tell anyone until about a week prior to the interview.

If you email me your husbands name I'll check out what happened to his resume. I won't guarantee we'll call him, I have over 200 resumes and I give preference to previous commercial experience, but I will take a look.

Also Palo Verde Operator. I doubt your Plant Manager and VP (Overbeck right) hires a navy guy simply because he can "mold" him. INPO hates that attitude and most utilities try to get guys in from other nukes because they welcome the point of view. I doubt Greg appreciates you posting that....

Mike

[jcaron9999]

I don't have that info but recent posts on another thread say $19-$21 an hour scaling up quickly within 18 months.  Scaling to where, I don't know. 

[Palo verde AO]

Russygirl.


Also Palo Verde Operator. I doubt your Plant Manager and VP (Overbeck right) hires a navy guy simply because he can "mold" him. INPO hates that attitude and most utilities try to get guys in from other nukes because they welcome the point of view. I doubt Greg appreciates you posting that....

Mike

The plant manger and Overbeck have nothing to do with the hiring. From my 15 plus years there a AO you have a better chance of getting a better operator from a ex-navy nuke than some guy off the street. This is why we are targeting ex-navy nukes because for the last 3 classes we hired anyone who could pass the POSS. It did not work out for us. The ex-Navy nukes seem to have a over all better plant knowlege. This is just my opion and we have gotting some ex-Navy Nuke slugs also....oh well.

[Palo verde AO]

I am an AO at Palo Verde.  First of all they are looking for Navy Nukes.  He has a degree.  If he has any other Nuclear exp.  I would say he would have no problem getting to atleast take the POSS test.  Make sure everything is on his resume.  all certificates and  such that apply to environmental, nuke, etc.  Good Luck.

Thanks JnyMac for getting back to her. You told her exactly what I would have said. I just got off 5 nights in a row so I have been out of it the last couple of days. Thanks who ever you are.

[kwicslvr]

I work at Palo Verde as an Operator. You will have no problem with the salary ranges.  The operator trainee salary advances up quickly over the 18 month period it takes to get fully qualified.  You would be working a 5 week rotating shift with days and nights.  I found the best study for the POSS test is the ASVAB.  You can pick it up at Borders or Barns and Noble.

Where do you top out at after 18 months.  Right now I'm at $28/hr so going downward for me is not an enchanting thought.

[Fermi2]

Whether Greg or the PM do the actual hiring I doubt they approve of you posting an unofficial hiring policy on a public forum. When you post something like that here you are in fact representing your company.

We had a guy from INPO ask us all sorts of questions about something a guy posted on a public site. Our Management had a lot of explaining to do. What you posted could result in an AFI for not considering hiring guys from the industry.

At the worst you've made a company policy concerning hiring, which could rsult in a lawsuit. I'm a manager at another utility and if I saw a guy from my plant posting a statement like that I'd be skinning him right now.

Mike

[Palo verde AO]

What you posted could result in an AFI for not considering hiring guys from the industry.

The post was just my opion. I was just passing the info along. The Navy Nuke part of the forum seemed like a good place to post. Remember I'm just a lowly AO and I can't get any lower. These people that we hire will be working with me and after the triple unit trip in June, I want someone that has a clue ,not the people that just passed the POSS. In this feild you have to be very selective who you hire, because there is alot of potential for major problems, it can go from bad to worse in a matter of minutes. In my orginal post it says "Ex-Navy or prior power plant experience". All the info was posted on the quick link to the job bid, which also said that. It is no different than calling some of my friends at other plants and giving them the web address to bid.  I hope this forum with over 800 hits get more applications to roll in. Bidding for this postion has closed.   

[kwicslvr]

Whether Greg or the PM do the actual hiring I doubt they approve of you posting an unofficial hiring policy on a public forum. When you post something like that here you are in fact representing your company.

We had a guy from INPO ask us all sorts of questions about something a guy posted on a public site. Our Management had a lot of explaining to do. What you posted could result in an AFI for not considering hiring guys from the industry.

At the worst you've made a company policy concerning hiring, which could rsult in a lawsuit. I'm a manager at another utility and if I saw a guy from my plant posting a statement like that I'd be skinning him right now.

Mike

::)Personalities like this make me wonder why I am still in this industry.

[mooredee13]

Okay, fellas...I just have to ask: What are the chances of an ex-nuke MM in his early 40's getting back into the field. I've been out since late-1988, worked as a RadCon monitor for EB on the MARF refueling for 18 months, then moved to Florida and have been in the chemical industry for the past 14 years (Analytical). I actually went attended a GC maintenance class in Georgia this past December with a few maintenance guys from Palo Verde (can't remember their names, but nice guys) who mentioned that Palo may be hiring AOs.

