Re: Radiation Control Technician

[mark sasser <duke99301@yahoo.com>]

If you want to work as an hp out of collage with no exp. what so ever
there  are plenty of clean up sites that pay better filghts home more
diem. GOV rates.and better working envrioments.you will never see high
doses but the pay is steady and beter than a power plant hp. And
besides those who do not look will never find work.
--- radmax <radmax@duesouth.net> wrote:
> Doug Gossen wrote
> >.......It is statements like yours that are
> >generalizing the health physics career
> opportunities that is reducing the
> >number of individuals coming in to the profession. 
> If you do not feel
> >there is a need for more HP grads, I invite you to
> talk to Bartlett Nuclear
> >who told me they were short 1800 techs for the
> scheduled outages this
> >spring.  The data does not lie, there is a shortage
> of HP techs.  As for
> >your point about the change in outage lenght, I
> agree.
> >That is my 2 cents worth,
> >Doug Gossen
> >Lakeshore Technical College
> >
> Yes Doug, THERE IS a shortage of Techs in commercial
> power, for THREE, MAYBE
> FOUR months of the year, Spring and Fall, then there
> is NO WORK.  Most of
> the techs I know have other jobs to fall back on,
> many paying under the
> table, just to make ends meet.  As has been stated
> elsewhere, working for 4
> to 5 months (3 outages if your lucky) doesn't pay
> the bills.  Its not so
> much that the outages are so short, its that they
> are always scheduled for
> the same times.  This Spring, over 30 outages were
> scheduled to start within
> a 3 week time frame, all of which were less than 6
> weeks duration, but long
> enough that you couldn't go to another outage.  If
> the utilities were to
> spread out the work load, form alliances with plants
> in neighboring states
> and schedule outages back to back, fewer of us would
> be trying to get out of
> the business or resorting to DOE contracts.
> >
> Steve Hand wrote
> >>  The key to the hiring was the experience level.
> Over the
> >> past few years, a majority of the plants ONLY
> wanted Sr. Techs,
> >> eliminating the Jr. Tech positions. This
> eliminates ALL entry level
> >> techs.
> >  It is easy to pick out statements, like the one
> above, and make a comment
> >on it - so for the sake of argument I have done
> this - however, I would
> like
> >to know what will happen when the senior techs
> retire, and there are no
> >junior or entry level techs to take their place. 
> If they are not working
> >under a senior tech, nor being trained (and college
> courses don't count
> >because this is not hands on experience) by one,
> who will do the jobs when
> >the personnel are required.  This seems to be a
> downwared spiraling
> >condition - when it bottoms out, what will happen ?
>  Will these junior and
> >entry level techs then be able to command or demand
> high pay, OT, etc...
> >again.
> >Thanks,
> >Steve Hand
> >Radiation Safety
> >University of Maryland
> >
> Jr tech's have NEVER been able to demand HIGH pay. 
> Traditionally, many of
> these jobs were reserved for Senior Techs
> wives/girlfriends or other
> family/friends as incentive to bring the experienced
> techs to one job or
> another.  I was lucky (unlucky, depending on how you
> want to look at it) to
> get in entry level ($5.00/hr $35 per diem, Seniors
> were making $12-$14 and
> $50) at Palo Verde in 1988 with IRM (who
> incidentally was kicked off the Phx
> area Tech schools campus's for recruiting in Jr.s to
> sort trash, all of whom
> were told they would be working as Instrumentation
> techs within 6 month's).
> I took a road job when it looked like layoffs were
> imminant, and with all
> the downtime it took me 6 years to make ANSI 3.1
> Senior Technician status.
> The outages are MUCH shorter now.
> And, as has been mentioned, when Union Laborer's
> (Com-Ed) are being paid
> $21+/hr to sweep the floor w/no responsibilities,
> and 3.1 Senior Tech's with
> 6+ years exp. are paid $17.00 and $50.00 diem
> W/Massive responsibilities,
> PLUS potential LIABILITIES down the road (20 years
> from now---3 pack a day
> smoker gets lung cancer and blames it on that little
> puff of dust he inhaled
> from doing something wrong when you weren't looking)
>    WHO NEEDS IT.
> Everyone I know is trying to bail out as fast as
> possible, even many of the
> DOE housetypes here at Savanah River.
> Either get the 4 year Rad degree and get a job in
> something environmental,
> or go with another career.  Forget nuclear power,
> thanks to Jimmy Carter.
> 
> 
> 
>
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===
mark sasser 
at duke99301@yahoo.com
pager# 888-768-7451 640 east ice harbor dr pasco wa. 99301
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