6 ms·

Living in a world where technology seems outdated after 3-4 years, having reactors reliably serving up power for several decades is kind of amazing. On the oth

Living in a world where technology seems outdated after 3-4 years, having reactors reliably serving up power for several decades is kind of amazing. On the other hand, this does keep the number of people in the industry small. Sure, demonization of the power source, and regulatory standards that inhibit the development of new technologies also help, but it seems like this would be a problem regardless. I've always wondered what the demand/pay is for engineers looking to enter the nuclear industry is like.

killjoywashere 10y ago
The ones I know, ex-Navy, are living pretty high on the hog.
- ben_jones 10y ago
  There most be an increasing amount of hardware/software with egregious business value (hundred million+) with a decreasing number of surviving/available designers etc. Rationally if these people were required to fix or maintain such systems their yearly value would be in the millions wouldn't it? For some reason I get the feeling that such people are not paid in the millions. Maybe double or triple a traditional salary but not in the executive-bonus tier. Do they deserve to be?
  - Chaebixi 10y ago
    > There most be an increasing amount of hardware/software with egregious business value (hundred million+) with a decreasing number of surviving/available designers etc. See COBOL. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COBOL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COBOL
    - aedron 10y ago
      Yeah. I see a lot of COBOL guys that are extremely critical resources for big enterprises. As GP said, they are not paid like C-suite executives, but not very far from it, and no one asks them how they spend their time. Needless to say they are a very relaxed bunch.
  - 1propionyl 10y ago
    Sounds like an opportunity for some enterprising Valley folk to disrupt nuclear! I can't wait for Nucly, the only reactor control panel for iOS and Android.
    - badloginagain 10y ago
      In all seriousness, there have been attempts at startups looking to disrupt the nuclear industry. It's hit several problems, in the form of bad science and harsh regulation. Apparently hacking plutonium is not easily accomplished.
      - mikeash 10y ago
        Sounds like they need to adopt the Uber model. Regulations causing you trouble? Just ignore them!
        whyenot 10y ago
        move fast and irradiate things
    - bbcbasic 10y ago
      Needs to be IoT as well. For added security.
      - monocasa 10y ago
        You know what they say, "the 'S' in IoT stands for security."
        deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
        Daneel_ 10y ago
        This gave me a good chuckle, thanks.
    - 10y ago
  - myth_drannon 10y ago
    read "On Programming Languages; Why My Dad Went From Programming to Driving a Bus" https://ntguardian.wordpress.com/2017/03/13/on-programming-languages-why-my-dad-went-from-programming-to-driving-a-bus/ https://ntguardian.wordpress.com/2017/03/13/on-programming-l... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13860887 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13860887
  - killjoywashere 10y ago
    > egregious business value (hundred million+) the cost of shutting down San Onofre is $4B+
  - agentultra 10y ago
    A colleague of mine was involved in verifying the software that controlls the shut-down procedures of the Darlington [0] plant. Now he's working on proofs of block-chain ciphers of some sort or another. I don't believe he's quite rich but he can certainly be rather selective of job opportunities. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlington_Nuclear_Generating_Station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlington_Nuclear_Generating_... update: added link
  - kalleboo 10y ago
    > For some reason I get the feeling that such people are not paid in the millions. Maybe double or triple a traditional salary but not in the executive-bonus tier From stories I've heard, in these situations people like to come in not as employees but as consultants, at which point there are many hundreds of dollars per hour spent.
- kbenson 10y ago
  That actually relieves some concerns I had, given the root comment (which I have to admit, caused some distress). I imagine there are more people currently in the Navy that might leave if the demand and pay were high enough. Hopefully that covers enough of the important skill-sets needed.
terminado 10y ago
Personally, I feel as though modern acceptable standards of near-immediate obsolescence as normal are kind of depressing and abnormal. Seeing technology become outdated after 3-4 years is kind of amazing in all the wrong ways. Don't get me wrong, I understand that what we're really seeing is explosive advances, and to think about being stuck where we were 3-4 years ago, frozen in time, without permission to advance is a horrible thought. But at the same time, I hate not being about to used something I paid thousands of dollars for, less than five years later, because I scratched a CD-ROM, and downloads for compatible upgraded drivers are not supported.
- bitJericho 10y ago
  If drivers were open sourced so much of our tech would still be useful 10 or 20 years on. Manufactured obsolescence is really hurting society.
  - wiz21c 10y ago
    True. My scanner is second hand. It was given to me because its drivers were not compatible with windows 7 onward. Thanks to linux and open drivers, this scanner got a life extension of 6 years so far and it's still doin' great.
rtpg 10y ago
Only tech that's advancing gets the 3-4 year cycle. Your water boiler hasn't changed in the past 70 years.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- sathackr 10y ago
  Sure it has. Now it has a WiFi antenna and an embedded webserver so that you can see the temperature of the water on your smartphone(app installation required) The boiler will get software updates until the next 3-4 year cycle, then you will need to buy a new boiler to get the latest BoilerOS(tm) that adds the ability to remotely set the temperature. No need for that to be secure...What's the worst that could happen??? It's just a boiler...
  - Neliquat 10y ago
    You just added another line to my face. So thanks for that. Just don't leave out the small openboileros crew serving up lawsuit magnet heat due to insurance issues of modifying your water boiling code.
    - sathackr 10y ago
      Only officially sanctioned iBoiler parts may be used. Use of an unauthorized part will cause the boiler to enter DRM guard mode and cease operation for violation of the OpenBoilerOS software license. You can expect a nastygram from the BSA(Boiler Software Alliance) for your attempt to circumvent their DRM.
- Tharkun 10y ago
  Mine sure has. It now reuses the waste heat going out the flue. It's smaller and vastly more efficient. Not to mention near silent.

