Career
Nuclear engineers
Work with nuclear energy and radiation, safely.
$133,970
Median pay
+0.4%
Job growth, 2025–35
800
Openings a year
Bachelor's degree
Typical education
4 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- 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.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on ideas & analysis, then objects & tools?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Design or develop nuclear equipment, such as reactor cores, radiation shielding, or associated instrumentation or control mechanisms.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Critical Thinking, Science, Reading Comprehension, Writing.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $133,970 a year and 800 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Nuclear EngineeringCIP 14.2301
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Nuclear Power Reactor Operators$122,890 · -5.9%
- Nuclear Technicians$110,240 · +1.1%
- Nuclear Monitoring Technicians
- Chemical Engineers$125,040 · +4.7%
- Geothermal Production Managers
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
Not sure this fits who you are? Start with Vocational Finder →
Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.