2 answers
John
Student
Olathe, Kansas
1
Question
Updated
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What is it like to work with nuclear energy?
I'm looking to study nuclear energy. To people who are in the field, how rewarding do you find you work, and what's the hardest part?
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2 answers
Joseph Neilson
Radiation Detection Physicist
273
Answers
Oxford, England, United Kingdom
Updated
Joseph’s Answer
If you find the right role for your skills and interests, most careers can be very rewarding, and nuclear is no exception. I really enjoy my work - sometimes it's almost like an extra hobby I get to do during the day.
Of course few jobs are "perfect", and you probably will find some hard parts - but in my experience, what one person finds hard, another may find easy, so it's difficult to name any singular "hardest part". It's also a field of many different sub-disciplines, and if you find one particular aspect hard, you can usually find a career within nuclear that doesn't need that aspect at all.
I came into nuclear at Masters level after studying a Physics undergrad, and one of the aspects of the programme I personally found hardest was the abstract mathematics of engineering control theory. Wrapping my head around Laplace transforms and the "poles" and "zeroes" of frequency space didn't come easy to me, even if the behaviour it describes are simple concepts like damped oscillations I understand well. I've now found a discipline where I don't need any of that, and I instead focus my attention on the quirks of radiation measurement and gamma-ray spectrometry. Maybe some of what I do others would find overly challenging, but it scratches the right itch for me.
In the working world, it's actually some of the interpersonal stuff and conflict resolution I now find to be the challenging parts. When project managers want one thing, and the science wants something else, and I'm the bridge in between trying to negotiate an acceptable way forward that gets the job done efficiently without compromising on accuracy and nuclear safety principles.
Of course few jobs are "perfect", and you probably will find some hard parts - but in my experience, what one person finds hard, another may find easy, so it's difficult to name any singular "hardest part". It's also a field of many different sub-disciplines, and if you find one particular aspect hard, you can usually find a career within nuclear that doesn't need that aspect at all.
I came into nuclear at Masters level after studying a Physics undergrad, and one of the aspects of the programme I personally found hardest was the abstract mathematics of engineering control theory. Wrapping my head around Laplace transforms and the "poles" and "zeroes" of frequency space didn't come easy to me, even if the behaviour it describes are simple concepts like damped oscillations I understand well. I've now found a discipline where I don't need any of that, and I instead focus my attention on the quirks of radiation measurement and gamma-ray spectrometry. Maybe some of what I do others would find overly challenging, but it scratches the right itch for me.
In the working world, it's actually some of the interpersonal stuff and conflict resolution I now find to be the challenging parts. When project managers want one thing, and the science wants something else, and I'm the bridge in between trying to negotiate an acceptable way forward that gets the job done efficiently without compromising on accuracy and nuclear safety principles.
Philip Gauthier
Nuclear Plant Work Week Manager
25
Answers
Prairieville, Louisiana
Updated
Philip’s Answer
I find working in Nuclear to be extremely rewarding and fulfilling. Ive had several different jobs in nuclear and no matter what each job entailed I felt proud that I was helping to provide Thousands of Megawatts of clean, green, baseload electricity to the grid. Unlike other power plants that provide power when needed at peak (Gas / Coal) or when the conditions are right (Solar / Wind), Nuclear Plant are always on powering everyday life (Hospitals, Schools, Factories, Cars, etc...).
Ive worked in Maintenance, Operations, Scheduling, and now I am a Work Week Manager coordinating with all of the groups to execute weekly schedules. What I do is stressful and requires a lot of patience but that all disappears knowing that I am part of something bigger than myself.
Operations was my favorite aspect of nuclear. It started when I was a Navy Reactor Operator and got to Bring a Nuclear Reactor Critical at the age of 21. Then being a Senior Reactor Operator and directing plant Startups, Shutdowns, and everyday operations was the most involved and directly rewarding job I have done in the civilian world. Yes, it was stressful shift work, but I didn't have any kids at the time, so I enjoyed it.
During COVID I was a Refueling Outage Scheduler and got to work remotely a few days a week. Working through tedious schedules and logic sequences can be taxing on the brain but I got to do it in sweatpants and worked in the Air Conditioning.
I would say that the hardest part of working in Nuclear is that every plant in America is different and it takes a while to learn each one. A license on one plant does not translate to any other plant. Even at Indian Point my Unit 2 SRO license wasn't valid on Unit 3 even though the plants were on the same site, connected by a footbridge, and very similar. PWRs and BWRS are very different in their Technology and that doesn't even get into the new SMRs and Molten Salt Reactors that some companies are trying to build. You need to keep an open mind no matter where you go in Nuclear because it's always going to be a learning experience. Do not fall into the "At my last plant..." mentality.
Like I said, it's extremely rewarding and most people in nuclear are very well compensated. I highly recommend this field.
BEST OF LUCK JOHN!!!
Ive worked in Maintenance, Operations, Scheduling, and now I am a Work Week Manager coordinating with all of the groups to execute weekly schedules. What I do is stressful and requires a lot of patience but that all disappears knowing that I am part of something bigger than myself.
Operations was my favorite aspect of nuclear. It started when I was a Navy Reactor Operator and got to Bring a Nuclear Reactor Critical at the age of 21. Then being a Senior Reactor Operator and directing plant Startups, Shutdowns, and everyday operations was the most involved and directly rewarding job I have done in the civilian world. Yes, it was stressful shift work, but I didn't have any kids at the time, so I enjoyed it.
During COVID I was a Refueling Outage Scheduler and got to work remotely a few days a week. Working through tedious schedules and logic sequences can be taxing on the brain but I got to do it in sweatpants and worked in the Air Conditioning.
I would say that the hardest part of working in Nuclear is that every plant in America is different and it takes a while to learn each one. A license on one plant does not translate to any other plant. Even at Indian Point my Unit 2 SRO license wasn't valid on Unit 3 even though the plants were on the same site, connected by a footbridge, and very similar. PWRs and BWRS are very different in their Technology and that doesn't even get into the new SMRs and Molten Salt Reactors that some companies are trying to build. You need to keep an open mind no matter where you go in Nuclear because it's always going to be a learning experience. Do not fall into the "At my last plant..." mentality.
Like I said, it's extremely rewarding and most people in nuclear are very well compensated. I highly recommend this field.
BEST OF LUCK JOHN!!!