Also called: Senior Reactor Operator, Licensed Reactor Operator
Controls a nuclear reactor from a control room, keeping it running safely to power whole cities.
You sit at a wall of gauges and controls on 12-hour shifts, adjusting reactor power, running tests, and practicing emergencies in a full-size simulator. It's high responsibility and very high pay without a college degree.
Recent BLS median about $120k-$123k.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 3 years after high school. High school diploma plus years of plant training and a Nuclear Regulatory Commission license; many come from the Navy nuclear program.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Military, Certification, 2-year college. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Nuclear Technology (2-year), Navy Nuclear Power Program.
Shrinking (about -15% over 10 years). Projection reflects plant closures and automation; new reactor projects could change this.
Low risk for 10 years. Plants add digital controls, but NRC-licensed operators must run reactors; pay is high, openings tied to plant count.
Classes: Physics, Algebra II, Chemistry.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-8011.
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.