Occupation salary profile

Nuclear Engineers

SOC 17-2161 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

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.

National median · BLS
$133,970
▲ +5.06% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$115,658
▼ -4.8% YoY · 70 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$140,420
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
15,280
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Nuclear Engineers

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 70 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$92,960$78,540
25th$108,690$93,608
Median (50th)$133,970$115,658
75th$163,630$138,576
90th — top pay$196,290$158,616
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $115,658 for Nuclear Engineers — 13.7% below the BLS national median of $133,970.

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Nuclear Engineers

BLS projects employment of nuclear engineers to grow 0.4% from 2025 to 2035, slower than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 800 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
16,600 → 16,600
+100 jobs
Projected change
+0.4%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
800
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
No related experience required
Self-employed
5.7% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 4)
Considerable Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a bachelor's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $115,658
Change vs prior year -4.8%
After inflation (CPI-U) -7.69%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 23 32.9% $76,800 $99,237 $109,054
Level II 17 24.3% $94,486 $114,712 $138,768
Level III 11 15.7% $105,595 $126,464 $135,816
Level IV 17 24.3% $131,796 $146,160 $168,000
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Nuclear Engineers

The 1 most-filed job titles inside SOC 17-2161, from 70 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.

Job title LCAs Share P25 Median P75 YoY
Nuclear Engineer 13 18.57% $119,508 $126,372 $135,000 +5.31%

Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Nuclear Engineers

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Critical Thinking4.1
  • Science4.1
  • Active Listening4.0
  • Complex Problem Solving4.0
  • Judgment and Decision Making4.0
  • Mathematics4.0
  • Monitoring4.0
  • Reading Comprehension4.0
  • Writing4.0
  • Active Learning3.9
Top knowledge areas
  • Engineering and Technology4.6
  • Physics4.5
  • Mathematics4.4
  • English Language4.0
  • Public Safety and Security4.0
  • Chemistry3.9
  • Computers and Electronics3.7
  • Design3.7
Software and technology used
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwarePythonANSYS simulation softwareC++LinuxMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordOracle JavaSalesforce softwareSAP softwareSASThe MathWorks MATLABUNIXANISN dose assessment computer codeBERMUDA nuclear transport computer codesDiscrete ordinates DORT dose assessment computer codes

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What nuclear engineers do

  • Design or develop nuclear equipment, such as reactor cores, radiation shielding, or associated instrumentation or control mechanisms.
  • Monitor nuclear facility operations to identify any design, construction, or operation practices that violate safety regulations and laws or could jeopardize safe operations.
  • Initiate corrective actions or order plant shutdowns in emergency situations.
  • Examine accidents to obtain data for use in design of preventive measures.
  • Direct operating or maintenance activities of nuclear power plants to ensure efficiency and conformity to safety standards.
  • Design or oversee construction or operation of nuclear reactors, power plants, or nuclear fuels reprocessing and reclamation systems.
  • