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I was pulling in 100K (base pay) as a tradesman, granted I was an operator, but it is still considered a "trades" position. Also, a college degree is not requir

I was pulling in 100K (base pay) as a tradesman, granted I was an operator, but it is still considered a "trades" position. Also, a college degree is not required in order to land most power plant/transmission/distribution system operator positions. Hell, you have nuclear power plant reactor operators making > 175k/yr and they don't have any degree whatsoever.

toomuchtodo 9y ago
> Hell, you have nuclear power plant reactor operators making > 175k/yr and they don't have any degree whatsoever. Experience is required in lieu of a degree. But, to your point, no degree is required. We should be finding every opportunity to get people into jobs that don't require a degree but require specialized skills, as it sidesteps an inflated credential gate (Sidenote: I don't think college is entirely useless, but its value has been drastically disconnected from its cost for some time). "A reactor operator license requires 3 years of experience as an operator for a nuclear reactor. This can be as a field operator, or can include military/naval time. No college degree required. A certain amount (Typically 1 year) must be at a similar plant design and 6 months must be on site before starting license class. A senior reactor operator can be "instant" or "upgrade". The upgrade process is a reactor operator becoming a senior reactor operator and requires an RO to have at least 1 year of licensed experience. For instant candidates, you need an engineering degree, or certain types of naval experience as a watch officer, plus on site time, plus 3 years experience in the industry (or naval experience). These time requirements are time required PRIOR to starting license class. The class itself is around 18-20 months." Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/energy/comments/3nm9ox/whats_it_like_to_work_as_a_power_plant_operator/cvplobc/ https://www.reddit.com/r/energy/comments/3nm9ox/whats_it_lik...
- Caveman_Coder 9y ago
  What you found for RO/SRO positions is pretty much spot on, and there are other "experience-in-lieu-of-degree" types of jobs that pay exceptionally well. Regarding the naval experience aspect, the utilities that hire navy veterans look for certain qualifications obtained while in the navy (EWS for enlisted folks in lieu of a degree).
  - toomuchtodo 9y ago
    My concern with reactor operators is that it's a dying industry due to the challenges in getting a commercial reactor permitted and constructed, along with the costs of renewables driving nuclear out of commercial viability. With that said, I think there'd be great value in an organization advocating and enabled students to get into these "experience-in-lieu-of-degree" types of jobs you mention. Mike Rowe is doing this [1] as part of his mikeroweWORKS Foundation/"Profoundly Disconnected", but my opinion is this needs to be performed at scale nationwide (such as getting involved with school counselors at the high school level). [1] http://profoundlydisconnected.com/ http://profoundlydisconnected.com/
    - Caveman_Coder 9y ago
      > "My concern with reactor operators is that it's a dying industry due to the challenges in getting a commercial reactor permitted and constructed, along with the costs of renewables driving nuclear out of commercial viability." When nuclear power plants shut down, the ROs/SROs will not be too hard pressed to find new opportunities. The renewable energy plants that are replacing nuclear will still need to have their control rooms staffed, and operators will simply move into new roles with those utilities, or they'll get out of the generation business altogether and find a cushy transmission/distribution operator role, which isn't really dependent on the political climate with regards to generation technology.
      - toomuchtodo 9y ago
        I agree that the best transition strategy would be for grid/network operators to acquire these people as reactors reach their end of life and are decommissioned.
        Caveman_Coder 9y ago
        Plus, the TSO/Dispatcher role is a lot less bureaucratic than being an RO/SRO. I think most current RO/SROs would enjoy the job immensely more. You still get to operate a pretty large, intricate, and intellectually interesting system but without all the fuss of dealing with the NRC.

toomuchtodo 9y ago

> Hell, you have nuclear power plant reactor operators making > 175k/yr and they don't have any degree whatsoever. Experience is required in lieu of a degree. But, to your point, no degree is required. We should be finding every opportunity to get people into jobs that don't require a degree but require specialized skills, as it sidesteps an inflated credential gate (Sidenote: I don't think college is entirely useless, but its value has been drastically disconnected from its cost for some time). "A reactor operator license requires 3 years of experience as an operator for a nuclear reactor. This can be as a field operator, or can include military/naval time. No college degree required. A certain amount (Typically 1 year) must be at a similar plant design and 6 months must be on site before starting license class. A senior reactor operator can be "instant" or "upgrade". The upgrade process is a reactor operator becoming a senior reactor operator and requires an RO to have at least 1 year of licensed experience. For instant candidates, you need an engineering degree, or certain types of naval experience as a watch officer, plus on site time, plus 3 years experience in the industry (or naval experience). These time requirements are time required PRIOR to starting license class. The class itself is around 18-20 months." Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/energy/comments/3nm9ox/whats_it_like_to_work_as_a_power_plant_operator/cvplobc/ https://www.reddit.com/r/energy/comments/3nm9ox/whats_it_lik...

Caveman_Coder 9y ago
What you found for RO/SRO positions is pretty much spot on, and there are other "experience-in-lieu-of-degree" types of jobs that pay exceptionally well. Regarding the naval experience aspect, the utilities that hire navy veterans look for certain qualifications obtained while in the navy (EWS for enlisted folks in lieu of a degree).
- toomuchtodo 9y ago
  My concern with reactor operators is that it's a dying industry due to the challenges in getting a commercial reactor permitted and constructed, along with the costs of renewables driving nuclear out of commercial viability. With that said, I think there'd be great value in an organization advocating and enabled students to get into these "experience-in-lieu-of-degree" types of jobs you mention. Mike Rowe is doing this [1] as part of his mikeroweWORKS Foundation/"Profoundly Disconnected", but my opinion is this needs to be performed at scale nationwide (such as getting involved with school counselors at the high school level). [1] http://profoundlydisconnected.com/ http://profoundlydisconnected.com/
  - Caveman_Coder 9y ago
    > "My concern with reactor operators is that it's a dying industry due to the challenges in getting a commercial reactor permitted and constructed, along with the costs of renewables driving nuclear out of commercial viability." When nuclear power plants shut down, the ROs/SROs will not be too hard pressed to find new opportunities. The renewable energy plants that are replacing nuclear will still need to have their control rooms staffed, and operators will simply move into new roles with those utilities, or they'll get out of the generation business altogether and find a cushy transmission/distribution operator role, which isn't really dependent on the political climate with regards to generation technology.
    - toomuchtodo 9y ago
      I agree that the best transition strategy would be for grid/network operators to acquire these people as reactors reach their end of life and are decommissioned.
      - Caveman_Coder 9y ago
        Plus, the TSO/Dispatcher role is a lot less bureaucratic than being an RO/SRO. I think most current RO/SROs would enjoy the job immensely more. You still get to operate a pretty large, intricate, and intellectually interesting system but without all the fuss of dealing with the NRC.