Post by obf on Apr 26, 2018 10:48:33 GMT -8
It is kind of funny that Oregon, being staunchly anti nuclear power, has probably the most active nuclear power research and design activity going on of any state in the US.
In terms of prospects for Nuke students.... The navy is a fine option, but many folks don't realize that we have over 100 active nuclear plants running in the nation (not in Oregon obviously), and they all need licensed operators. The rest of the world is forging ahead with nuclear power design, even if the US wants to drag it's heals, they all need NEs.
Bottom line is that solar and wind and waves are neat, but if we as a nation and world ever do really take using less carbon seriously nuclear power will have to be the base load generator, or some other new power generation source will have to be invented. (We could start building Dams again???)
*I* wouldn't go into nuclear engineering, because I think it is boring and the NRC and regulators are trying their darnedest to make it as awful as possible, but I certainly wouldn't caution others against it, the jobs are there and just like any other engineering degree it is a great launching point for lots of other engineering fields if you tire of it.
None of that even takes into account all the radiation used in the medical field these days, so there is a whole other sector of jobs that need NEs
Nuclear engineering may have a low barrier to entry for a PE, but it is also one of the highest paying fields you can get into without a bachelors degree...
#'s 2, 7 and 14 on this list
Full disclosure... I happen to know a bunch of NuScalers and this type of Rhetoric is pretty much ALL they ever want to talk about, so... I am biased and take my opinions with a grain or two of salt
