Nuclear Engineers
Conduct 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.
- O*NET-SOC code
17-2161.00 - Preparation Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Wages
Median annual wage, U.S.$133,970
Employment, U.S.15,280
Median hourly wage$64.41
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $92,960 | $108,690 | $133,970 | $163,630 | $196,290 |
By state (21)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 290 | $132,570 | 1.41 |
| California | 1,070 | $172,400 | 0.60 |
| District of Columbia | 230 | $195,190 | 3.32 |
| Florida | 120 | $135,400 | 0.12 |
| Georgia | 200 | $132,440 | 0.41 |
| Idaho | $133,970 | ||
| Illinois | 1,040 | $134,510 | 1.74 |
| Maine | 420 | $123,780 | 6.63 |
| Maryland | 180 | $157,960 | 0.67 |
| Massachusetts | 210 | $145,760 | 0.60 |
| Michigan | 330 | $129,940 | 0.76 |
| New Mexico | 500 | $164,300 | 5.88 |
| New York | 150 | $141,200 | 0.16 |
| North Carolina | 460 | $131,850 | 0.94 |
| Ohio | 190 | Not available | 0.36 |
| Pennsylvania | 340 | $133,250 | 0.58 |
| South Carolina | 1,440 | $126,570 | 6.35 |
| Tennessee | 720 | Not available | 2.24 |
| Texas | 190 | $128,340 | 0.14 |
| Virginia | $128,890 | ||
| Washington | 1,380 | $129,480 | 3.97 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chemical Engineers | 4 | 0.973 |
| 2 | Materials Scientists | 4 | 0.970 |
| 3 | Materials Engineers | 4 | 0.969 |
| 4 | Nanosystems Engineers | 5 | 0.967 |
| 5 | Automotive Engineers | 4 | 0.967 |
| 6 | Water Resource Specialists | 4 | 0.967 |
| 7 | Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers | 4 | 0.967 |
| 8 | Mechanical Engineers | 4 | 0.966 |
| 9 | Environmental Engineers | 4 | 0.966 |
| 10 | Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers | 4 | 0.964 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Nuclear Engineers, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automotive Engineers | Technology Design | 1.00 | 0.967 |
| Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers | Management of Material Resources | 1.13 | 0.964 |
| Marine Engineers and Naval Architects | Operation and Control | 0.87 | 0.949 |
| Transportation Engineers | Management of Personnel Resources | 0.88 | 0.946 |
| Logistics Engineers | Management of Financial Resources | 1.37 | 0.937 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Nuclear Engineers, excluding software Nuclear Engineers already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Autodesk AutoCAD | 18 of 20 | 4.9x |
| Dassault Systemes SolidWorks | 10 of 20 | 8.0x |
| PTC Creo Parametric | 9 of 20 | 9.7x |
| National Instruments LabVIEW | 10 of 20 | 7.4x |
| Microsoft Project | 15 of 20 | 3.4x |
| Bentley MicroStation | 8 of 20 | 7.7x |
| Minitab | 9 of 20 | 5.9x |
| Microsoft Visio | 12 of 20 | 3.7x |
| Finite element method FEM software | 5 of 20 | 21.0x |
| Dassault Systemes CATIA | 8 of 20 | 6.2x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 4.12 | 4.88 |
| Science | Essential skill | 4.12 | 4.38 |
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 4.00 | 5.00 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.75 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.38 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.25 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 4.00 | 4.25 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 4.38 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 3.62 | 4.00 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 3.62 | 3.75 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 3.50 | 3.88 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.75 |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.25 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.12 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 2.25 | 2.25 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 1.88 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.12 |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering and Technology | 4.57 | 6.00 |
| Physics | 4.55 | 5.33 |
| Mathematics | 4.40 | 5.71 |
| English Language | 4.05 | 4.75 |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.95 | 4.67 |
| Chemistry | 3.86 | 5.10 |
| Computers and Electronics | 3.67 | 4.90 |
| Design | 3.67 | 4.76 |
| Mechanical | 3.48 | 4.57 |
| Education and Training | 3.40 | 5.00 |
| Administration and Management | 3.33 | 4.14 |
| Law and Government | 3.21 | 3.70 |
| Building and Construction | 3.00 | 4.40 |
| Biology | 2.76 | 3.90 |
| Production and Processing | 2.76 | 3.33 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 2.48 | 2.95 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 2.24 | 2.81 |
| Psychology | 2.19 | 2.52 |
| Economics and Accounting | 2.19 | 2.38 |
| Administrative | 2.14 | 3.71 |
| Communications and Media | 2.10 | 2.24 |
