Official Gramps' Memorial Eternal OT Thread

#90,477
#90,477
McDad said:
If you get some time, not urgent, please give me some feedback.
Son graduating from TTU ChemE in Spring. Considering Navy for Nuclear Engineering program. Doesn't want career. Wants the training and Defense Department clearance that he would gain. Worth it? Better options? Navy good program?
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NorthDallas40 said:
If he isn’t married and/or tied down go the Navy route and get into their reactor program management offices. That will get him hands on with the current nuke design programs. Then once he’s had enough Navy, pivot to civilian life and go GS or government contractor and make bank.
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I agree with ND40. I'll be perfectly honest that I really disliked most Navy Nuke types that I worked with. Too rigid, tied too much to doing everything the Navy way, and given far too much credit. It didn't take long in my first job at Babcock and Wilcox to figure out that a MS or even PhD didn't seem to trump an ex-Navy nuke. It seemed like every office you walked into had a picture of a damn submarine hanging on the wall. There are differences; the Navy like the other services has to have regulations and procedures designed around attrition and transition whereas commercial nuclear power has a far more stable workforce. A constant string of newbies vs technical types who have been in the same plant and know the eccentricities by heart.

While at TVA after the great Navy takeover, I saw some good things, but also saw changes that absolutely didn't work. One simple example was the Navy guys decided to apply manufacturer specs to Reactor Coolant Pump clearances (bearings and seals) rather than the tighter clearances that had been in use. RCPs are huge vertical pumps - the commercial ones are different from the canned ones used in naval nuclear units; vertical pumps are very sensitive to imbalance - especially the big ones. The change made it virtually impossible to balance the pumps until the clearances were reset to what was in effect prior to the Navy invasion.

That's my bias against Navy Nukes. However, as ND40 pointed out the Navy provides the training that gets things done; there's a tight network and connections that you can't fight; and most of all is the security clearance that's going to protect him against foreign workers on an H1B visa. I'm an AF brat and an Army vet, so I have biases. My wife is a retired Navy captain (Nurse Corps) - reserve with three two year active duty assignments - two in DC and one in Millington. I saw some picky stuff that the Navy pushes that the AF and Army seem more at ease with. I still think it would be a good career path for him. Should he decide to stay in, probably the best outcome of the wife's career was our medical insurance after retirement.
 
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#90,479
#90,479
AM64 said:
I agree with ND40. I'll be perfectly honest that I really disliked most Navy Nuke types that I worked with. Too rigid, tied too much to doing everything the Navy way, and given far too much credit. It didn't take long in my first job at Babcock and Wilcox to figure out that a MS or even PhD didn't seem to trump an ex-Navy nuke. It seemed like every office you walked into had a picture of a damn submarine hanging on the wall. There are differences; the Navy like the other services has to have regulations and procedures designed around attrition and transition whereas commercial nuclear power has a far more stable workforce. A constant string of newbies vs technical types who have been in the same plant and know the eccentricities by heart.

While at TVA after the great Navy takeover, I saw some good things, but also saw changes that absolutely didn't work. One simple example was the Navy guys decided to apply manufacturer specs to Reactor Coolant Pump clearances (bearings and seals) rather than the tighter clearances that had been in use. RCPs are huge vertical pumps - the commercial ones are different from the canned ones used in naval nuclear units; vertical pumps are very sensitive to imbalance - especially the big ones. The change made it virtually impossible to balance the pumps until the clearances were reset to what was in effect prior to the Navy invasion.

That's my bias against Navy Nukes. However, as ND40 pointed out the Navy provides the training that gets things done; there's a tight network and connections that you can't fight; and most of all is the security clearance that's going to protect him against foreign workers on an H1B visa. I'm an AF brat and an Army vet, so I have biases. My wife is a retired Navy captain (Nurse Corps) - reserve with three two year active duty assignments - two in DC and one in Millington. I saw some picky stuff that the Navy pushes that the AF and Army seem more at ease with. I still think it would be a good career path for him. Should he decide to stay in, probably the best outcome of the wife's career was our medical insurance after retirement.
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Thank you for the comprehensive response.
 
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#90,482
#90,482
McDad said:
Thank you for the comprehensive response.
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Navy nuke credentials are equivalent to “ring knocker” status in the Army circles. West Pointers and their highly evolved and widely spread good ole boy support network. Like AM said though tell him not to be a douche canoe and realize other people besides Navy personnel understand the reactor system. You know… like the ones the Navy contracted to design it?
 
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#90,484
#90,484
NorthDallas40 said:
Navy nuke credentials are equivalent to “ring knocker” status in the Army circles. West Pointers and their highly evolved and widely spread good ole boy support network. Like AM said though tell him not to be a douche canoe and realize other people besides Navy personnel understand the reactor system. You know… like the ones the Navy contracted to design it?
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I'll tell him!
 
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#90,488
#90,488
NorthDallas40 said:
Yeah I pulled up a map. You cross the bridge to get to it but turn back west to get into Sharps Chapel so it’s Union Co. I just remembered that the turn off was across the bridge and that was all.
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you remember going to mapquest and printing driving instructions..

driving down road reading paper..lol
 
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#90,489
#90,489
Orangeburst said:
you remember going to mapquest and printing driving instructions..

driving down road reading paper..lol
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In DFW they had this thing called MAPSCO. It’s a grid organized system that puts all addresses into a grid system. You used to see businesses put their grid info in their adds. I still have a 20+ year old one tucked into the map pocket on the back of my truck seat.
 
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#90,490
#90,490
Orangeburst said:
you remember going to mapquest and printing driving instructions..

driving down road reading paper..lol
Click to expand...

Boggles the mind reading that new generations can't read maps; we thought they were essentials. I always use Android Auto while travelling now. Not to tell me how to go generally, but to keep up with traffic conditions.

I thought you were in Hixson for some reason. Are you off Igou Gap between Morris Hill and Gunbarrel?
 
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#90,492
#90,492
AM64 said:
Boggles the mind reading that new generations can't read maps; we thought they were essentials. I always use Android Auto while travelling now. Not to tell me how to go generally, but to keep up with traffic conditions.

I thought you were in Hixson for some reason. Are you off Igou Gap between Morris Hill and Gunbarrel?
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Grew up in Hixson, but live by Jenkins, between Morris Hill and Gunbarrel.
Let me know if you want me to cut the grass or help with something else. Be glad to help you out.

About maps, all the towns I lived in and making sales calls, I had a boatload.
 
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#90,493
#90,493
AM64 said:
Boggles the mind reading that new generations can't read maps; we thought they were essentials. I always use Android Auto while travelling now. Not to tell me how to go generally, but to keep up with traffic conditions.

I thought you were in Hixson for some reason. Are you off Igou Gap between Morris Hill and Gunbarrel?
Click to expand...

I won’t throw anyone under the bus, but someone I’m close to can’t drive without the gps, volume has to be way up, then when it says to turn they don’t believe it or they miss the turn because they’ve said it too late. SMH 🤦🏻‍♂️
 
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#90,495
#90,495
AM64 said:
Boggles the mind reading that new generations can't read maps; we thought they were essentials. I always use Android Auto while travelling now. Not to tell me how to go generally, but to keep up with traffic conditions.

I thought you were in Hixson for some reason. Are you off Igou Gap between Morris Hill and Gunbarrel?
Click to expand...

It boggles the mind that my mom doesn't know how to route multiple stops in her GPS app, so in an inverse way, I feel you.
 
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