Nuclear Technicians

Overview

Nuclear Technicians has a national median salary of $110,240 per year, with +1.1% projected job growth from 2025–2035. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists an associate's degree as the typical education needed to enter this occupation.

Description

Assist nuclear physicists, nuclear engineers, or other scientists in laboratory, power generation, or electricity production activities. May operate, maintain, or provide quality control for nuclear testing and research equipment. May monitor radiation.

Work Values

• Support
• Working Conditions
• Relationships

Work Styles

Responsibilities

Tasks

• 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.

Work Activities

• Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
• Documenting/Recording Information
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Getting Information
• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
• Controlling Machines and Processes
• Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
• Processing Information

Detailed Work Activities

• Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
• Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
• Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
• Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
• Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.

T-A-S-K

Technology, Abilities, Skills & Knowledge

Education

Education Levels of Current Workers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists an associate's degree as the typical education needed to enter this occupation. The chart below shows the highest level of education held by people already working in this field, ages 25 and older. It includes workers who earned more education than the job requires and workers who entered the field under earlier requirements, so the largest bar is not the entry requirement. For example, if someone finished a bachelor's degree and then started working in this field, they are counted under “Bachelor's degree” here, but the job itself typically asks for an associate's degree.

Certificates

Certifications applicable to Nuclear Technicians:

Video Resources