Nuclear engineer
Nuclear engineers design and build technology used in areas like power generation, healthcare and defence.
Typical Salary
£28,000 – £58,000
per year
Working Hours
39–41
hours per week
Day-to-day tasks
As a nuclear engineer, you might:
- design and build new nuclear plants and equipment
- monitor radiation levels
- plan and carry out maintenance work
- help to decommission old power stations
- research ways to dispose of nuclear waste
- design medical equipment that uses nuclear technology
- work on nuclear propulsions systems for ships and submarines
We've identified this as a potential green job
For a nuclear engineer to be a green job, you could:
- build power plants to help reduce greenhouse gasses
- design energy efficient medical scanners and imaging equipment
- work on research into nuclear fusion that has the potential to produce large amounts of cleaner energy
Skills needed
- knowledge of engineering science and technology
- maths knowledge
- knowledge of physics
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- thinking and reasoning skills
- design skills and knowledge
- analytical thinking skills
- excellent verbal communication skills
- to have a thorough understanding of computer systems and applications
How to get into this role
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- an apprenticeship
- a graduate training scheme
Career progression
With skills and experience, you could become:
- an operations engineer, managing a technical team during the building and running of a power plant
- a nuclear inspector, regulating the storage and disposal of radioactive waste
- a nuclear safety engineer, responsible for making sure all on-site safety requirements are met
- a clinical engineer, researching ways to improve nuclear medicine used in the treatment of disease
You could also work as a freelance engineering consultant.