Occupational Employment Statistics

DETAILED OCCUPATION DATA

17-2161 Nuclear Engineers

Occupational Description:
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.

Occupational Employment Statistics(OES) Wage Data
First Quarter 2025

Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Percentiles
Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Mean	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th
Minnesota	190	34	$72.09/hr	$56.90/hr	$61.81/hr	$73.27/hr	$76.83/hr	$99.44/hr

Leading Industries for Nuclear Engineers

Industry	OES Employment (Statewide)	OES Median Wage (Statewide)
Trade, Transportation and Utilities	N/A	N/A
Public Administration	N/A	N/A

Other Regional Data for Nuclear Engineers

Geography	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change -10-
Central Minnesota	N/A	N/A	N/A
Southeast Minnesota	N/A	N/A	N/A
Seven County Mpls-St Paul, MN	N/A	N/A	N/A
Southeast Balance of State	N/A	N/A	N/A
Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington MN-WI MSA	150	$73.27/hr	N/A
Minnesota	190	$73.27/hr	N/A

Related Occupations

Occupations	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2022-2032
Chemical Engineers	180	$55.62/hr	8.5%
Materials Scientists	360	$55.62/hr	8.2%
Materials Engineers	180	$51.90/hr	5.5%
Mechanical Engineers	5,970	$48.27/hr	13.7%
Environmental Engineers	980	$51.19/hr	5.0%
Marine Engineers and Naval Architects	10	$49.31/hr	N/A
Electrical Engineers	3,430	$51.28/hr	4.9%
Aerospace Engineers	140	$72.14/hr	10.9%
Petroleum Engineers	60	$62.70/hr	10.1%
Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors	290	$55.32/hr	5.3%

Task for Nuclear Engineers

Direct operating or maintenance activities of operational nuclear power plants to ensure efficiency and conformity to safety standards.
Monitor nuclear facility operations to identify any design, construction, or operation practices that violate safety regulations and laws or that could jeopardize the safety of operations.
Keep abreast of developments and changes in the nuclear field by reading technical journals or by independent study and research.
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.
Direct environmental compliance activities associated with nuclear plant operations or maintenance.
Design or direct nuclear research projects to test or modify theoretical models, develop new theoretical models, or discover new uses for current models.
Design or oversee construction or operation of nuclear reactors or power plants or nuclear fuels reprocessing and reclamation systems.
Monitor nuclear facility operations to identify any design, construction, or operation practices that violate safety regulations and laws or that could jeopardize the safety of operations.
Monitor nuclear facility operations to identify any design, construction, or operation practices that violate safety regulations and laws or that could jeopardize the safety of operations.
Perform experiments that will provide information about acceptable methods of nuclear material usage, nuclear fuel reclamation, or waste disposal.