Career Details :: Nuclear Engineers
Description
Conduct research on nuclear engineering problems or apply principles and theory of nuclear science to problems concerned with release, control, and utilization of nuclear energy and nuclear waste disposal.
Experience
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Education
A bachelor's degree is the minimum formal education required for these occupations. However, many also require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Training
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Tasks
- Determines potential hazard and accident conditions that may exist in fuel handling and storage and recommends preventive measures.
- Performs experiments to determine acceptable methods of nuclear material usage, nuclear fuel reclamation, and waste disposal.
- Formulates equations that describe phenomena occurring during fission of nuclear fuels and develops analytical models for research.
- Examines accidents and obtains data to formulate preventive measures.
- Synthesizes analyses of tests results and prepares technical reports of findings and recommendations.
- Monitors nuclear operations to identify potential or inherent design, construction, or operational problems to ensure safe operations.
- Designs and oversees construction and operation of nuclear fuels reprocessing systems and reclamation systems.
- Formulates and initiates corrective actions and orders plant shut down in emergency situations.
- Computes cost estimates of construction projects, prepares project proposals, and discusses projects with vendors, contractors, and nuclear facility's review board.
- Directs operating and maintenance activities of operational nuclear facility.
- Writes operational instructions relative to nuclear plant operation and nuclear fuel and waste handling and disposal.
- Maintains reports to summarize work and document plant operations.
- Designs and develops nuclear machinery and equipment, such as reactor cores, radiation shielding, and associated instrumentation and control mechanisms.
- Inspects nuclear fuels, waste, equipment, test-reactor vessel and related systems, and control instrumentation to identify potential problems or hazards.
- Evaluates research findings to develop new concepts of thermonuclear analysis and new uses of radioactive models.
- Conducts tests to research nuclear fuel behavior and nuclear machinery and equipment performance.
- Plans and designs nuclear research to discover facts or to test, prove, or modify known nuclear theories.
- Analyzes available data and consults with other scientists to determine parameters of experimentation and suitability of analytical models.
Related Careers
- Aerospace Engineers
- Civil Engineers
- Electrical Engineering Technicians
- Engineering Managers
- Industrial Safety and Health Engineers
- Marine Architects
- Mechanical Engineers
- Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers
- Petroleum Engineers
- Physicists
Important Abilities
- Mathematical Reasoning
- Deductive Reasoning
- Written Expression
- Oral Comprehension
- Written Comprehension
General Work Activities
- Getting Information Needed to Do the Job
- Analyzing Data or Information
- Processing Information
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems
Important Skills
Frequent Work Context
- Consequence of Error
- Responsible for Others' Health & Safety
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
- Importance of Being Sure All Is Done
- Job-Required Social Interaction
Related Majors
| Major | Add to XapPack |
|---|---|
| Civil Engineering |  [ add ] |
| Civil Engineering/Building Science | [ add ] |
| Civil Engineering/Construction Engineering | [ add ] |
| Civil Engineering/Environmental Engineering | [ add ] |
| Civil Engineering/Structural Engineering | [ add ] |
| Civil Engineering/Water Resources | [ add ] |
| Civil/Environmental Engineering | [ add ] |
| Nuclear Engineering | [ add ] |
| Nuclear Engineering/Science | [ add ] |
| Nuclear Science/Engineering | [ add ] |
| Physics/Civil Engineering | [ add ] |
| Pre-respiratory Therapy | [ add ] |
Institutions Offering Related Majors
No institutions found.