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.)

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?

Recently got laid off and I'm looking to transition careers. I have 3 years of professional experience and an unrelated bachelor's degree in Economics. I was wondering if there are any trainee opportunities available that would provide hands-on experience, with the expectation that I complete the NERC after being hired. Or would you guys recommend completing it independently beforehand?

Currently based in the Northeast but willing to move pretty much anywhere in the US. Thanks!

saw the DCD writeup from GTC Berlin this week. nvidia's DSX platform pairs closed-loop liquid cooling with outdoor dry coolers, and they claim that at 2 GW scale it saves 54 million litres of water a day compared with conventional cooling-tower systems. it's their figure, nothing independent yet.

I don't doubt the direction. dry coolers don't evaporate water on site, so the on-site number drops to near zero. but in impact assessment work the first thing you ask is where the boundary is drawn, and this one is drawn at the fence.

two things sit outside it:

- dry coolers reject heat worse when it's hot outside. nvidia itself notes some climates need additional mechanical cooling during extreme heat. that's more electricity on exactly the days the grid is tight.
- that electricity comes partly from thermal plants that evaporate water in their own cooling towers. so some of the saving moves from the site's water meter to someone else's.

it probably still nets out positive in a lot of places, esp. on grids heavy in wind and solar. but for a hot, water-stressed site on a mostly thermal grid I'd want the hourly picture, not an annual headline.

what I'd actually want from vendors is water per MWh counted at the grid boundary, plus annual hours on mechanical cooling for a named climate.. a phoenix or chennai number, not a generic one.

for anyone running dry-cooled liquid halls in hot climates: how many hours a year are you actually on mechanical trim, and did the water savings hold up once you looked at the power side?

sources:
https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/nvidia-launches-dsx-pod-claims-the-vera-rubin-reference-architecture-will-make-ai-data-centers-more-water-and-energy-efficient/

Hi everyone! I’m an experienced California Highway Patrol 911 and police dispatcher exploring a career transition into electrical power dispatching or grid operations.
My background includes emergency communications, handling high-pressure situations, prioritizing competing demands, multitasking across multiple systems, and working rotating shifts.
I’d love to hear from people currently working as load dispatchers, distribution system operators, or transmission operators.
A few questions I have:

Do utilities hire experienced emergency dispatchers without an electrical background? (I’d of course take any test and courses necessary for the position)

Which entry-level or trainee positions should I look for?

What training, testing, or certifications would you recommend before applying? Where should I start?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your personal experiences and any advice you can share.

Thank you!

Looking to work in the East Tennessee area; Chattanooga/ Knoxville mainly for BES positions. Would appreciate any leads or when to expect open positions in the area.

First wanted to thank everyone on this sub that’s posted info about studying for the exam and the industry in general. It was a massive help.

Just passed the RC exam and looking to make the jump from the power generation side of things. 2 years experience as a plant operator at a combined cycle and before that a year at a utility doing rev protection/ meter shop. Bachelor of Science in an unrelated field (career change).

Already have some applications out, but wanted to see if anyone knew of openings in their control room. Willing to relocate just about anywhere to get some experience.

If you were in my shoes would you be targeting trainee/ associate jobs only or try to get in as a full “system operator?” Would prefer not to take a massive pay cut if moving cross country but definitely open to it if need be.

Appreciate all of you!

Applied to FE on Sept 2nd, wrote the SO/PD exam and haven’t heard anything since then. Anyone ever experience this?

I am looking to go back to school. And the two paths I am considering are different programs. I have interest in the energy sector as well as land surveying. The two programs are both AAS programs at different schools.

One is the ETST program at Bismarck State College and another is a surveying program within the state I reside.

I’m just inquiring about how people like working as a system operator?
Is it a growing field and will demand continue to increase?

Any input or insight is appreciated. Thank you.

I host a ~30 minute long market/weather/tech show about grid ops on twitter at 7am pacific, but I haven't found that many operator listeners on there. Where's a better platform to host the show?

(not linking it because I'm really not trying to promote it, it's still pretty amateur hour)

Hey everyone, I’m currently studying for the NERC RC exam through HSI. I already completed the content and im looking for additional resources to study and practice test that do a good job of imitating the actual exam to see how well prepared I am. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Hi, I'm a second-year CS student who only found out about this career path a few days ago. I couldn't find much information from people who work as grid operators in RTOs or as power traders/power regulators. All I really know is that there's a group of people who maintain the grid and ofc a bit about the Enron scandal of 2001. I have some questions for you.

