Nuclear Engineers
Conduct research on nuclear engineering projects or apply principles and theory of nuclear science to problems concerned with release, control, and use of nuclear energy and nuclear waste disposal.
- Median pay
- $133,970
- Doing it now
- 16,600
- By 2035
- Up 0.4%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
a year
across the country
800 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Examine accidents to obtain data for use in design of preventive measures.
- Monitor nuclear facility operations to identify any design, construction, or operation practices that violate safety regulations and laws or could jeopardize safe operations.
- Keep abreast of developments and changes in the nuclear field by reading technical journals or by independent study and research.
- Perform experiments that will provide information about acceptable methods of nuclear material usage, nuclear fuel reclamation, or waste disposal.
- Design or oversee construction or operation of nuclear reactors, power plants, or nuclear fuels reprocessing and reclamation systems.
- Design or develop nuclear equipment, such as reactor cores, radiation shielding, or associated instrumentation or control mechanisms.
- Initiate corrective actions or order plant shutdowns in emergency situations.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Nuclear EngineeringSee 23 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Analytical and curious
Hands-on and practical
Organised and precise
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $133,970 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.