My wife and I have thought about relocating after my two oldest are out of the house (one is in college and one is going to be one of Uncle Sam's Misguided Children as of July...and I couldn't be more proud) and I mentioned Palo Verde to her, and she kinda perked up a bit (she has a sister in Phoenix).

Anyhow, I just wanted some honest opinions. I hate to think that my training and experience as a nuke may not be worth the proverbial "bucket of warm spit" just because I've been out of the field for awhile.

Thanks.

[nxtlvl]

jcaron9999,
I was curious on how your interview went?

Looking for anyone who works there...

I've been a computer admin for about 15 years now, have military experience, but not nuke.  I'm being outsourced (laid off, screwed, beheaded, etc) to India and the Phillipines in June 2005 so I'm looking to do something else. 

I live 15 miles east of PVNGS and I've been watching the place for about five years.  Very few jobs advertised to the outside world.  As luck would have it (of course), there are now two jobs being advertised there which I might be able to do.  One is for an I&C computer tech for their security system and the other is for an auxiliary operator trainee. 

I applied for both and have gotten a response on the I&C job.  I'm scheduled to take a MASS (?) test next week.  They were looking for computer and electronics experience which I have, so I'm not surprised.  The operator job doesn't close (for bidding) for another week so I don't expect to hear anything on it for at least four more weeks.  It takes them about three weeks to respond after the bidding closes.  I have a strong math/physics background, so I might get interest, but I think if they get anyone to bid with navy experience then I'm probably out of luck.  Too bad, though, because that job sounds more interesting.

What's missing from the bids are the salary ranges.  I know from searching the net that an I&C job pays in the $45K-$65K range, but that's for the nuke side.  I'm wondering if the computer side is lower (probably is...).  The operator job I have no idea on.  I'm guessing $50K range to start based upon some of the other message threads I've found on this board.

I'm hoping to find someone here that's actually in those positions at PVNGS so I can get some info.  I can get another computer job easily enough, but I have to commute 100-150 miles a day for a decent one.  I'd be much better off if I could get into PVNGS (doing anything).  I picked these two positions because they match my background the best.

So, does anyone work at PVNGS (and want to chat)...?

[nxtlvl]

jcaron9999,
Also when do you expect to hear back from them with a decision??

[jcaron9999]

Hi Nxtlvl,

   I thought it went well, but I always think they go well...  It was basically a series of situational/behavioral questions and a short tech test.

   The manager I would be working for told me that if I was selected, I would hear by the end of the week.  Well, it's the end of the week and I haven't heard anything.  Not good.  The senior HR person involved told me that it may take up to two weeks, but she's on vacation this week.  I think if I haven't heard anything by the end of next week, then I'll be looking elsewhere.  I know from talking to the HR people that I was not selected to proceed any farther with the AO position, so this is basically it.

   If I did get hired, though, I wouldn't be starting until mid March.  There's a psych test, a fit test, and a background investigation I would have to go through for unescorted access to the site.  This is a long drawn out process...

[JnyMac]

I just wanted to know if any of the people on this Forum that applied for the Palo Verde AO positions in January got the job.

[Fermi2]

A couple weeks ago I saw the NRC had committed to giving Palo Verde some extra "help" , how did that work out?

Mike

[Atomic_Punk]

Not me.

[JnyMac]

Mike,

Well if you spit you can usually hit a NRC Inspector.  We had a big problem last year with our RAS (Recirc Actuation System) Sumps.  We ended up getting I believe a Level 4 yellow violation with a $50K civil fine.  The NRC told our management that the Pre-Enforcement conference was the longest they had been apart of.  (@ 12 hours).  We have had a terrible outage so far and we keep shooting ourselves in the foot.  We pulled a wrong fuel bundle out of the spent fuel pool.  We opened our RAS Sumps and found bolts laying in the bottom.  We found cracking indications on our Reactor Head Vent.  Etc, Etc, Etc.  Our regulatory margine is in the minus category and we keep digging the hole deeper.  I can't wait to get out of the Lime Light.

[Fermi2]

I know. I've been there before right after I hired in at Fermi. I think Fermi is heading there again. The last two exit meetings I sat in on prior to my leaving were longer and more tempestuous than previous ones. I heard the one right after I left was a doozy.
I thought after our Drywell Cooler leak Fermi was gonna get ALL kinds of help.

Sad thing is, and you've probably noticed this, so much of what the NRC gets on us about is self inflicted.

Luckily for ya'll it looks like Millstone decided to take one for the team.

Are Gary Kimmel and Rick Hensey still working there?


Mike

[JnyMac]

I know what you're talking about.  I don't think we have any skin left because of all our self inficted wounds.  Gary I believe left sometime ago.  Rick left about 2 years ago.  He took an ECC Supervisor job back in PA.