I'm a 42 year old male. Undergraduate degrees in History and Chemical Engineering, masters degree in Mechanical Engineering (thermal-fluids). I am in my 19th year of employment (have never been out of work since I left college), I have always worked in the nuclear power industry.
About 6 or 7 years ago I was looking to get out of the nuclear business. This was based on what I considered poor future prospects for the industry and geographical considerations. Most operating power plants are in what I consider undesirable locations and the limited suppliers in the US were again in what I considered undesirable locations (Lynchburg, VA is a "major" nuclear hub). I had decided to become an actuary because I considered the work interesting, the pay would be good, I would have more geographic freedom and because I would not need to go back to school. I self studied and passed the first two actuarial exams.
Shortly after passing my second exam, when I was in the process of getting ready to try to sell my house and really look for a job, I was contacted by a "startup" nuclear company that I considered was in a location I liked (June 2012). I decided to take the job based on getting a turnkey new start, and a nice raise. Although I am very pessimistic about the prospects for nuclear (especially in the US), I felt some obligation to not waste all my skills and knowledge. I also avoided starting back at the entry level if I became an actuary. I wasn't sure how things would work out, I figured worse case I could fall back on trying to become an actuary.
Fast forward almost and five and a half years. The company is still going, I've been generally happy with my experience. I like my coworkers, work is generally interesting. Financially I have done very well and I make more money than I really even expected to (my earning are about 80% higher than they were before I took this job). However, if anything, things are looking worse for the nuclear business. In the past 5 years I have been able to really get a picture on the major structural issues affecting nuclear power in the US and I feel more than ever they are intractable. As people may know, Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy this spring. This was after they had spend 10 years getting the NRC to approve their AP1000 design and there were 4 AP1000 plants under construction in the US. Two of those units (VC Summer) were cancelled this summer. This was after $8-9 billion was already spent and the plants were several years behind schedule. Nothing short of a complete debacle. The problems are based on regulatory issues, bad management and structural issues, mostly related to the ongoing low cost of natural gas. I also question how good the talent pool is, anyone in the business can see this, are the people that stay in just not the smartest, are they in-denial, are they just true believers. I want to believe, but I cannot ignore the reality.
Although my job is going okay, I need a change of location. The smaller town I am living is no longer an option for me for social reasons. I am almost in my mid 40s, if I am going to completely change careers, I can't wait much longer (is it already too late, should I just stay in nuclear). The prospects for nuclear do not look great. I am convinced if I stay in nuclear I can keep myself employed for the next 20 years, but it may involve work that I am not very interested in, in locations I don't want. I have been working on an online data science certificate and taking some python programming courses. I was planning to go into some kind of data science or even potentially actuarial work. My current plan was to finish the coursework this spring, quit my job around July 4, take about 3 months off and travel and then look at getting into a new gig in the Fall. I have no debt besides my mortgage (12 years left on a 15 year at 3%) and I have about $200K in liquid non-retirement assets so not really concerned about this financially. My only dependent is a three legged cat.
The curveball. A new nuclear startup has contacted me about a possible position, in high cost of living (but socially desirable) location. Probably going there for an interview in the next couple of weeks. Pros of this job are I would keep all of the salary I am making now and I could get a change of location immediately. Cons are that this job would be technically difficult; it is not so much that it is difficult, it is the difficulty coupled with fighting the uphill battle that nuclear is engaged in. Part of me thinks trying to continue to work in nuclear is a fools errand. Also, if I were to be offered and take this job and then it goes tits up in 2-3 years I am well into my mid 40s looking to change careers (in a technical field). 2-3 years of continued really good earnings and I will feel like I am in a pretty solid financial situation, not like I could retire or anything, but would give me more flexibility about work (go teach HS chemistry and physics, be a bartended). This would be the financial reason to stay in, no disruption to my lifestyle (I live below my means, but I feel like I live pretty comfortable).
Any thoughts?
About 6 or 7 years ago I was looking to get out of the nuclear business. This was based on what I considered poor future prospects for the industry and geographical considerations. Most operating power plants are in what I consider undesirable locations and the limited suppliers in the US were again in what I considered undesirable locations (Lynchburg, VA is a "major" nuclear hub). I had decided to become an actuary because I considered the work interesting, the pay would be good, I would have more geographic freedom and because I would not need to go back to school. I self studied and passed the first two actuarial exams.
Shortly after passing my second exam, when I was in the process of getting ready to try to sell my house and really look for a job, I was contacted by a "startup" nuclear company that I considered was in a location I liked (June 2012). I decided to take the job based on getting a turnkey new start, and a nice raise. Although I am very pessimistic about the prospects for nuclear (especially in the US), I felt some obligation to not waste all my skills and knowledge. I also avoided starting back at the entry level if I became an actuary. I wasn't sure how things would work out, I figured worse case I could fall back on trying to become an actuary.
Fast forward almost and five and a half years. The company is still going, I've been generally happy with my experience. I like my coworkers, work is generally interesting. Financially I have done very well and I make more money than I really even expected to (my earning are about 80% higher than they were before I took this job). However, if anything, things are looking worse for the nuclear business. In the past 5 years I have been able to really get a picture on the major structural issues affecting nuclear power in the US and I feel more than ever they are intractable. As people may know, Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy this spring. This was after they had spend 10 years getting the NRC to approve their AP1000 design and there were 4 AP1000 plants under construction in the US. Two of those units (VC Summer) were cancelled this summer. This was after $8-9 billion was already spent and the plants were several years behind schedule. Nothing short of a complete debacle. The problems are based on regulatory issues, bad management and structural issues, mostly related to the ongoing low cost of natural gas. I also question how good the talent pool is, anyone in the business can see this, are the people that stay in just not the smartest, are they in-denial, are they just true believers. I want to believe, but I cannot ignore the reality.
Although my job is going okay, I need a change of location. The smaller town I am living is no longer an option for me for social reasons. I am almost in my mid 40s, if I am going to completely change careers, I can't wait much longer (is it already too late, should I just stay in nuclear). The prospects for nuclear do not look great. I am convinced if I stay in nuclear I can keep myself employed for the next 20 years, but it may involve work that I am not very interested in, in locations I don't want. I have been working on an online data science certificate and taking some python programming courses. I was planning to go into some kind of data science or even potentially actuarial work. My current plan was to finish the coursework this spring, quit my job around July 4, take about 3 months off and travel and then look at getting into a new gig in the Fall. I have no debt besides my mortgage (12 years left on a 15 year at 3%) and I have about $200K in liquid non-retirement assets so not really concerned about this financially. My only dependent is a three legged cat.
The curveball. A new nuclear startup has contacted me about a possible position, in high cost of living (but socially desirable) location. Probably going there for an interview in the next couple of weeks. Pros of this job are I would keep all of the salary I am making now and I could get a change of location immediately. Cons are that this job would be technically difficult; it is not so much that it is difficult, it is the difficulty coupled with fighting the uphill battle that nuclear is engaged in. Part of me thinks trying to continue to work in nuclear is a fools errand. Also, if I were to be offered and take this job and then it goes tits up in 2-3 years I am well into my mid 40s looking to change careers (in a technical field). 2-3 years of continued really good earnings and I will feel like I am in a pretty solid financial situation, not like I could retire or anything, but would give me more flexibility about work (go teach HS chemistry and physics, be a bartended). This would be the financial reason to stay in, no disruption to my lifestyle (I live below my means, but I feel like I live pretty comfortable).
Any thoughts?