Nuclear Engineers
Also called: Engineer, Nuclear Engineer, Nuclear Licensing Engineer, Nuclear Reactor EngineerConduct research on nuclear engineering projects or apply principles and theory of nuclear science to problems concerned with release, control, and use of nuclear energy and nuclear waste disposal.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 14 of its 20 tasks, yet jobs are projected to grow 0.4% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 7.9 hires for every 10 job openings in professional and business services, which employs about 50% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.7.9 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $132,570 | $125,870 to $154,920 | 290 |
| California | $172,400 | $135,400 to $176,390 | 1,070 |
| District of Columbia | $195,190 | $164,050 to $204,940 | 230 |
| Florida | $135,400 | $110,810 to $160,990 | 120 |
| Georgia | $132,440 | $104,870 to $158,130 | 200 |
| Idaho | $133,970 | $107,030 to $136,500 | not published |
| Illinois | $134,510 | $112,260 to $162,440 | 1,040 |
| Maine | $123,780 | $110,410 to $139,240 | 420 |
| Maryland | $157,960 | $127,870 to $190,470 | 180 |
| Massachusetts | $145,760 | $103,790 to $161,620 | 210 |
| Michigan | $129,940 | $103,680 to $156,590 | 330 |
| New Mexico | $164,300 | $134,370 to $199,020 | 500 |
| New York | $141,200 | $137,260 to $162,690 | 150 |
| North Carolina | $131,850 | $123,720 to $161,310 | 460 |
| Ohio | not published | not published | 190 |
| Pennsylvania | $133,250 | $103,680 to $162,100 | 340 |
| South Carolina | $126,570 | $104,730 to $138,250 | 1,440 |
| Tennessee | not published | not published | 720 |
| Texas | $128,340 | $101,980 to $155,830 | 190 |
| Virginia | $128,890 | $98,920 to $164,010 | not published |
| Washington | $129,480 | $109,550 to $153,960 | 1,380 |
Nationally: $133,970. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 14 of its 20 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| AI + software | Monitor nuclear facility operations to identify any design, construction, or operation practices that violate safety regulations and laws or could jeopardize safe operations. | Not published |
| AI + software | Prepare technical reports of findings or recommendations, based on synthesized analyses of test results. | 0.01% |
| AI alone | Prepare environmental impact statements, reports, or presentations for regulatory or other agencies. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Design or develop nuclear equipment, such as reactor cores, radiation shielding, or associated instrumentation or control mechanisms. | Not published |
| Not much | Initiate corrective actions or order plant shutdowns in emergency situations. | Not published |
| AI + software | Develop or contribute to the development of plans to remediate or restore environments affected by nuclear radiation, such as waste disposal sites. | Not published |
See all 20 tasks
| Not much | Direct operating or maintenance activities of nuclear power plants to ensure efficiency and conformity to safety standards. | Not published |
| AI alone | Write operational instructions to be used in nuclear plant operation or nuclear fuel or waste handling and disposal. | Not published |
| Not much | Examine accidents to obtain data for use in design of preventive measures. | Not published |
| AI + software | Direct environmental compliance activities associated with nuclear plant operations or maintenance. | Not published |
| AI + software | Design or oversee construction or operation of nuclear reactors, power plants, or nuclear fuels reprocessing and reclamation systems. | Not published |
| AI alone | Recommend preventive measures to be taken in the handling of nuclear technology, based on data obtained from operations monitoring or from evaluation of test results. | Not published |
| AI + software | Keep abreast of developments and changes in the nuclear field by reading technical journals or by independent study and research. | Not published |
| AI + software | Conduct environmental studies on topics such as nuclear power generation, nuclear waste disposal, or nuclear weapon deployment. | Not published |
| Not much | Consult with other scientists to determine parameters of experimentation or suitability of analytical models. | Not published |
| AI alone | Discuss construction project proposals with interested parties, such as vendors, contractors, or nuclear facility review boards. | Not published |
| Not much | Conduct tests of nuclear fuel behavior and cycles or performance of nuclear machinery and equipment to optimize performance of existing plants. | Not published |
| AI + software | Design fuel cycle models or processes to reduce the quantity of radioactive waste generated from nuclear activities. | Not published |
| AI alone | Design or direct nuclear research projects to develop, test, modify, or discover new uses for theoretical models. | Not published |
| Not much | Perform experiments that will provide information about acceptable methods of nuclear material usage, nuclear fuel reclamation, or waste disposal. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 2 of the 20 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 20 tasks fall under 18 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #4 Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
- #20 Present research or technical information
- #25 Communicate with others about specifications or project details
- and 1 more, in the table below
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research technology designs or applications | |||
| Document technical designs, procedures, or activities | |||
| Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures | |||
| Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise | |||
| Present research or technical information | |||
| Communicate with others about specifications or project details | |||
| Plan work activities | |||
| Analyze performance of systems or equipment |
Show all 18 activities
| Test performance of equipment or systems | |||
| Investigate organizational or operational problems | |||
| Resolve personnel or operational problems | |||
| Coordinate activities with clients, agencies, or organizations | |||
| Monitor operations to ensure compliance with regulations or standards | |||
| Coordinate regulatory compliance activities | |||
| Investigate the environmental impact of industrial or development activities | |||
| Advise others on workplace health or safety issues | |||
| Develop sustainable organizational or business policies or practices | |||
| Design industrial systems or equipment |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- A document or report51%
- An analysis or summary13%
- An explanation or answer12%
- A script or snippet6%
- Code fixes or debugging4%
How they worked with Claude
60% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for nuclear engineers specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 4,958 moves out
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 12%
- 2 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 5%
- 3 Computer Occupations, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 4 Architectural and Engineering Managers High +5.5% 4%
- 5 Engineers, All Other Very high +3.7% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 6,614 moves in
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 9%
- 2 Personal Care Aides 8%
- 3 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Very high -0.9% 4%
- 4 Architectural and Engineering Managers High +5.5% 4%
- 5 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 81% bachelor's
- 19% master's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 21 people answered.
1 program: Nuclear Engineering.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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