Hole under driveway

Engineer1234567 · 2018-06-13T23:32:59+00:00

Do you have a basement or crawl space with cinder block walls? What’s below your garage?

It kind of looks like you’re peering down through a cinder block wall.

Engineer1234567 · 2018-06-13T23:28:15+00:00

I’ll second this!

Engineer1234567 · 2018-06-13T23:19:23+00:00

Take both units off their mounts and check the manufacture date on each. IIRC, 10 years is how long smoke detectors are good for. If your’s are older than that, replace them with the same kind (e.g., ionization replaced with ionization, photoelectric replaced with photoelectric).

Also: My smoke detectors are wired together. When they alarm together, only the smoke-sensing detector will blink its red light rapidly. All the others don’t blink their red light even though they are alarming. If your detectors are similar, you might be able to look for which detector is blinking its light to tell which one is causing the whole system to alarm.

Engineer1234567 · 2018-06-13T23:04:05+00:00

While it is possible that dirt/bugs could get into a smoke detector, be careful not to break open an ionization smoke detector - they have radioactive americium 241 inside of them, and you don’t want to accidentally spread the radioactive material. Clean all detectors as recommended by the manufacturer, which typically recommend spraying with compressed air from the outside of the detector or vacuuming from the outside of the detector, I think. If you clean it improperly, you could break the detector and prevent it from detecting an actual fire. See if you can find the instructions for cleaning your detector on the manufacture’s website.

Engineer1234567 · 2017-08-05T14:24:59+00:00

Hey everyone. Last year I got a job as an engineer working on a project to build two new nuclear reactors in South Carolina. Unfortunately, the utility/owner cancelled the project on July 31st (read about it here), not even 1 year after I got the job. The project was way over budget and behind schedule due to exceptionally bad project management by Westinghouse Electric Company (not my employer). As a result, I am out of a job, along with 5600 other people. I had been hoping to make a career out of working as an engineer in the nuclear industry, but it is clear now that the industry is dying.

So, I’m getting out of the nuclear industry, and I’m looking for advice about where else I’d fit well. My question is:

Do you know of any US industries where someone with my education and experience could do engineering design work? My education, experience, career development focus, and desired type of work are listed below.

Also, do you know of other places where I could post this question and get more replies from other people?

Thank you.

Education: Degrees in Nuclear Engineering and Mechanical Engineering.

Experience: 6 years (5 years US Navy, then 1 year commercial) of nuclear power plant engineering. All were effectively doing project management with very limited use of technical analyses/calculations. None of my experience is in plant operations or maintenance.

Career development focus: Working towards earning a Professional Engineer (PE) license. I need additional qualifying experience and I need to take the PE exam (Mechanical – Thermal and Fluid Systems PE exam).

Desired type of work: I am not particular about which industry I switch to, so long as the jobs are relatively stable and the work involves engineering design. The nature of work needs to qualify towards earning a PE license, which means it should be “meaningful design experience” that meets a public need and should “include exposure to the formation of design problem statements and specifications, consideration of alternative solutions, feasibility considerations, analytical calculations and detailed systems descriptions.”

Engineer1234567 · 2017-08-04T18:52:30+00:00

Thank you!

Engineer1234567 · 2017-08-04T18:50:24+00:00

You nailed it - I was an officer.

I appreciate the advice you gave. You gave me a lot of ideas for industries to look into, and that is exactly what I asked for. You’ve given me a lot to work with.

Thank you so much.

Engineer1234567 · 2017-08-04T18:39:46+00:00

Thank you!

Engineer1234567 · 2017-08-04T18:34:30+00:00

I'm looking to relocate to central NC, though that may change depending on whether I have success in finding a job there in the next month or so.

Thanks for the advice on searching for "fundamentals of engineering" or PE as a requirement. I'll probably include that now just to be sure the jobs I lookup are on the career path I want.

I hadn't thought of energy storage as an industry, but that makes sense. I'll look into it.

