---

Nuclear Technicians: Career Overview

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.

What Tasks Do Nuclear Technicians Perform?

Typical responsibilities of nuclear technicians cover:

• 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.
• Follow policies and procedures for radiation workers to ensure personnel safety.
• Modify, devise, or maintain nuclear equipment used in operations.

What Nuclear Technicians Need to Know

Top nuclear technicians combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Most Important Skills

The competencies most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Knowledge Areas

Other Nuclear Technicians Job Titles

Common job titles for this role include:

• Accelerator Operator
• Accelerator Technician
• Auxiliary Operator
• Cell Support Operator
• Electric Systems Operator
• Energy Systems Operator
• Equipment Operation Instructor
• Equipment Operator

How Many Nuclear Technicians Are There?

There are roughly 74,812 nuclear technicians working in the United States today. Employment is projected to grow by +11.8% over the projection horizon.

Salary for Nuclear Technicians

Statistic	Value
Annual median	$92,140
Hourly median	$44.30
10th percentile	$54,753
25th percentile	$73,446
75th percentile	$110,833
90th percentile	$129,527

Pay can vary substantially based on experience, location, and industry.

Pay by State

State	Annual median salary
New York	$121,460
Florida	$118,340
Alabama	$107,680
Virginia	$106,270
New Mexico	$105,350
South Carolina	$105,300
Pennsylvania	$104,650
Michigan	$104,450
North Carolina	$104,240
Illinois	$102,810
Washington	$100,080
Texas	$97,160
Missouri	$96,930
Tennessee	$94,620

Pay by U.S. Region

Pay for nuclear technicians shift depending on where you work. These regions lead on median pay:

Region	Median annual wage	Share of U.S. jobs	Location quotient
Middle Atlantic	$110,993	13.9%	1.07
Southeast	$105,462	47.5%	4.72
Great Lakes	$103,064	27.0%	3.28
Far Western US	$100,080	2.4%	0.66
Southwest	$97,160	4.5%	0.32
Plains States	$96,930	4.7%	1.60

Where the Jobs Cluster

Metro area	State	Median annual wage	Employment
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	PA	$117,630	120
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC	VA	$108,690	90
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	NY	$108,670	30
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC	GA	$103,120	240
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	IL	$78,780	480

Industry Breakdown

The bulk of nuclear technicians are found across these industries:

Industry	Employment	Median annual wage
Utilities	3,740	$105,300
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	1,010	$83,330
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	520	$92,120
Manufacturing	330	$86,800
Health Care and Social Assistance	130	$83,190
Management of Companies and Enterprises	50	$108,740
Educational Services	40	$62,980

The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.

Tools and Technology

• Operating system software: Linux (hot technology)
• Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access (hot technology)
• Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
• Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
• Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
• Operating system software: Microsoft Windows (hot technology)
• Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
• Data base user interface and query software: Structured query language SQL (hot technology)

The Day-to-Day Environment

The work environment for nuclear technicians is shaped by the following characteristics:

• Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
• Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
• Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets
• Telephone Conversations

Getting Started in This Career

This occupation sits in Medium Preparation Needed (Job Zone 3), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.

Related Careers

Similar Occupations

• Geothermal Production Managers (Supplemental)
• Biomass Power Plant Managers (Supplemental)
• Chemical Engineers (Supplemental)
• Nuclear Engineers (Supplemental)
• Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians (Primary-Long)
• Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians (Supplemental)
• Calibration Technologists and Technicians (Primary-Long)
• Nuclear Monitoring Technicians (Primary-Short)

Where to Study

Aspiring nuclear technicians typically earn programs in:

Health Professions and Related Programs

1 programs across 1 majors

• Allied Health Professions

Sources

Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
• BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
• O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 19-4051.00 (Nuclear Technicians).