killjoywashere 10y ago

The ones I know, ex-Navy, are living pretty high on the hog.

ben_jones 10y ago
There most be an increasing amount of hardware/software with egregious business value (hundred million+) with a decreasing number of surviving/available designers etc. Rationally if these people were required to fix or maintain such systems their yearly value would be in the millions wouldn't it? For some reason I get the feeling that such people are not paid in the millions. Maybe double or triple a traditional salary but not in the executive-bonus tier. Do they deserve to be?
- Chaebixi 10y ago
  > There most be an increasing amount of hardware/software with egregious business value (hundred million+) with a decreasing number of surviving/available designers etc. See COBOL. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COBOL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COBOL
  - aedron 10y ago
    Yeah. I see a lot of COBOL guys that are extremely critical resources for big enterprises. As GP said, they are not paid like C-suite executives, but not very far from it, and no one asks them how they spend their time. Needless to say they are a very relaxed bunch.
- 1propionyl 10y ago
  Sounds like an opportunity for some enterprising Valley folk to disrupt nuclear! I can't wait for Nucly, the only reactor control panel for iOS and Android.
  - badloginagain 10y ago
    In all seriousness, there have been attempts at startups looking to disrupt the nuclear industry. It's hit several problems, in the form of bad science and harsh regulation. Apparently hacking plutonium is not easily accomplished.
    - mikeash 10y ago
      Sounds like they need to adopt the Uber model. Regulations causing you trouble? Just ignore them!
      - whyenot 10y ago
        move fast and irradiate things
  - bbcbasic 10y ago
    Needs to be IoT as well. For added security.
    - monocasa 10y ago
      You know what they say, "the 'S' in IoT stands for security."
      - deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
      - Daneel_ 10y ago
        This gave me a good chuckle, thanks.
  - 10y ago
- myth_drannon 10y ago
  read "On Programming Languages; Why My Dad Went From Programming to Driving a Bus" https://ntguardian.wordpress.com/2017/03/13/on-programming-languages-why-my-dad-went-from-programming-to-driving-a-bus/ https://ntguardian.wordpress.com/2017/03/13/on-programming-l... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13860887 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13860887
- killjoywashere 10y ago
  > egregious business value (hundred million+) the cost of shutting down San Onofre is $4B+
- agentultra 10y ago
  A colleague of mine was involved in verifying the software that controlls the shut-down procedures of the Darlington [0] plant. Now he's working on proofs of block-chain ciphers of some sort or another. I don't believe he's quite rich but he can certainly be rather selective of job opportunities. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlington_Nuclear_Generating_Station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlington_Nuclear_Generating_... update: added link
- kalleboo 10y ago
  > For some reason I get the feeling that such people are not paid in the millions. Maybe double or triple a traditional salary but not in the executive-bonus tier From stories I've heard, in these situations people like to come in not as employees but as consultants, at which point there are many hundreds of dollars per hour spent.
kbenson 10y ago
That actually relieves some concerns I had, given the root comment (which I have to admit, caused some distress). I imagine there are more people currently in the Navy that might leave if the demand and pay were high enough. Hopefully that covers enough of the important skill-sets needed.

terminado 10y ago

Personally, I feel as though modern acceptable standards of near-immediate obsolescence as normal are kind of depressing and abnormal. Seeing technology become outdated after 3-4 years is kind of amazing in all the wrong ways. Don't get me wrong, I understand that what we're really seeing is explosive advances, and to think about being stuck where we were 3-4 years ago, frozen in time, without permission to advance is a horrible thought. But at the same time, I hate not being about to used something I paid thousands of dollars for, less than five years later, because I scratched a CD-ROM, and downloads for compatible upgraded drivers are not supported.

bitJericho 10y ago
If drivers were open sourced so much of our tech would still be useful 10 or 20 years on. Manufactured obsolescence is really hurting society.
- wiz21c 10y ago
  True. My scanner is second hand. It was given to me because its drivers were not compatible with windows 7 onward. Thanks to linux and open drivers, this scanner got a life extension of 6 years so far and it's still doin' great.

rtpg 10y ago

Only tech that's advancing gets the 3-4 year cycle. Your water boiler hasn't changed in the past 70 years.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
sathackr 10y ago
Sure it has. Now it has a WiFi antenna and an embedded webserver so that you can see the temperature of the water on your smartphone(app installation required) The boiler will get software updates until the next 3-4 year cycle, then you will need to buy a new boiler to get the latest BoilerOS(tm) that adds the ability to remotely set the temperature. No need for that to be secure...What's the worst that could happen??? It's just a boiler...
- Neliquat 10y ago
  You just added another line to my face. So thanks for that. Just don't leave out the small openboileros crew serving up lawsuit magnet heat due to insurance issues of modifying your water boiling code.
  - sathackr 10y ago
    Only officially sanctioned iBoiler parts may be used. Use of an unauthorized part will cause the boiler to enter DRM guard mode and cease operation for violation of the OpenBoilerOS software license. You can expect a nastygram from the BSA(Boiler Software Alliance) for your attempt to circumvent their DRM.
Tharkun 10y ago
Mine sure has. It now reuses the waste heat going out the flue. It's smaller and vastly more efficient. Not to mention near silent.