Architecture & Engineering
Nuclear Engineers
Also called: Engineer, Nuclear Design Engineer, Nuclear Engineer, Nuclear Licensing Engineer
US median pay
$133,970
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+0.4%
about average or slower
Openings a year (US)
800
16,600 employed
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Preparation 4/5 · Considerable preparation
What this job is
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.
What they do day to day
- 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.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Judgment and Decision Making4.0/5
- Complex Problem Solving4.0/5
- Systems Evaluation3.8/5
- Systems Analysis3.8/5
- Operations Analysis3.8/5
- Operations Monitoring3.6/5
- Coordination3.6/5
- Time Management3.5/5
Knowledge
- Engineering and Technology4.6/5
- Physics4.5/5
- Mathematics4.4/5
- English Language4.0/5
- Public Safety and Security4.0/5
- Chemistry3.9/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 4 of 5 — Considerable preparation. Usually a bachelor's degree and several years of related experience.
Typical entry education (BLS): Bachelor's degree.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Bachelor's degree81%
- Master's degree19%
Who this job suits
Mostly Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.