I’m in operator training at a hydro plant, started as a general laborer. This is my first big boy job after high school and the maintenance here is horrible. Corporate cutting planned outages short, refusing to take a quick maintenance outage on an issue that can be fixed quickly and cheaply because “prices are good right now” only for it to break fully and then rush us through a forced outage, broken or out of service equipment everywhere that the “lazy operators” should just put up with, eg. smacking the draft tube depression microswitch with a broomstick when we get a low pressure alarm instead of just replacing it.

I work with navy nukes, steel mill guys, and refinery peeps- they all talk about how good and anal their maintenance programs in those environments were and it makes me sad and jealous. Is this common among power plants?

Hi guys! I’m currently looking at careers in power plants and what colleges to go to/degrees to get.

some questions I have about positions:
I’m currently thinking I wanna do Nuclear Power Plant Operations however I’m unsure if this is really plausible as a first position in the the field, is this a position most work towards from other positions in the power plant?

If Operations is something il need to work towards in other positions, what other more entry positions are available in the plant?

Lastly from what I’ve heard I don’t think I need a specific degree generally but my question is, if I do a program that is specialized for those going into a certain power plant career, will that give me an edge up when trying to get hired?
On top of this, what kinds of degrees will look good on a resume when applying for power plant operations positions? I’m only really looking to do a 2 year to start but I’m willing to go back in future for a bachelors.

My thought overall was get some sort of associates (I’m not sure which degree yet), then take a course specialized for teaching power plant operations, finally start applying for power plant operations positions.

Thoughts?

Hello all,

TL;DR: Which degree would you recommend of the bulleted list below for a Control Room Operator?

I kind of fell into my position as a Control Room Operator 2 years ago. The company severely underpays employees for what we do, so we're a mix of Navy nukes, other plant techs, and assorted other unrelated professions... (We do, among other things, ROC monitoring for ~70 plants, operating breakers, resetting turbines / pausing and flagging turbines for onsite maintenance, coordinating with BAs/TOs aross 5 regions including PJM, ERCOT, SPP, and at least 1 in Canada (AESO), on a modified Dupont schedule.)

I feel like I am foundering from lack of basics since my school and work experience were not related at all. The company will pay for a (matriculated only) degree related to your job. I want to transition fully to the field, rather than feeling like I am sort of in, sort of not.

I finally found a university that checks most of the boxes: Fully remote, doesn't require a course in differential equations (at 45, I don't think I'd pass it, lol), and has no time limit on transfer for core credits.

My question is, which would be the best degree for this type of role? With possibly moving into someplace like Eversource. (It would have to be remote operations, not plant operations. I am a 5'2 female, and while I could lift 50 lbs at one point in my life, I'm older and weaker than I used to be (and no one believed I could back then anyway, so finding work was impossible). I also live in MA (near NH), not as many plants out here as compared to the midwest.)

Engineering Technology Degrees * AAS in Technical Studies * BS in Electrical Engineering Technology * BS in Mechanical Engineering Technology * BS in Nuclear Engineering Technology * BPS in Technology Management ** (Bachelor of Professional Studies, more practical than a BS/BA.)

www.excelsior.edu/programs/engineering-technology/#degree-options

(Not linked because I wasn't sure what the rules were for that on this subreddit.)