NUCLEAR POWER SCHOOL, ORLANDO FLORIDA

Nuclear power school was a six month intensive traing program where we learned all the theory behind a naval nuclear power plant. The students spend 8 hours a day in lectures, 5 days a week. Since all of the materials are classified, they have to go back to the classrooms in the evening to study and do homework. They must sign in at night, and the instructors keep track of how much time they are putting in. The minumum time anyone has is 15 hours a week. The most I ever saw anyone get was 60 hours (he eventually dropped out).

When I was there, we were told that the amount of material covered was equivalent to a four year degree in nuclear engineering. While the amount of effort may have been close, the material istelf was not. Having gone on to complete a degree in physics, I can say that while the students do cover tremendous amounts of material, much is left out. Anything not directly associated with the power plant is never mentioned. I noticed later that when I took a class in something like nuclear physics, there were portions of the material that I could recite from memory. There were other parts though that I had never heard of before.