CAREER
Nuclear Engineers
Overview
Salary Median (2020)
$116,140
Projected Job Growth (2019-2029)
-12.6% (decline)
Most Common Level of Education
Bachelor's degree
Career
Roadtrip Nation Leaders in This Career
What Nuclear Engineers Do
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.
Other Job Titles Nuclear Engineers May Have
Engineer, Nuclear Design Engineer, Nuclear Engineer, Nuclear Licensing Engineer, Nuclear Process Engineer, Nuclear Reactor Engineer, Radiological Engineer, System Engineer
Tasks & Responsibilities May Include
- Initiate corrective actions or order plant shutdowns in emergency situations.
- Monitor nuclear facility operations to identify any design, construction, or operation practices that violate safety regulations and laws or that could jeopardize the safety of operations.
- Design or develop nuclear equipment, such as reactor cores, radiation shielding, or associated instrumentation or control mechanisms.
- Examine accidents to obtain data that can be used to design preventive measures.
- Direct operating or maintenance activities of operational nuclear power plants to ensure efficiency and conformity to safety standards.
Education
Level of Education Attained by Nuclear Engineers
Most common level of education among people in
this career: Bachelor's degree (50%)
Bachelor's degree
Master's degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Other*
*All other responses combined for clarity.
Majors Related to Career
This page includes information from theO*NET 26.1 Databaseby the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under theCC BY 4.0license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
