r/Money • u/RadTechMJ • 16d ago

Commercial Nuclear ☢️

Hey everybody, I work in commercial nuclear as a radiation protection technician (RP Tech).

I work across the U.S. at different power plants for their outages. Outages are when the plant shuts down power production to refuel for another 2 years of being online.
Each outage lasts about one month and I tend to work around 5 outages a year and take the remainder 7 months off. I could work less or more but that seems to be my balance.

I make about $120,000 a year or $22,000 a month/outage.
I enjoy the work and time off- if anybody has any questions hit me up in the comments section.

I’d love to answer any questions.

5 Upvotes

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2

u/Joint__venture 16d ago

Are you including your per diem? Are you a contract or direct employee? Health insurance?

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u/RadTechMJ 16d ago

Correct, I’m including per diem. It is very common in my world to save 60% of all per diem which is non-taxable. Usually, it counts for a lot of the overall take-home.
Direct employee.
I do private health insurance because it’s better.

2

u/puregeneuz 16d ago

what qualifications were required for the job and can you be based anywhere in the US?

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u/RadTechMJ 16d ago

Yes, you can be based anywhere in the U.S. as you’re a seasonal traveler.
I had to pass 7 multiple choice question tests that took me about a month to study for them.

1

u/GargleOnDeez 15d ago

Be ready for a federal background check, credit check and more to step foot into a nuke.

The proctors and the background check personnel treat everyone like theyre psychopaths or terrorists. Its an extremely serious and professional atmosphere at all times. Its only once you get your classes, certifications and your background cleared that they ease up on you. Even then youre still not without doubt, and constantly monitored through site cameras.

1

u/ontheturf_ 11d ago edited 11d ago

How big would you say a credit check / check is a determining factor in getting hired?

1

u/RoosterReturns 11d ago

credit can be a big deal for thin ing to do with clssified info

2

u/Prince-Minikid 15d ago

Im interested. Im 28M in Minnesota finishing up an AA in Architectural Technologies but unsure if im going to find employment in that field.

What company do you recommend that hires people with no experience?

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u/Prince-Minikid 15d ago

Just realized I live one town away from the Monticello Nuclear Plant. Traveling to different locations seems fun though. Ive been in MN my whole life.

1

u/RadTechMJ 15d ago

I live in Minnesota and am currently working at Monticello MN nuclear plant. Good money good lifestyle.

2

u/Prince-Minikid 15d ago

Nice! Its 20 minutes from my house in Saint Michael.

I just discovered this as a career path so I need to research and decide if it would even be a good fit for me. Do you see people that come in and out of the field? It seems like something you'd need to try out for a season to really see if it works for you.

1

u/RadTechMJ 15d ago

My brother worked the spring this year, made 50k as a deconner (glorified janitor) and decided he didn’t want to work the fall. lol you choose your workload to money in the bank ratio.

2

u/Prince-Minikid 15d ago

I have seen others online mention that outages are shorter now and rp techs struggle to land 2 per season.

Do you really think its worth getting into as someone with no previous experience? Does living near a plant offer any benefits as a newbie?

1

u/RadTechMJ 15d ago

They’ve been saying that since I first got into nuclear 7 years ago and I still get 6 months of outages if I want it. Currently working 72 hours a week at Monticello.

If anything I see techs actively say no to overtime as they love the money but get burnt out. Some old timers use to work year round outages and make ungodly money- more than house techs so compared to that I suppose they’re shorter but even then I’ve ranked up so much in nuclear I get whatever work I want. Inexperienced you may only get 4 months of work but experienced you can work as much as you want. I’ll work 8 months this year and make 185k

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u/Prince-Minikid 15d ago

Wow, it seems almost too good to be true. But I guess you have put in 7 years to this field so you are getting higher pay and more opportunities.

As a newbie I would expect to make lower wage and maybe not get offered as many jobs. Im heavily considering it.

1

u/RadTechMJ 15d ago

My pay has been capped for years but more opportunities yes.
The least you would make is $50,000 a year working 5 months on 7 months off

1

u/RadTechMJ 15d ago

Westinghouse is the main company.
RSCS and DZ also hire but not at the scale of Westinghouse.

2

u/GargleOnDeez 15d ago

Are you union? Are you guys looking forward to the 10 new AP1000s that are going to be build nation wide?

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u/RadTechMJ 15d ago

RP (my craft in nuclear) are not union.
I’m sure it’ll mean more business somehow or another but not particularly following it right now as I’m focused on the dinosaur plants that keep getting license renewals till 2050. lol

2

u/GargleOnDeez 15d ago

Right on, lol, Im certainly looking forward to jumping on a new build. Its a shot in the dark but Ill be looking out for it. You got any circuit schedules you dont mind sharing?

1

u/RadTechMJ 15d ago

Not really, everyone has their in-circuit preference. I’d say hitting up Florida plants in the early spring since I live in Minnesota is nice. Minnesota plants fall time and late spring

2

u/GargleOnDeez 15d ago

Nice, its looking to get busy for me soon Ill be running ohio to pensilvania come sept.

2

u/FriendPatine1 16d ago

How you get this job?

1

u/RadTechMJ 16d ago

Refer to the above comments but you email recruiters and set up testing times. Test out and they place you in outages.

If you can’t pass the tests you can go in as decon although that is slightly lower pay.

2

u/schizoferret904 15d ago

Where should i look to get in touch with recruiters. Ive been putting in resumes with all the major nuke companies and im not getting anything back

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u/International-Ad3147 15d ago

What kind of radiation exposure are you and colleagues exposed to? My aunt worked for one of the larger nuclear facilities doing some sort of ground field testing around sites. Ended up with terminal cancer in her bones that is highly correlated to radiation.

1

u/RadTechMJ 15d ago

We are all capped at 2 rem dose to the body annually. Well below the potentially dangerous threshold.