Private or Government Labs: Which Path is Best for Nuclear Engineering Careers?

[jw01]

I'm currently attending U of I and majoring in Nuclear engineering, following in my fathers foot steps, and here i arrive at the problem my father is a nuclear engineer like i have said above and works at a nuclear power plant, and seeing what he goes through working at a power plant I'm sure that is not for me. So i have been looking into maybe working in a private or government lab. So i was wondering what degree would be the best do achieve this job, if there are any well know private or government labs out there, and what would be the difference between working at a private lab verses a government lab?

 

[mathman]

What is the I in U of I? I am sure there is more than one university with its first initial I. Private labs would be those of reactor manufacturers. Jobs for Ph. D. are usually more satisfying than those with less education.

 

[jw01]

U of I or UIUC is University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and what would i actually be doing with a Ph.D. verses a MA?

 

[mathman]

I couldn't tell you specifically, but in general, Ph. D. work is at a higher technical level and pays more.

 

[jw01]

Do you know the difference in pay between an MA and a Ph.D? I know a nuclear engineer makes around 60-70k a year with a BA, so I was just wondering how significantly the pay would increase with a higher level degree...