Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. ATI is a Washington State–licensed private vocational school based in Richland, Washington, offering nuclear-sector training designed to prepare students for DOE Core Qualification and related site-access credentials. Founded by Dr. Paul Nims, CSP, CHST, ATI also draws on the expertise of experienced instructors from the Hanford, nuclear, and technical workforce to deliver practical, career-focused training.

ATI holds its instructors to a higher standard. We do not hire underqualified faculty. Our instructors are expected to have substantial industry experience and advanced academic credentials. Many hold terminal degrees or graduate-level qualifications, and others are approved only through a rigorous qualification process based on exceptional expertise and experience in the field.

ATI also partners with Columbia Southern University (CSU) to provide transferable credit pathways for eligible students. For more information about our credentials, state licensure, and instructor qualifications, please visit our About page, where you can view the full legitimacy trail.

Our instructors are industry veterans with decades of combined experience in radiological work, radiation safety, industrial hygiene, nuclear operations, and related technical fields.

As a licensed trade school awarding academic credentials, we hold our faculty to a higher standard than typical training providers. Faculty titles and teaching roles are based on a combination of education, professional credentials, field experience, and subject-matter expertise.

To be considered for the title of Professor, an instructor must hold a terminal degree, such as a doctoral degree. Instructor-level faculty are generally required to hold at least a master’s or graduate-level degree in a relevant field.

In select cases, highly qualified professionals may be approved as instructors based on a combination of formal education, extensive field experience, and recognized professional credentials. This may include, but is not limited to:

• Former Navy Nuclear personnel
• Certified Safety Professionals
• Certified Industrial Hygienists
• Certified Health Physicists

National Registry Radiation Protection Technologists may also serve as assistant instructors, and may be considered for instructor-level roles when combined with advanced education and significant professional experience.

Additional instructors may rotate in based on subject-matter expertise, ensuring students learn from qualified professionals with direct experience in the topics they teach. Full biographies, credentials, and LinkedIn profiles for each instructor are available on our Faculty page.

Dr. Paul Nims is a doctoral-level practitioner (IH), a board-certified Certified Safety Professional (CSP), a Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST), a professor, in addition to numerous other qualifications. He began his career as a Radiological Control Technician at the former EnergyX training school nearly 20 years ago. Dr. Nims brings extensive academic, professional, and instructional credentials to ATI. He has taught related safety material for many years. His Faculty page includes his full bio, degrees, certifications, memberships, and courses taught.

Depending on the ATI program or worker training pathway you choose, you can earn DOE qualifications, OSHA 10- or 30-hour Construction or General Industry cards, HAZWOPER 24- or 40-hour certifications, respiratory protection training, and site-specific orientation prerequisites. Each program page clearly lists the credentials included in that pathway.

Our programs may also be eligible for college credit, and the certificates you earn are portable across employers, subject to employer and site-specific requirements.

ATI has an agreement with CSU that allows qualifying coursework to transfer for college credit. The agreement is designed for students who want to stack their vocational credential onto a bachelor's or applied-science degree without restarting. Contact admissions for the current credit equivalency table and transfer process.

We work with eligible veterans, WorkSource Benton-Franklin, WIOA programs, and other workforce development funding sources. Funding availability varies by program and enrollment period. Our Admissions Office can confirm which options apply to the program you are considering and help coordinate paperwork with your case manager.

At this time, eligible individuals in WorkSource worker training programs, including those who are unemployed or dislocated workers, may qualify for full grant funding for training costs. In some cases, participation may also allow for an extension of unemployment benefits. Contact us to learn more.

Similar funding opportunities may also be available through TC Futures, WorkSource’s sister program for young adults ages 16–24. Reach out to see what options may be available for you.

Payment plans, split monthly with no interest, are available through our billing office. We also accept employer sponsorship, WIOA, GI Bill, and external scholarship payments. Full pricing and payment-plan details are on the Tuition page.

ATI's campus is at 1835 Terminal Drive, Suite 130, Richland, WA 99354. We are minutes from the Hanford site, Columbia Basin College, and Tri-Cities airport. Classrooms are purpose-built for radworker practical exercises.

Most graduates pursue Radiological Control Technician, decommissioning-support, environmental-sampling, and safety roles with Hanford prime contractors (Washington River Protection Solutions, Central Plateau Cleanup Company, Hanford Mission Integration Solutions) or with subcontractors and staffing firms serving those primes. Others go on to small-modular-reactor companies, medical isotope manufacturers, Energy Northwest, and out-of-region sites when they want to travel. The Partners and Alumni pages have specific placement examples.

The main difference is who each organization is designed to serve.

HAMMER primarily trains individuals who are already employed by DOE site contractors. Its role is largely internal to the DOE contractor system: helping contractors keep their existing workforce trained, qualified, and compliant with site and employer requirements.

Atomic Technical Institute serves a different purpose. ATI is a licensed trade school and independent vocational school that is open to students, career changers, outside workers, and individuals who want to enter the nuclear and technical workforce. Our programs are designed to prepare people for employment, industry certifications, contractor hiring pipelines, and qualification exams without requiring them to already have an employer slot.

ATI is not intended to replace HAMMER or interfere with contractor-required training. ATI exists to expand access to workforce education and provide an additional pathway for individuals who may not yet be inside the Hanford or broader DOE contractor system.

In some cases, ATI’s work may naturally overlap with training areas that other organizations also support. That is normal in workforce education and industry training. ATI’s purpose is not to compete in bad faith, but to help meet workforce demand, support students, and provide another legitimate education and training option for workers, contractors, and industry partners.

ATI can also serve as an additional training resource for DOE site contractors (i.e,PNNL, Idaho National Laboratory, Hanford, LANL, Savannah River), building trades, WTP-related workforce needs, and commercial nuclear or technical organizations. In situations where initial training, retraining demand, workforce growth, scheduling limitations, or other operational needs exceed available capacity, ATI can help provide an additional education and training option.

Both ATI and HAMMER share the same DOE NTC reciprocity level, which means training is recognized across DOE sites under the applicable reciprocity system. The difference is in access, purpose, and student population. HAMMER mainly helps current contractor employees stay qualified. ATI helps new and outside workers become prepared, certified, and ready to pursue employment in the field.

ATI also offers opportunities that are different from HAMMER’s role, including university college-credit options, hands-on training, industry certifications, and a pathway that may help students enter the field faster and often at a lower cost than other area programs.

In short, HAMMER supports the existing DOE contractor workforce. ATI helps build the next generation of that workforce. ATI is a school, not a replacement for HAMMER. Our mission is to provide education, certifications, and career preparation for people who want a real pathway into the nuclear and technical industries, while also giving industry partners another responsible option for developing a qualified workforce.

Yes. We hold regular open houses where prospective students and families meet every instructor in person, tour the facility, and see the training equipment. Upcoming open-house dates are on our Events page. You can also book a private tour by contacting admissions.

ATI operates under Washington State’s private vocational school refund rules. Partial tuition refunds may be available within the published withdrawal periods, and the exact refund schedule is outlined in your enrollment agreement.

We would rather have that conversation up front than enroll you in a program that is not the right fit. We encourage prospective students to schedule a tour or speak with Admissions before committing. In many cases, if one program is not the best match, we will work with you to identify another option that better fits your goals and background.

On purpose. Radworker training is hands-on and safety-critical; small cohorts mean every student gets meaningful practical-exercise reps with an instructor present. When we scale, we scale by adding cohorts and rotating instructors rather than by oversizing any single classroom. Every staff member is introduced on our Faculty page so you can see exactly who will be teaching before you enroll.