New to this mindset

[czellingsworth]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and way of thinking after reading two of MJ DeMarco's books. I self-taught particle physics/nuclear engineering and entered the world of nuclear power at the age of 19 where I've enslaved myself through every role inside a nuclear power plant with what I called "golden handcuffs."

At 19 and debt free with what I used to consider an impressive income (especially without formal education) and boundless opportunities for self-enslavement (overtime), I probably could've escaped the rat-race via a very early slowlane process had I eschewed my exuberance for beautiful women and being their fool.

Now at 37 and in the midst of obtaining my reactor operator license at the pinnacle of nuclear power, three things happened. A) the stress of earning the government reactor license has consumed my soul; B) another beautiful woman used me and threw me away because I work too much and am shackled; C) I met a new woman who has vastly different ideas about finances/futures than anyone I've met. Because of this I was able to trust her very quickly. She has done better with a much smaller income and a much harder life and refuses my support. Go ahead and throw in massive inflation with a pay-cut of around 50,000/year until I finish class (thanks corporate).

We can call this entire year my FTE, but the real hitter was meeting a woman who I desire and there is a connection, but I feel great shame in my current position because I've mismanaged all my gifts. She set me on this path to passive income and financial freedom and lit a new fire in me. I tend to research very thoroughly before I begin any endeavor, and many forums on reddit recommended, "The Millionaire Fastlane ," which quickly consumed my mind and altered my thought process.

Since then I began learning coding and UE5 to expand my toolkit (wow its daunting). I've been searching for paths to set myself upon. I do have minor publications in genre fiction (I met George Martin before he sold out and nearly enticed him to read my manuscript.) Unfortunately, many of the skills I currently possess have very little value outside of a nuclear power plant. Unless of course I want to market improvements to power utility giants.

I think I've settled on the website design/marketing course listed on the Gold topics of this forum as a place to begin.

In the meantime, I uninstalled every last time-sink I had (video games), and have re-wired my brain to enjoy these new challenges with my free time.

If anyone has any advice, pointers, direction, or wants to take me under their wing, I work at a level closer to machine than human (neuro-divergent with an Adderall prescription) and my therapist loves to tell me that my boundless loyalty is my biggest curse.

My profile: Clint
Hobbies: weight-lifting/bodybuilding, snowboarding, video games, genre fiction, reading/writing.
Skills: type 150 wpm, writing (tech or genre), PC hardware (this is all plug and play now), chemistry, thermodynamics, particle physics, dosimetry, radiation detection, anything nuclear power, confined space rescue, firefighter/first responder, industrial hygiene.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Welcome aboard Clint, great to have ya.

 

[Niptuck MD]

Dude nuclear is always gonna be here. F*ck all that green this green that bullshit. Your skills are direly needed now thst the usa is certifiably in a spindling shitshow in regards to energy...

focus on your reactor license and figure out maybe if there are any problems in plants in your knowledge that need revampment or servicing whethrr it be something to help powerplant personnel or process development for better fluidity /efficiency
Had a bunch of great buds at oconee nuclear facility in SC and there is always something that can be tweaked for optimal effectivity in that sector.
As a former firefighter as well, there are maybe some oppos in hazmat that you could solve as time = everything for spills etc and if there was a better product or device maybe that could help hazmat teams that could be a game changer as well

 

[czellingsworth]

Dude nuclear is always gonna be here. F*ck all that green this green that bullshit. Your skills are direly needed now thst the usa is certifiably in a spindling shitshow in regards to energy...

focus on your reactor license and figure out maybe if there are any problems in plants in your knowledge that need revampment or servicing whethrr it be something to help powerplant personnel or process development for better fluidity /efficiency
Had a bunch of great buds at oconee nuclear facility in SC and there is always something that can be tweaked for optimal effectivity in that sector.
As a former firefighter as well, there are maybe some oppos in hazmat that you could solve as time = everything for spills etc and if there was a better product or device maybe that could help hazmat teams that could be a game changer as well

The problem with the power sector is that the government has their hands in it, and they directly manipulate what is profitable. There is a vast amount of regulation (some necessary) and red-tape in nuclear that keeps it from being as profitable as it should be. This isn't going away any time soon as public perception of nuclear isn't great. It isn't fair because nuclear is the safest industry in power gen by a wide margin, but outside of educating about nuclear in schools which is long-term (not happening and no interest), that perception isn't going anywhere.

