Website Template for Nuclear Engineers

Job Outlook Employment of nuclear engineers is projected to show little or no change from 2022 to 2032. Despite limited employment growth, about 800 openings for nuclear engineers are projected each year, on average, over the decade.

Work Environment. In general, nuclear engineering is a technically demanding and politically volatile field. Those who work daily at power plants perhaps incur the most stress because they are responsible for preventing large-scale accidents involving radiation.

Employers of Nuclear Engineers Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Sandia National Laboratory. Tennessee Valley Authority. United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. US Army Nuclear Medicine Scientist. US Department of Energy. US Navy. Westinghouse.

The technicians use computers and other equipment to monitor and help operate nuclear reactors. Nuclear technicians also need to measure radiation levels onsite, requiring them to visit several areas in and around the plant throughout the workday.

Highest paying cities for nuclear engineers RankCityAvg. Salary 1 Washington, DC $125,073 2 Germantown, MD $117,142 3 Campbell, CA $114,426 4 Idaho Falls, ID $112,73116 more rows

The normal workweek is 40 hours, but Nuclear Engineers are also required to work whatever days or shifts are necessary to meet production schedules, which means that their workweek can be as much as 50 hours.

The Navy, with its fleet of nuclear-powered ships, is a large employer of nuclear engineers, as is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

What do Nuclear Engineers do? Nuclear engineers typically do the following: Design or develop nuclear equipment, such as reactor cores, radiation shielding, and associated instrumentation. Direct operating or maintenance activities of operational nuclear power plants to ensure that they meet safety standards.

A day in an engineerʼs life will consist of going through design plans, making corrections, coming up with new ideas, working with the engineering team, the design team, and other departments, monitoring the projectʼs progress, testing the quality of a product, and reporting to clients.

Many nuclear engineers spend a lot of their day researching and developing instruments and systems to derive benefits from nuclear energy and radiation. They also develop, design, operate and monitor nuclear plants to generate power. Often, they work on the development of fusion energy or the nuclear fuel cycle.