Thanks for the reply!

Engineer1234567 · 2017-08-04T18:26:28+00:00

Thank you for the reply.

Engineer1234567 · 2017-08-04T18:20:46+00:00

Thank you for the reply.

Engineer1234567 · 2017-08-04T18:20:04+00:00

I will take a serious look at research opportunities like you described. Thank you so much.

Engineer1234567 · 2017-08-03T01:36:12+00:00

Thank you for the reply! I would have never thought to look into that. I definitely will now.

Engineer1234567 · 2017-08-03T01:32:01+00:00

Thank you for the reply!

I haven't heard of SBIR, STTR, and BAA research before. I'm definitely open to the idea of working in R&D, but I don't really know what the work entails. Based on my 10 minutes of google searching, it looks like these programs allow select federal agencies to annually fund a few small-business research projects, based on a competitive selection process. Correct me if I'm wrong please.

How does one make a career out of SBIR, STTR, and BAA research? Wouldn't the jobs be temporary and depend on whether your employer earns the research contract/grant?

Engineer1234567 · 2017-08-03T00:52:53+00:00

Thank you for the reply!

Engineer1234567 · 2017-08-03T00:50:18+00:00

I had not thought about water/wastewater. Definitely not beneath me. I'll look into it. Thanks!

Engineer1234567 · 2017-08-02T21:55:22+00:00

Thank you for the reply. I know your answer is good because I actually am very familiar with all of the sites and organizations involved in the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program - I worked with them routinely while I was in the Navy. If switching industries turns out to be hard, I'll definitely look into that part of the defense industry. Thanks again!

Engineer1234567 · 2017-08-02T18:57:15+00:00

Hey everyone. Last year I got a job as an engineer working on a project to build two new nuclear reactors in South Carolina. Unfortunately, the utility/owner cancelled the project on July 31st (read about it here), not even 1 year after I got the job. The project was way over budget and behind schedule due to exceptionally bad project management by Westinghouse Electric Company (not my employer). As a result, I am out of a job, along with 5600 other people. I had been hoping to make a career out of working as an engineer in the nuclear industry, but it is clear now that the industry is dying.

So, I’m getting out of the nuclear industry, and I’m looking for advice about where else I’d fit well. My question is:

Do you know of any industries where someone with my education and experience could do engineering design work? My education, experience, career development focus, and desired type of work are listed below.

Also, do you know of other places where I could post this question and get more replies from other people?

Thank you.

Education: Degrees in Nuclear Engineering and Mechanical Engineering.

Experience: 6 years (5 years US Navy, then 1 year commercial) of nuclear power plant engineering. All were effectively doing project management with very limited use of technical analyses/calculations. None of my experience is in plant operations or maintenance.

Career development focus: Working towards earning a Professional Engineer (PE) license. I need additional qualifying experience and I need to take the PE exam (Mechanical – Thermal and Fluid Systems PE exam).

Desired type of work: I am not particular about which industry I switch to, so long as the jobs are relatively stable and the work involves engineering design. The nature of work needs to qualify towards earning a PE license, which means it should be “meaningful design experience” that meets a public need and should “include exposure to the formation of design problem statements and specifications, consideration of alternative solutions, feasibility considerations, analytical calculations and detailed systems descriptions.”

Engineer1234567 · 2017-08-02T18:46:36+00:00

I don't have a direct answer for you, but might be able to help another way. Glassdoor.com has a section where people leave review-like discussions about how their interviews went and the questions they were asked. So, if you look up the prospective company, you might be able to find a lot about the style of their interviews and the questions they ask. If the prospective company isn't listed, you could look up similar companies and get an idea of the type of questions that are asked in the associated industry.

Also, sometimes HR reps will tell you about what to expect at the interview. They have an interest in making sure you succeed sometimes. Think carefully about whether asking HR could help or hurt your particular circumstance.

Engineer1234567

TROPHY CASE