Additionally, the government allows fracking for natural gas (no other country does), but will not allow fracking for uranium fuel. The funny thing is that its exactly the same process, except we'd collect the uranium rather than pushing it into the ground water and clean things up. But yet again the government won't allow it to cut fuel costs while keeping natural gas profitable. For this reason alone, we run on a lot more natural gas than other countries and haven't scaled nuclear power up like everyone else. The nuclear industry is in this country is in the worst shape its ever been. It also doesn't help that Westinghouse was sold and we are insanely behind in anything nuclear power production. The new reactor production we do have at Vogle has been a complete disaster and I'm not sure why.

Solar and wind are not profitable at all on their own. The government props companies that produce this sort of power up with subsidies. They aren't scalable forms of power, and the technology simply isn't there. You can't run a grid on solar or wind, their capacity factors are very low. Most people that encourage these forms of power don't know numbers or they'd realize. Most people don't understand that we have zero power storage. Everything on the grid is used. So on a still, dark, winter day, if you tried to run on solar or wind, you'd have to shut cities/heat/hospitals down. There is one battery being built that holds 400 mW, but to put that in perspective, our plant alone generates 2400 mW every hour. I'm not even touching that the carbon footprint on solar/wind is massive but is excluded because some men in a room determined the initial cost to create the power production holds no weight. Not very fair considering the life expectancy of wind/solar power is quite low.

The problem with a reactor license is that to obtain one is about 10 hours of work a day for 3 years. it's a way of life. It is all-consuming. I will not show up to the simulator to perform unless I've eaten very specific foods and had enough rest because the difference in my performance is remarkable. I must exercise and sweat daily to keep things running smooth. Yes it is a valuable thing to have and can open plenty of other slowlane doors. Because I'm a year from complete and it has greatly increased my intellect and problem-solving, I will finish it. It's also an accomplishment many don't hold.

As far as anything in nuclear power that costs money, if it isn't directly related to production or cutting costs they simply have no interest. I have a couple ideas about ways to specifically implement virtual reality for training in my field that I think would be insanely valuable and reduce costs/increase performance, but I lack the know-how in development. I've begun learning but it will take years. While I could easily market it and sell a prototype to the powers that would say yes and have millions in capital to play with, unless I learn VR or AR development I can't construct a prototype. I have reached out to programmers but received little interest.

Finally, my time during this process is finite. In a year or two things will settle out. As it is I record audio logs in notes to listen to while I drive, our tests are 4+ hours long and people fail out regularly with massive bonuses on the line. I even study flash cards at the gym. I'm no longer a spring chicken, but during the hurricane I was recently at work for around 40 hours before going home.

If you'd have asked me months ago whether i was secure, I'd have said yes. I was on a path. I would now call it the ultimate slowlane commitment to dying without breaking out, currently.

My goal is to go into business for myself and break out of the chains I adorned myself with since I was 19.

As far as Hazmat is concerned, the truth is that in nuclear power, we almost never spill, have fires, or have accidents. We have the safest culture in the world. The systems are already in place and effective and won't be changed any time soon. Additionally, to alter systems requires extremely expensive engineering change evaluations which require government approval. The industry is special and unique in these ways.

I could say that I have a vast degree of specialization in particle physics, radiation detection/measuring, and have my finger on the pulse for ways to improve that aspect. But again radiation protection is a support group and they slow production if anything so money is tighter which is why I left. The instruments they buy are necessary but are purchased infrequently. There is money to be made there, but breaking through the government regulations and agencies to be able to test/calibrate/sell those said instruments while gaining the trust of power utilities would be an immense hurdle I wouldn't know how to even start looking at. Perhaps I'm being too much of a defeatist. If I could talk to Elon, I could probably pitch myself as valuable as someone who knows all sides of radiation/nuclear with a wide spread of background in all things related, but thats about as likely as George Martin editing one of my stories (RIP Gardner Dozois he did it much better.)

 

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