Does anyone work a blue collar job in a nuclear or hydroelectric power plant?

   I've been a mechanic and a machinist, and I currently work in maintenance in a foundry that casts large mostly off-highway engine blocks and cylinder heads. For a long time, I wanted to be a maintenance machinist at a hydroelectric or nuclear power plant but I honestly don't know that much about them. 


   I've seen a few training courses for people like me and I was wondering if anyone here:

   1: Currently works in maintenance at a hydroelectric/nuclear power plant.

   2: Has gone through one of these courses and, if you'd like to share, after working the job for a while, did it properly prepare you for the demands of the job?

You need to talk to Homer Simpson.

You need to ask this question on the Practical Machinist forum. 

   I guess I'll pop on over to Practical Machinist and ask for Homer. I haven't logged in there in many years.

Wait...

There's something this forum doesn't have experience with?

   I've done it, I've climbed the highest mountain...

*sticks out hand*

   ...here's five good ones!

ShawnG said:

Wait...

There's something this forum doesn't have experience with?

Well I worked in nuclear power in the Navy for 6 years.  And you would (maybe wouldn't) be surprised how often we watched the Simpson's going "man that happened yesterday".  (We've all used the line "it's always been like that".)

Tried to get a job when I got out but 6 years experience including supervisor was no match for a college kid with any kind of degree.

I don't, but I know a few people that work at the nuclear plant doing that. It's an easy $150k+ a year. And they don't work hard.

I spent 7 years as an Engineer at a Nuclear Plant.  

Maintenance is a bit different then Engineering.  

For any "management" position of which Engineering is I do not have a favorable opinion.  Pay is strong, but the work required was crushingly long hours.  For some people it works for me it did not.  The pay afforded my family a very good lifestyle, but it was only a lifestyle they could participate in.  There was no "personal time", when the plant needed something you were expected to be there.   And "overtime" for management is unpaid.  I AVERAGED 70 hours for more then 2 years before I left, with a high score week of 112 hours of documented work time.

For maintenance and Operations work hour rules limit you to a 54 hours per week maximum average.  Thats over a rolling window of weeks (IIRC 8), with a 1 week maximum of 84.  Most people I talked to worked max AVG hours at all times.  Overtime applied to all of these positions though so they got very well paid. The actual work is basic steam power plant industrial activities with a high level of procedures and work control to document everything.  Qualifications and training are a big part of the work.  

For me the time commitment became soul crushing and I took a job at 60% pay that I've never worked >37.5 hours a week.  

Also something to be aware of is there is Constant Drug testing, and all federally banned drugs are tested for.  If this would be a problem for you it's something to be aware of.

If you are already working a job that is consistent 54 hour weeks with many 6 day work weeks and you wish to continue this lifestyle at increased pay this may be the industry for you.

I would highly recommend that if you move to this industry that you are careful about your lifestyle for a few years until you are sure how it would work for your family.  Use the increased pay to pay off debts, etc. but do not expand your lifestyle to the new income until you are absolutely sure it will work for your family (try to make it at least 1 refuel cycle so you get to experience an outage).    The number of people I worked with who absolutely hated the work but couldn't escape because they had no other job options that paid sufficiently was alarmingly high.  Many of these people would wind up staying years past when they should of left and it resulted in divorce and regrets about how often they were away from their families.  I know the hours are not unique to nuclear but the pay is and that's how you become trapped.  There are not many other industries where non-degreed people can readily make $150-200K/year.   

All that said there were many people in Maintenance and particularly Equipment Operators who loved that they worked 4 12's, got paid OT when they where needed beyond that, and would work 4 week outages basically nonstop for huge bonuses.  They would work hard when at work and take advantage of the ability to spend money when off.  

Last friday was my 15th year working on Nuc Subs. I am an Outside Machinist.

In reply to nocones :

Thanks for the insight!

I currently work six days (nights actually, I'm on 3rd shift) per week now and my phone literally just went off because my supervisor needs me to come in and make/fix things. This has been the only way I've found to properly support my family; I provide the lifestyle, and they live it. 


Drug testing wouldn't be an issue, I haven't even consumed alcohol in at least a few years. 


The money is less of a motivator than long-term job stability and being in an industry that's always interested me.