Job Outlook for Class of 2012 

Students who declare nuclear engineering majors in 2010 have bright prospects

College students thinking about careers in nuclear engineering in the middle of their sophomore year, in the dead of winter 2010, have good reason to wonder about their future. The U.S. economy is struggling to emerge from the worst recession since the great depression of the 1930s. The real unemployment rate is close to 20%, and the palliative platitudes of politicians are not always confidence builders. The question is whether finishing college by getting a degree in nuclear engineering makes any sense?

Even worse, environmental groups routinely pitchfork the industry touting the benefits of wind and solar "renewable energy" sources as the near-term answer to global warming. Even natural gas guys have gotten into the act. California, its three-decade ban on new nuclear plants firmly intact, now gets 55% of its electricity from natural gas and just 17% from four nuclear reactors.

What are the real opportunities in the nuclear energy field for a college graduate with a degree in nuclear engineering? The answer is the opportunities are really good in the U.S., and excellent if you are willing to travel to the U.K., France, India, China, Korea, and the United Arab Emirates. Here's a breakdown of where to look in the spring of 2012 as you contemplate how to turn that sheepskin into cold hard cash.

Also, for your generation, which experts say want more from a job than just a living, and who want to make a difference in the world, slowing the growth of greenhouse gases by building carbon emission free nuclear power stations is a worthy profession.

Note to university faculty at nuclear engineering programs. This blog post contains questions for “extra credit.” How many of your students have the awareness of the global nuclear industry to answer these questions?

United States

First of all, there are 104 operating reactors in the U.S. and they are facing a huge challenge in the coming years as the current generation of nuclear engineers retire.  These engineers, who went to college in the 60s and 70s, are nearing the end of their careers.  Nuclear utilities are pedal to the metal to replace them as they retire.

Second, nine utilities have ordered large, long-lead time nuclear components for new reactors that will break ground by 2012-2014. Four of these utilities have signed engineering procurement contracts which shows how serious that are to build these new plants. The sites are: Vogtle, V.C. Summer, South Texas Project, and Progress (Levy County).

Third, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will finish the Watts Bar plant by 2012 on time and within budget. It will build at least one reactor at the Bellefonte site. While it is considering restarting work on one of two moth-balled units, the betting odds are that it will opt to build a new Westinghouse 1,150 MW AP1000.  TVA is also committed to technical innovation with plans to deploy small reactors and use MOX fuel in LWRs.

Fourth, in the near-term the Federal government will award $18.5 billion in loan guarantees for up to four new nuclear plants. One of the sites that is on the short list is Constellation Energy's Calvert Cliffs III project which will involve the first of a fleet of Areva 1,650 MW EPR reactors.  
[Extra credit – name the other three.]

Further out in terms of opportunities, graduates should look at Florida Power & Light's Turkey Point project (two AP1000s), Dominion’s North Anna, and Luminant's Comanche Peak expansion with two massive Mitsubishi 1,700 MW APWRs. 

Nuclear engineers graduating in 2012 who go back to school for a masters’ degree in engineering, or an MBA, can look forward to job opportunities in the middle of the next decade with Detroit Edison’s FERMI III and two projects planned by Duke Energy – William Lee and a still unnamed reactor project in Piketon, Ohio.

[Extra credit – look up the status of the license applications for these plants at the NRC’s website.]

While you are at the NRC’s web site, check out the fact that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission was rated as one of the best places to work in the federal government in 2007 and again in 2009. If you want to take on technical challenges that affect the entire nuclear industry, the NRC has them by the bucket full. Not only does the agency license new reactors, it also licenses the designs.  A unique challenge the agency is facing is how to conduct safety reviews of small reactors some of which are not light water designs.

U.K.

The current government in the U.K. has just in the past few months committed to building new nuclear reactors at 11 sites. The nation's natural gas supplies in the North Sea are starting to wind down and new coal plants are not an option. All of the plants will be built as commercial enterprises. A variety of consortiums are now forming plans to build the projects. They involve a combination of American and European firms. The first projects could break ground in three-to-four years and enter revenue service by 2017.

[Extra credit – identify the companies and the consortiums proposing to build the new reactors as well as the sites they are proposing to build them on.]

France

French state-owned nuclear giant, with 75,000 employees world-wide, has announced plans to hire 15,000 new workers to support its global expansion. That expansion includes new nuclear plants now under construction in Finland, two in France, and two more each in India and China.