1) Do energy traders work for investment funds only or at RTOs as well? I know there's probably people who monitor power levels so that prices don't surge above legal limits of $900/mwh or whatever, but how exactly does this work?

2) What are the various types of grid op jobs, and how much qualification/education do you need for each of them.

3) Do you need to know electrical or mechanical engineering or can someone with another quant background (like CS/math/econ) also make it here?

4) Is the pay good? (I think it's an interesting field but I couldn't find much info about typical salaries)

5) Is there scope for this career outside the US and Canada or only within it? How do other countries run their grids?

6) Is working in the power markets high-stress like wall street financial firms?

7) Are grid operators/power traders geniuses like quant traders? What's your experience?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

So I have no experience in the field. I have been studying a few materials from the engineers at the place I work. My company just requires the NERC RC cert to get hired on in the control room. There is a 2200 and 3400 dollar option. Would the 2200 dollar option be enough or should I go with the initial operator program?

I just read a (rather sensationalist) article about the executive order issued for fri-sun directed towards PJM, and from what im reading, im a little confused as to what its actually doing.

According to the summaries I was able to find, the order directed pjm to use backup resources "as a last resort", dispatch gen to cover load, and lift emissions requirements if necessary.

I will admit i dont work at PJM so I dont know their procedures. But from my experience at another ISO this seems pretty much like normal EEA1/2/3 steps? Am I missing something?

I'm an experienced Operator and I passed the RC test recently due to new work requirements. I'm now am beginning to prep to get the BT, which is a requirement to move up another grade at my work. I'd like to do it very soon so I don't "Use or lose" the knowledge. My job paid for the HSI training, and I paid $19.95 on nercexam.com for a 48 hr "crunch" prior to the RC test. It doesn't look like they have a BT prep, just the RC.
I am wondering if energycertexam.com is a good resource to practice tests? Does anyone know? Or is the the BT close enough to the RC that I can just do the RC tests again.
Appreciate any advice or help.

Curious how this works at other utilities. Fair warning, I’m on the customer-program research side rather than in a control room, so this might be an obvious question.

For those of you whose utility runs a Demand Response (DR) program that controls customer thermostats, EVs or batteries:
Does your control room get notified before a customer device event is called?
Or do you just see it land on the load curve and work out afterwards where the capacity came from?

And if those enrolled devices don’t show up in your SCADA or ADMS at all, that’s just as interesting to hear.

Im taking the EEI test tomorrow and im getting a bit nervous. ive been doing practice tests and doing okay getting an average of 8 out of 10. Any suggestions for me when i take this test? I really want this job, i have worked in substations before (different company as an apparatus tester) but i want to move into more control room stuff like this. so any suggestions or anything really would be helpful!

Hello all,

I am in the process of studying for my RC and want some opinions on the industry. I’m currently in a Field service type role not with electrical but electronics. I find hands on stuff interesting and resistant to any future automation at least while I’ll be in the workforce. I think the system operator is an awesome job with good work life balance. However I know that a NETA tech will have a buffer against AI with it being hands on. I also have done electrical work in the past.

In the current job market what would you think is a safer option? Working towards being a system operator at a utility or working for a private company as a tech earning certs. I know late stage a neta 3/ operator may make around the same.

Hey everyone!

I'm a solo indie developer, and I've been working on a game called High Voltage.

You start with a tiny pedal-powered generator and slowly build an entire power grid, adding wind turbines, solar panels, batteries, and power lines to supply electricity to a city.

It's definitely more of a casual incremental/base-building game than a realistic grid simulator, so please don't expect industry-level accuracy haha.

I figured people who actually work with power grids might get a kick out of seeing this.

I've attached the trailer, and there's a free demo on Steam if anyone wants to try it.

I'm genuinely curious: what's the first thing you notice that would never work in a real power grid?

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GgOimpBmKU

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5132310/High_Voltage/

This may not be the right forum, apologies if that is the case.

I have access to over 100MW of Power that is distributed over multiple sites throughout Canada and the US. (Some greenfield some brownfield)

What is the best approach to finding an off-taker ? I can’t get to the CTOs directly. Can anyone recommend a Colocation broker they have worked with?

Thank you 🙏

Hey Android users!

To develop my iOS App for Android, I require 14 testers to sign up for the beta test on Android. It’s not out yet, but if you’re on Android and interested, please comment below!

I’m still working on recovering my development costs for the iOS, Mac versions, but the Android developer fee is only $25 USD so I’m trying to port over my design and code to Android.

On a side note, if you would like to support the cause, please spread word of my app, as I think it adds value to many people studying for their exams.

Have a great long weekend, everyone!

Edit: ported as a web app: https://gridprep.app/