Where Can I Find a Nuclear Engineering Internship?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around finding internship opportunities in the field of nuclear engineering, particularly for a junior student at The Pennsylvania State University. The scope includes inquiries about potential companies, recommendations for internships, and insights into the nuclear industry, including work with nuclear submarines and power plants.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • A junior student expresses a desire to find an internship in nuclear engineering, mentioning a GPA of 2.58 and past experience with civil engineering.
  • One participant notes that while there are no commercial nuclear power ships in the US, the Navy operates nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, but internships in designing or working on nuclear power plants require security clearance or Navy enrollment.
  • Another participant, a Navy Nuclear Veteran, asserts that civilian personnel are involved with Navy reactors and references a past contract with Bettis.
  • A suggestion is made to consider internships with utilities like Exelon, FENOC, or Talen Energy, highlighting that large utilities often have substantial internship programs that can lead to job opportunities.
  • A participant shares personal experience, recommending that internships provide valuable in-plant experience and suggesting specific roles and tasks that interns might engage in during outages.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the importance of internships with utilities and the potential for civilian roles in Navy reactors, but there is no consensus on specific companies or pathways, as various suggestions and experiences are shared.

Contextual Notes

Some limitations include the student's GPA, which may affect internship opportunities, and the requirement for security clearance for certain positions in the Navy. Additionally, the discussion does not resolve the best approach for securing an internship.

Derrick
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Hello,
I am a Junior at The Pennsylvania State University majoring in Nuclear Engineering. I currently possesses a 2.58/4.00 GPA (Not really where i wanted to be) and am trying to find an Internship somewhere in the nuclear field. I do have past experience working under civil engineers with the department of transportation.
I have an interest in working with nuclear submarines/ other ships and designing/working in a nuclear power plant. Though I am open to new areas of the field I haven't learned about.

I am asking to see if anyone knows any companies that I may not have applied to for an internship? Or if you have any other recommendations.

Thank you!
 
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Derrick said:
have an interest in working with nuclear submarines/ other ships and designing/working in a nuclear power plant. Though I am open to new areas of the field I haven't learned about.
There are no nuclear power commercial ships in US merchant service, but the US Navy does operate nuclear powered submarines and air craft carriers. However, one would not be able to get an internship designing/working on the nuclear power plant. Such work requires a security clearance or enrollment in the Navy.

Best bet is an internship with a utility, e.g., Exelon, FENOC, or Talen Energy (PPL), or with a fuel supply, Westinghouse in Cranberry Township, PA.
 
Being a Navy Nuclear Vet, I assure you that there are civilian personnel involved with the Navy reactors. Bettis used to have a contract with them back in 2014, I am not sure who currently holds a contract.
 
Derrick said:
Hello,
I am a Junior at The Pennsylvania State University majoring in Nuclear Engineering. I currently possesses a 2.58/4.00 GPA (Not really where i wanted to be) and am trying to find an Internship somewhere in the nuclear field. I do have past experience working under civil engineers with the department of transportation.
I have an interest in working with nuclear submarines/ other ships and designing/working in a nuclear power plant. Though I am open to new areas of the field I haven't learned about.

I am asking to see if anyone knows any companies that I may not have applied to for an internship? Or if you have any other recommendations.

Thank you!
Try looking into an internship with Exelon. Most big utilities have large internship programs that provide great experience and usually lead to job opportunities after you graduate. Look into engineering and RP positions, when I was in RP we regularly had engineering undergrad and masters interns and quality interns almost always had a job offer before even graduating. Once you get unescorted site access and have a few summers/semesters of training and experience you become much more valuable than other recent graduates with little or no industry related experience. Work an outage if you can, we would let our outage interns help take gamma readings on steam generator crossover legs, help with containment walkdowns and other low dose survey/decon work. You'll get a lot of in plant experience to see if it's really for you.
 

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