Which national lab should you work at? Part 1: ORNL vs. LANL vs. SNL

[@deanforrest2078]

Thank you so much for this overview! As a nuclear eng. student at UT, I was so happy to find that you made an insightful video on those three labs. Also, go Vols!

[@ericnelius9062]

I'm glad you liked it! Go vols!

[@lidarman2]

Good on you getting a gig at SNL. Nice Colorado cap and UNM shirt. I am From ABQ, Went to UNM and worked at Los Alamos and now in Boulder CO at CU doing research. Ya, stay away from Zuni and Louisiana in ABQ. I loved Los Alamos though. Loved the skiing and the mountain biking. Met my wife there.

[@studiojiggly8112]

Needed to see this vid! I’m currently an undergrad who wants to go into graduate school currently interviewing with/receiving offers from these places and other labs for internships. They all seem pretty cool and the decision paralysis is real.

[@michaelbrandon8679]

I like your video. You did a great summary of the labs.

[@ericnelius9062]

Thank you so much! I'll be making another one covering all the DOE labs on the western side of the US pretty soon!

[@slimegoo27]

I’m a machinist in Albuquerque, I would love to get hired by SNL. I’ve tried three times, even had an interview. I’ll keep trying, though.

[@jamespotter2607]

Having lived in Los Alamos for nearly 60 years, I got a kick out of your comment about "socially inept" people. First, what do you expect in a town that's more than 50% real nerds? There are a lot of activities here considering a population of ~18,000. There's a Light Opera group, Little Theater, an Orchestra, lots of ham radio activity, super active Boy Scout troops. The schools have a good reputation. It's actually about the same as the schools I went to in East Peoria, IL. There more than 50% of the tax base was Caterpillar. (Not true these days.) The teachers got paid more, so it attracted the better teachers. One thing about the Los Alamos schools, if your child is a genius, they won't be the only one in the class. Science Fair competition is fierce. Many go on to the National Science Fair. It is a long way from any big cities. I do love Santa Fe and the whole NM culture, cuisine, history, and the people. Santa Fe has more restaurants per capita than any place I've ever visited. The not-so-good ones don't survive long. A PhD is useful. I came here in 1964 with a BS in physics from the University of Illnois. I soon discovered that the PhDs had all the fun, although I fell in with a great group of people who weren't hung up about your degree. I later discovered that wasn't the norm. I did go back to graduate school and got a PhD in physics. I worked at LANL just shy of 20 years before I turned entrepreneur. I didn't get rich, but I'm still having fun at age 81. I never left Los Alamos, I commuted to the Bay Area and to the DFW area. If you love the big city or the seashore, Los Alamos is probably not for you. But if you love the out-of-doors, it's great. At age 50, I got to realize a dream that was unobtainable in my youth. I went to Philmont Scout Ranch for 2 weeks of wilderness camping. Philmont rates their treks on a scale of 1 to 24. The Los Alamos scouts usually go to level 25, which means all you do is hike, eat, and sleep. We did 80 miles in 10 days. Part of our trek was into new territory that had recently been added. Whatever your choice, good luck and best wishes.

[@Speak4Yourself2]

Thanks a lot! Very well explained.

[@ericnelius9062]

You're welcome! I hope you have a great career!

[@HeisenbergRico]

I’m a mechanical engineer looking for a job by Los Alamos n this helped me so much.

[@ericnelius9062]

I'm glad it helped!

[@cryowolf4751]

Just got a offer from Lanl but need to find out If Santa fe or los alamos for a place of living?

[@ericnelius9062]

If you don't mind the commute, I'd say live in Santa Fe. If you have a family, I'd say live in Los Alamos. Either way, congratulations on the job offer!

[@jamespotter2607]

Congratulations! I came as an adventure in 1964, and I'm still here. Now, two of my grandchildren are engineers at the Lab.

[@justanormaldude1]

My wife and I both received offers at LANL and we're researching places to live. We've been mainly looking at Santa Fe, like most people suggest. We're curious about Espanola, can you speak more about that? Everyone says Espanola is rough but what exactly does that mean? What can someone living in Espanola expect? How rough is it compared to ABQ or parts of Santa Fe?

[@ericnelius9062]

First of all, congratulations to both of y'all on the job offers! Remember that everything is negotiable, and I'd recommend asking for more money before/if you decide to accept. Second of all, I've never lived in Española, so take my advice with a grain of salt. 1) Española had an opiate problem in the 90s--a whole decade and a half before it caught on in Appalachia and inner cities, so that damaged the town's reputation. As someone who now lives in ABQ, I'll tell you: the drug usage is just as bad here (in specific areas) as it is in Española, or East Knoxville, or any small town/rural area in East Tennessee/Kentucky/West Virginia. 2) Median household income is lower, which means cheaper housing, but it also means reduced/no amenities that wealthier towns have to offer (like music stores, ski shops, art galleries, ice skating rinks, public pools, wider varieties of grocery stores and restaurants, etc.) 3) Living in Española (or Los Alamos) means longer drives/bus rides to the airport (but shorter drives to Colorado and New Mexico ski hills). If you need to travel by air, the Santa Fe airport has direct flights to Denver, Phoenix, and DFW. You have a few more options out of ABQ (www.abqsunport.com/wherewefly/), but it is a 2-hour drive to get here. If y'all do decide to come out here and want a free tour guide of Santa Fe for a day, or if you just want to talk before you make the leap, add me on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/eric-nelius-3bb427a5/), and I'll give you my contact info there.

[@wisenber]

That has to be tough having people not vote the way that you would like them all to vote. Strangely enough, ten minutes west or north of the city limits, people are educated as much or more than in the city limits and they still don't vote the way you wish they would. Many of them work in Oak Ridge. Maybe it's not an education issue? Regarding the commute from downtown Knoxville to Oak Ridge, one could choose to live in West Knox or Oak Ridge and have a 5 or 15 minute commute. In Oak Ridge you can even ride your bike to work in 15 minutes. With that option, downtown Knoxville can be reached in 15-20 minutes by car when rush hour isn't happening. That being said, most of the people living in West Knox and Oak Ridge tend to enjoy the parks and amenities in their area and might only go downtown a couple of times a month if that.

[@saucerset12]

I have an interview with LANL next week. Having only a BS in Physics among a room full of PhD's, does that mean that I will be the equivalent of a coffee getter? 🤪

[@argarcia281]

The NIMBY bit around Santa Fe is surely real (common among people who vote like Santa Feans do) but a ton of building has in fact occurred in the last year or so. The problem is that each household requires an average of 1/3 acre-ft of water supply... and from where does that come? NM is a unique challenge f'sho.

[@ericnelius9062]

I drove through Santa Fe a couple of weeks back... I was impressed by the number of apartment complexes going up. Regarding what we do about water availability: I don't have a good solution (I wish I did). I've heard of folks proposing a pipeline from the Mississippi river out west, but I have no idea how much it would cost. But then again, in the next couple of decades, water will come to replace crude oil as the most contested resource.

[@maplemanz]

None I'm too stupid they wouldn't hire me to take out the trash.

[@dp-mason]

I was expecting the technical interview for Los Alamos to be really hard, but it seriously wasn't. If my advice means anything, work on personal projects and start exploring lots of different topics in whatever field you are going into. Be ready to talk about these projects and show enthusiasm for learning.

[@jamespotter2607]

The Lab used to be Physicists and Technicians plus support people. Now there are more engineers. I got hired with a BS in Physics in 1964 because I worked my way through undergraduate school as an electronics technician and because of my hobbies.