| Telecommunications | 2.05 | 2.00 |
| Transportation | 2.00 | 2.10 |
| Geography | 1.95 | 2.67 |
| Sales and Marketing | 1.81 | 2.19 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 1.71 | 1.62 |
| History and Archeology | 1.57 | 1.57 |
| Foreign Language | 1.52 | 1.10 |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 1.50 | 1.05 |
| Therapy and Counseling | 1.38 | not rated |
| Philosophy and Theology | 1.29 | 0.90 |
| Food Production | 1.19 | not rated |
| Fine Arts | 1.10 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Problem Sensitivity | 4.62 | 4.75 |
| Written Expression | 4.12 | 5.00 |
| Oral Expression | 4.00 | 5.00 |
| Written Comprehension | 4.00 | 5.00 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 4.00 | 4.38 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 4.00 | 4.25 |
| Information Ordering | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Category Flexibility | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Near Vision | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.75 | 5.00 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Number Facility | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Speech Clarity | 3.62 | 3.50 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.50 | 3.62 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.50 | 3.25 |
| Originality | 3.38 | 3.88 |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.25 | 3.50 |
| Selective Attention | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Visualization | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Far Vision | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Time Sharing | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Memorization | 2.62 | 2.75 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Auditory Attention | 2.50 | 2.12 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 2.50 | 2.00 |
| Depth Perception | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 2.00 | 1.75 |
| Control Precision | 1.88 | 1.12 |
| Trunk Strength | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Reaction Time | 1.75 | 0.75 |
| Finger Dexterity | 1.62 | 0.75 |
| Manual Dexterity | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 1.38 | 0.50 |
| Rate Control | 1.12 | not rated |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Dynamic Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
| Explosive Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
| Extent Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Glare Sensitivity | 1.00 | not rated |
| Gross Body Coordination | 1.00 | not rated |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 1.00 | not rated |
| Multilimb Coordination | 1.00 | not rated |
| Night Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Response Orientation | 1.00 | not rated |
| Sound Localization | 1.00 | not rated |
| Spatial Orientation | 1.00 | not rated |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.00 | not rated |
| Stamina | 1.00 | not rated |
| Static Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Microsoft Excel in demand
- Microsoft Office software in demand
- Python in demand
- ANSYS simulation software in demand
- C++ hot
- Linux hot
- Microsoft Access hot
- Microsoft PowerPoint hot
- Microsoft Word hot
- Oracle Java hot
- SAP software hot
- SAS hot
- Salesforce software hot
- The MathWorks MATLAB hot
- UNIX hot
- ANISN dose assessment computer code
- BERMUDA nuclear transport computer codes
- Discrete ordinates DORT dose assessment computer codes
- FOLLOW code
- Formula translation/translator FORTRAN
- Graphics software
- INCORE code
- MCNP dose assessment computer code
- MERCURE dose assessment computer codes
- MORSE-CG dose assessment computer code
- Maplesoft Maple
- Mathematical simulation software
- Mathsoft Mathcad
- Monte Carlo simulation software
- Probabilistic risk assessment PRA software
All 39
- QAD shielding computer code
- Reactor excursion and release analysis program RELAP
- Relational database software
- SCALE ORIGEN-S point depletion and decay code
- Scientech Safety Monitor
- Scientech WinNUPRA
- Software development tools
- TOTE code
- Transient reactor analysis code TRAC
Where it concentrates
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kennewick-Richland, WA | 230 | 18.02 | $156,460 |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 1,260 | 16.75 | $110,510 |
| Portland-South Portland, ME | 370 | 13.03 | $120,430 |
| Knoxville, TN | 240 | 5.74 | $179,660 |
| Richmond, VA | 350 | 5.40 | $140,460 |
| Chattanooga, TN-GA | 100 | 3.91 | $146,850 |
| Syracuse, NY | 110 | 3.72 | $141,200 |
| Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | 150 | 3.56 | $124,690 |
| Columbia, SC | 120 | 3.14 | $128,340 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 840 | 2.71 | $180,360 |