Nuclear Engineer
Quick Facts
Median Salary$125,940
Most Common EducationBachelor's degree
Projected 10-Year Growth+12.98%
Assessment MatchTake the Assessment
What They Do
A Nuclear Engineer researches and develops technology and systems that use nuclear energy and radiation. Maintains the safety of existing nuclear power systems, or develops nuclear power sources, or develops industrial and medical uses for radioactive material.
Core Tasks:
- 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 environmental impact statements, reports, or presentations for regulatory or other agencies.
- Prepare technical reports of findings or recommendations, based on synthesized analyses of test results.
- Develop or contribute to the development of plans to remediate or restore environments affected by nuclear radiation, such as waste disposal sites.
- Conduct tests of nuclear fuel behavior and cycles or performance of nuclear machinery and equipment to optimize performance of existing plants.
- Design fuel cycle models or processes to reduce the quantity of radioactive waste generated from nuclear activities.
- Recommend preventive measures to be taken in the handling of nuclear technology, based on data obtained from operations monitoring or from evaluation of test results.
- Consult with other scientists to determine parameters of experimentation or suitability of analytical models.
- Discuss construction project proposals with interested parties, such as vendors, contractors, or nuclear facility review boards.
- Perform experiments that will provide information about acceptable methods of nuclear material usage, nuclear fuel reclamation, or waste disposal.
- Conduct environmental studies on topics such as nuclear power generation, nuclear waste disposal, or nuclear weapon deployment.
- Design or direct nuclear research projects to develop, test, modify, or discover new uses for theoretical models.
- Keep abreast of developments and changes in the nuclear field by reading technical journals or by independent study and research.
What to expect as a Nuclear Engineer
1Earn a Bachelor's degree
79% of people achieve this level of education.
2Gain skills and experience
See Nuclear Engineer related courses on Tallo
3Land a job
962 openings for Nuclear Engineers
Career Progression
in United States (Nation)
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