Nuclear Technicians
Also called: Licensed Nuclear Operator, Nuclear Auxiliary Operator, Nuclear Equipment Operator (NEO), Operations TechnicianAssist 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.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 8 of its 18 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 1.1% 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.”
BLS figures cover the broader occupation “Nuclear technicians”, which includes this one and others.
Recent conditions
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 9.0 hires for every 10 job openings in transportation, warehousing, and utilities, which employs about 59% 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.9.0 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 | $110,240 | $105,880 to $118,110 | 280 |
| California | $99,270 | $94,470 to $112,860 | not published |
| Florida | $135,550 | $111,230 to $135,550 | 60 |
| Illinois | $110,390 | $80,800 to $124,470 | 780 |
| Massachusetts | $113,390 | $83,750 to $113,400 | 50 |
| Missouri | $104,580 | $95,240 to $104,580 | 150 |
| New York | $129,780 | $123,990 to $154,770 | 260 |
| North Carolina | $110,430 | $108,780 to $111,140 | 420 |
| Pennsylvania | $124,070 | $109,310 to $124,380 | 310 |
| South Carolina | $108,490 | $107,560 to $111,560 | 750 |
| Tennessee | $91,980 | $78,850 to $100,860 | 110 |
| Texas | $124,060 | $110,680 to $126,960 | 110 |
| Virginia | $98,930 | $77,010 to $131,540 | 680 |
| Washington | $108,200 | $108,200 to $118,610 | 90 |
Nationally: $110,240. 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 8 of its 18 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| AI + software | Follow nuclear equipment operational policies and procedures that ensure environmental safety. | Not published |
| Not much | Conduct surveillance testing to determine safety of nuclear equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Test plant equipment to ensure it is operating properly. | Not published |
| AI + software | Monitor nuclear reactor equipment performance to identify operational inefficiencies, hazards, or needs for maintenance or repair. | Not published |
| Not much | Apply safety tags to equipment needing maintenance. | Not published |
| AI + software | Follow policies and procedures for radiation workers to ensure personnel safety. | Not published |
See all 18 tasks
| Not much | Modify, devise, or maintain nuclear equipment used in operations. | Not published |
| AI + software | Monitor instruments, gauges, or recording devices under direction of nuclear experimenters. | Not published |
| AI + software | Warn maintenance workers of radiation hazards and direct workers to vacate hazardous areas. | Not published |
| AI + software | Calculate equipment operating factors, such as radiation times, dosages, temperatures, gamma intensities, or pressures, using standard formulas and conversion tables. | Not published |
| AI alone | Identify and implement appropriate decontamination procedures, based on equipment and the size, nature, and type of contamination. | Not published |
| Not much | Communicate with accelerator maintenance personnel to ensure readiness of support systems, such as vacuum, water cooling, or radio frequency power sources. | Not published |
| Not much | Measure the intensity and identify the types of radiation in work areas, equipment, or materials, using radiation detectors or other instruments. | Not published |
| Not much | Perform testing, maintenance, repair, or upgrading of accelerator systems. | Not published |
| Not much | Collect air, water, gas or solid samples for testing to determine radioactivity levels or to ensure appropriate radioactive containment. | Not published |
| Not much | Decontaminate objects by cleaning them using soap or solvents or by abrading using brushes, buffing machines, or sandblasting machines. | Not published |
| AI + software | Determine or recommend radioactive decontamination procedures, according to the size and nature of equipment and the degree of contamination. | Not published |
| Not much | Set up equipment that automatically detects area radiation deviations and test detection equipment to ensure its accuracy. | 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. O*NET hasn't rated 2 of the tasks, so they come last, in O*NET's own order. 0 of the 18 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 18 tasks fall under 14 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.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monitor operations to ensure adequate performance | |||
| Communicate with others about operational plans or activities | |||
| Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment | |||
| Set up equipment | |||
| Test performance of equipment or systems | |||
| Maintain electronic, computer, or other technical equipment | |||
| Identify business or organizational opportunities | |||
| Maintain tools or equipment |
Show all 14 activities
| Clean workpieces, finished products, or other objects | |||
| Inspect facilities or equipment | |||
| Monitor operations to ensure compliance with regulations or standards | |||
| Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment | |||
| Advise others on workplace health or safety issues | |||
| Collect environmental or biological samples |
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 technicians 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 881 moves out
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 10%
- 2 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 6%
- 3 Medical and Health Services Managers High +24.2% 5%
- 4 Assemblers and Fabricators, All Other 5%
- 5 Registered Nurses High +5.6% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 1,192 moves in
- 1 Assemblers and Fabricators, All Other 14%
- 2 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 9%
- 3 Personal Care Aides 5%
- 4 First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers High +4.1% 3%
- 5 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 2%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
5 programs, such as Nuclear Engineering Technology/Technician, Industrial Radiologic Technology/Technician and Nuclear/Nuclear Power Technology/Technician.
See all
- Nuclear Engineering Technology/Technician
- Industrial Radiologic Technology/Technician
- Nuclear/Nuclear Power Technology/Technician
- Nuclear and Industrial Radiologic Technologies/Technicians, Other
- Radiation Protection/Health Physics Technician
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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