Nuclear Technicians

Also Called:

Licensed Nuclear Operator,

Nuclear Auxiliary Operator,

Nuclear Equipment Operator (NEO),

Operations Technician

What they do: 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.

icon

Manufacturing

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • 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.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.

Attention to Detail

Integrity

Dependability

Stress Tolerance

Adaptability/Flexibility

Analytical Thinking

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

See Related Jobs

Realistic

See Related Jobs

Conventional

See Related Jobs

Investigative

Knowledge

People who want to pursue this career have knowledge in these areas.

Safety and Government

  • Public safety and security

  • Law and government

Engineering and Technology

  • Mechanical

  • Product and service development

Math and Science

  • Physics

  • Chemistry

Education and Training

  • Teaching and course design

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Verbal

  • Listen and understand what people say

  • Read and understand what is written

Ideas and Logic

  • Notice when problems happen

  • Order or arrange things

Visual Understanding

  • Quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things

  • See hidden patterns

Attention

  • Pay attention to something without being distracted

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements

  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions

Problem Solving

  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

People and Technology Systems

  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one

  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it

Work Values

Work values describe how your core beliefs align with those commonly needed for this career.

Support

Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.

Working Conditions

Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.

Relationships

Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research
  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career
2. Plan your next move

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop