Also called: Reactor Engineer, Nuclear Systems Engineer
Designs, runs and improves nuclear reactors and other systems that use radiation, from power plants to submarines to medical isotopes.
At a power plant, you start the day reviewing reactor data with the operations team. You analyze whether a pump replacement could affect safety margins, then walk down the equipment in a hard hat and radiation badge before writing up your analysis.
BLS May 2024 median $127,520; percentiles approximate.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in nuclear engineering (or mechanical/chemical with nuclear focus); master's common.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Nuclear Engineering, Mechanical Engineering.
Shrinking (about -1% over 10 years). BLS 2024-34 projection; renewed interest in nuclear power and small reactors could change this.
Low risk for 10 years. AI speeds simulations and paperwork, but strict NRC rules, plant work and new reactor builds keep human engineers in demand.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus, Computer science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2161.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.