Career
Nuclear technicians
Monitor nuclear equipment and radiation.
$110,240
Median pay
+1.1%
Job growth, 2025–35
900
Openings a year
Associate's degree
Typical education
2 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Follow nuclear equipment operational policies and procedures that ensure environmental safety.
- Conduct surveillance testing to determine safety of nuclear equipment.
- Monitor nuclear reactor equipment performance to identify operational inefficiencies, hazards, or needs for maintenance or repair.
- Test plant equipment to ensure it is operating properly.
- Apply safety tags to equipment needing maintenance.
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 objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Follow nuclear equipment operational policies and procedures that ensure environmental safety.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Operations Monitoring, Monitoring, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
2 years of education after high school (associate's degree), for a median of $110,240 a year and 900 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Allied Health ProfessionsSee the degree →
- Nuclear Engineering Technology/TechnicianCIP 15.1401
- Industrial Radiologic Technology/TechnicianCIP 41.0204
- Nuclear/Nuclear Power Technology/TechnicianCIP 41.0205
- Nuclear and Industrial Radiologic Technologies/Technicians, OtherCIP 41.0299
- Radiation Protection/Health Physics TechnicianCIP 51.0916
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Nuclear Power Reactor Operators$122,890 · -5.9%
- Nuclear Monitoring Technicians
- Power Plant Operators$102,040 · -5.1%
- Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators$78,620 · +3.1%
- Hydroelectric Plant Technicians
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.
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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.