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.
This is a specialization of
Design EngineersCareer Overview Video
AI Impact Assessment
AI Resilience Score
Score 1/6: high AI task exposure, declining job demand creates significant risk from AI disruption
How we calculated this:
55% of tasks can be accelerated by AI
-1% projected (2024-2034)
EPOCH score: 16/25
Key Responsibilities
- Design or develop nuclear equipment, such as reactor cores, radiation shielding, or associated instrumentation or control mechanisms.
- Monitor nuclear facility operations to identify any design, construction, or operation practices that violate safety regulations and laws or could jeopardize safe operations.
- Initiate corrective actions or order plant shutdowns in emergency situations.
- Examine accidents to obtain data for use in design of preventive measures.
- Direct operating or maintenance activities of nuclear power plants to ensure efficiency and conformity to safety standards.
- Design or oversee construction or operation of nuclear reactors, power plants, or nuclear fuels reprocessing and reclamation systems.
- Direct environmental compliance activities associated with nuclear plant operations or maintenance.
- Write operational instructions to be used in nuclear plant operation or nuclear fuel or waste handling and disposal.
- Prepare technical reports of findings or recommendations, based on synthesized analyses of test results.
- Prepare environmental impact statements, reports, or presentations for regulatory or other agencies.
Education & Training
Typical Entry Education
Bachelor's degree
Time to Job Ready
4-6 years
Based on Job Zone 4. For formal education duration only, see education_duration.
Technology Skills
Key Abilities
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Find jobs and training programs for nuclear engineers- Median salary: $125K/year
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Compensation Details
Based on 12,710 employed workers
Also Known As
Data from O*NET 30.1 and BLS Occupational Employment Statistics
O*NET Code: 17-2161.00