Naval Nuclear Laboratory Reactor/Refueling Operations Engineer reviews

1) The facilities generally lack adequate working space. If you need private and quiet spaces to learn large amounts of information, this might not be the right job for you. They cram a lot of people into tiny amounts of space at NNPTC and NPTU. Little to no access to computers as everything is on paper. The facilities themselves have few to no redeeming qualities. Bathrooms are gross and crammed. 2) Many of the ONPS instructors at NNPTC simply do not care about their students' success. Many of them are simply there to complete their shore duty obligation after receiving a large resign bonus. To solve this, there needs to be a better incentive structure to get instructors to care more about their students' performance in power school. The way things are currently, students have to fill out instructor feedback forms (before they even receive course scores) which ultimately changes nothing. 3) For students on the cusp of passage or failure from the program, there should be a mechanism to push them through. Although, they might have failed one or two courses, they clearly have a decent understanding of the other subjects, meaning they have the mental capacity to do the job. Maybe have them retake the courses they failed. For my case in particular, I showed a general trend of improvement in the courses I was struggling with. However, I was not given a second chance as my scores simply were not high enough. This leads me to my final and most important con to this job. 4) I was relegated to a number (overall GPA) throughout my entire time at this job. Whenever you fail an exam, they will conduct "exam failure interviews" or EFIs. Keep in mind when you do these, they are not to help you. Your advisor will usually ask you what is going on in your personal life that caused the exam failure. Keep in mind I was putting in 60-70 hours per week. What made these so terrible was that there was no self reflection among NNPTC staff members during these interviews. It is always the fault of the student even if the student is giving every ounce of effort. 5) The tests are largely random as anything with a "TGO bar" next to it is "testable material." This is problematic as many of the test questions (all subjects) required the regurgitation of definitions, lengthy procedures and graphs and did not require actual problem solving. Because of this, passage of these tests do not actually test one's understanding of a topic. 6) ISAs or individual student assignments are given to students who perform below expectations in certain courses. They are supposedly required work, but oftentimes people did not complete them. I did all of mine, and paid a hefty price for it. It took large amounts of my study time to complete these and then get them signed off by an instructor. In the end, they clearly did not help me get through the program whatsoever. 7) HARD WORK IS NOT APPRECIATED OR VALUED AT THIS JOB WHATSOEVER! There are plenty of entry level jobs who appreciate hard workers who maybe learn slower than others that pay more than this position. If you are not a naturally gifted learner, I would advise against taking this job unless you have no other options. The above stated drawbacks to this position encapsulate my experience at this job. I learn best by attempting every type of problem and getting it wrong a few times. As a result, I struggled to get through this program as there was a test every week. Throughout my time at this position, I was told "a 2.5 knowledge on everything is more valuable than a 4.0 knowledge of somethings." I am not the type of person who can learn something only halfway and move on. In order to grasp a concept, I need to look through multiple problems meticulously. If you expect to be treated as a person and are a slow learner, like me, you are going to struggle in this program. If you can grasp difficult engineering concepts quickly and don't mind being treated as a statistic for a year, you should be set for success in the NNPP.

The difficulty of this position is not accurately disclosed until you are too deep into the position. Power School instructors and management are unsympathetic to struggles and only view you as a statistic. Almost no personal connection between management and employee. Grades in Power school are posted publicly which only contributes to the harsh and cut-throat environment, and can lead to humiliation and being ostracized by classmates (even though the command prides themselves on officers wanting to help their struggling classmates). In case you didn’t know, NNPTC has the highest suicide rate of any military training command in the United States. Be ready for minimum of 12 hour days until you qualify CTE, as well as 4+ hours on weekends during your time in Power School and Prototype. Your quality of life will fall significantly during the training process, and for some, the excellent compensation and benefits will not be worth your mental and physical health. Because there is no personal connection between management/instructors and employees, you are allowed no room for error and reserved no sympathy or understanding should you. So if you want to be relegated to a number for the next 12-18 months, this position is for you.