Best degree programs for Nuclear Technicians, ranked by enrollment
5 college programs and 32 schools train Nuclear Technicians. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $110,240 median wage, 6,470 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
5 college programs at 32 schools train nuclear technicians, graduating 526 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Nuclear Engineering Technology/Technician. The job pays a median of $110,240 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About nuclear technicians
Assist 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.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
5 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nuclear Engineering Technology/Technicianmain feeder CIP 15.1401 | 189 | 35.9% | 12 | $87,818 | $8,729 |
| 2 | Industrial Radiologic Technology/Technicianmain feeder CIP 41.0204 | 182 | 34.6% | 8 | $42,232 | $9,812 |
| 3 | Nuclear/Nuclear Power Technology/Technicianmain feeder CIP 41.0205 | 78 | 14.8% | 8 | $42,232 | $9,812 |
| 4 | CIP 51.0916 | 62 | 11.8% | 5 | $53,520 | $20,250 |
| 5 | CIP 41.0299 | 15 | 2.9% | 1 | $42,232 | $9,812 |
Top 32 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What nuclear technicians earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Yorkmoderate | $129,780 | 260 | 0.66× | 3 | 112 |
| Washingtonlimited | $108,200 | 90 | 0.61× | 1 | 26 |
| Texaslimited | $124,060 | 110 | 0.20× | 1 | 20 |
| South Carolinalimited | $108,490 | 750 | 7.79× | 1 | 14 |
| North Carolinalimited | $110,430 | 420 | 2.03× | 2 | 9 |
| Missourilimited | $104,580 | 150 | 1.25× | 1 | 8 |
| Virginialimited | $98,930 | 680 | 3.96× | 1 | 4 |
| Illinoislimited | $110,390 | 780 | 3.08× | 1 | 2 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Follow nuclear equipment operational policies and procedures that ensure environmental safety.
- Conduct surveillance testing to determine safety of nuclear equipment.
- Monitor nuclear reactor equipment performance to identify operational inefficiencies, hazards, or needs for maintenance or repair.
- Test plant equipment to ensure it is operating properly.
- Apply safety tags to equipment needing maintenance.
- Follow policies and procedures for radiation workers to ensure personnel safety.
- Modify, devise, or maintain nuclear equipment used in operations.
- Determine or recommend radioactive decontamination procedures, according to the size and nature of equipment and the degree of contamination.
Skills
- Monitoring3.8
- Active Listening3.8
- Critical Thinking3.8
- Reading Comprehension3.7
- Speaking3.4
- Active Learning3.2
- Writing3.2
- Learning Strategies3.0
Knowledge areas
- Public Safety and Security3.7
- Physics3.6
- Mechanical3.4
- Chemistry3.3
- Mathematics3.3
- English Language3.3
Abilities
- Problem Sensitivity4.1
- Oral Comprehension3.9
- Written Comprehension3.9
- Information Ordering3.8
- Oral Expression3.8
- Inductive Reasoning3.8
Core activities
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings4.5
- Documenting/Recording Information4.5
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.3
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events4.3
- Getting Information4.3
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards4.2
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Nuclear Technician
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- Associate's degree
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 5 majors mapped to Nuclear Technicians5 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 15.1401Nuclear Engineering Technology/Technician
- 41.0204Industrial Radiologic Technology/Technician
- 41.0205Nuclear/Nuclear Power Technology/Technician
- 41.0299Nuclear and Industrial Radiologic Technologies/Technicians, Other
- 51.0916Radiation Protection/Health Physics Technician
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Nuclear Technician?+
Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Nuclear Engineering Technology/Technician, which awarded 189 degrees in 2024-25, 35.9% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Nuclear Technician?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Nuclear and Industrial Radiologic Technologies/Technicians, Nuclear Engineering Technology/Technician, Allied Health Diagnostic. Together they graduate about 526 people a year.
How much do nuclear technicians earn?+
The median is $110,240 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $73,150 at the 10th percentile to $133,600 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for nuclear technicians growing?+
BLS projects a -7.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
32 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do nuclear technicians work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Operations Technician, Radiochemical Technician, Licensed Nuclear Operator, Nuclear Auxiliary Operator, Nuclear Equipment Operator (NEO), Health Physics Technician (HP Tech) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-4051.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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