There’s competition for these jobs. High school students from Idaho Falls, ID, who won’t enter college for another six-to-eighteen months, have already gone to France to check out what Areva is doing there at the George Besse II uranium enrichment plant.

Women who think nuclear engineering is a man’s job should note that the CEO of Areva is Anne Lauvergeon (right). She graduated from the French National School of Mining Engineer (Ecole des Mines) and the French “Ecole Normale Supérieure”, and holds a degree in Physics. She started her professional career in 1983 in the iron and steel industry.  She became the CEO of Areva in June 1999.

[Extra credit - If you took French in high school, now is a good time to brush up on it.]

India

Since getting clearance from the Nuclear Suppliers Group to buy fuel for its civilian reactors on the world market, India has announced plans to significantly increase electricity generation from light water reactors. In the short space of less of less than two years, India has inked deals with Russia and France for a total of six reactors.

In terms of U.S. participation in that market, GE-Hitachi is in discussions with several of India's largest manufacturing and engineering firms to establish a global nuclear components export business there. Separately, these Indian firms are planning to build a plant to manufacture the 400 ton large forgings that will been needed for India to increase its nuclear reactor fleet to 20 GWe by 2030.

[Extra credit – track the progress of American firms to close deals with their Indian counterparts.]

China

China is the world leader in commitments to build new nuclear reactors with plans to achieve power generation of 70 GWe over the next two-to-three decades. U.S. firms have a solid position in this market. Westinghouse is building four of the reactors with significant engineering and construction expertise being supplied by The Shaw Group. Areva will build two more reactors, a spent fuel reprocessing plant, add to China's uranium enrichment capabilities, and supply fuel for reactors for decades.

[Extra credit – locate on a map all of China’s current civilian nuclear reactors, the planned sites, who will build them, and when. Keep track of China’s announcements about nuclear energy and the participation of American firms in these projects.]

South Korea / United Arab Emirates

South Korea has emerged as a world leader in on time, within budget construction of new nuclear reactors. What's more, they just inked a $20 billion deal with the United Arab Emirates to build four 1,400 MW reactors.

It is the largest export deal in South Korea's history and they won it in a three-way competition with Areva and GE-Htiachi. South Korea is also building new reactors on the domestic front. Westinghouse is part of the winning bid in the UAE and will add jobs at its Pittsburgh, PA, facilities.

[Extra credit – understand the reasons, in terms of nonproliferation issues, why the U.S. government is supporting the UAE’s drive for nuclear energy in the Middle East.  Identify the three primary industrial uses of nuclear energy in the UAE. Hints – the answers have to do with water, aluminum, and cement.]

Nuclear Supply Chain

If building reactors doesn't provide enough opportunities, consider that three firms are rebuilding the U.S. manufacturing supply chain for reactor components. These firms include a $300 million facility being built by Westinghouse/Shaw near Batron Rouge, LA, a similar sized project by Areva/Northrop Grumman at Newport News, VA, and upgrades to manufacturing sites in Ohio and Virginia by Babcock & Wilcox.

Nuclear Fuel Cycle

With all these new reactors under construction, where is the nuclear fuel going to come from?  The answer is that there are four uranium enrichment projects under development in the U.S.   All of these plants will supply enriched uranium to the U.S. reactor fleet and for export. 

Louisiana Energy Services is spooling up the first centrifuges at its $2 billion Eunice, NM, plant this month.  In 2011 Areva will break ground for a similar facility in Idaho.  Further out,  in 2012 GE-Hitachi has plans for a uranium enrichment plant in North Carolina.   USEC may yet fix its technology and financial problems and build a new enrichment facility in Ohio. 

Hey, why aren't there links in this blog post?

OK, if you want a job with any of these firms, you have to research the opportunities and present your knowledge of them when you interview for a job.

Do the homework now.  The Internet awaits your inquiries.  Set up Google News Alerts to keep track of the firms that interest you. Join the American Nuclear Society. Attend section meetings and talk to industry veterans about the job market.

My point is that just because you are in a hot industry, with job skills that are in demand, don't think for a moment that anyone will take you seriously unless you do the same with prospective employers.

When you think you know who is doing work that matches your interests, talk to your university professors about them and look for summer internships. There is nothing like an informed decision and hands-on experience to help you decide how to map out a career path. It's all out there waiting for you. So, what are you waiting for?

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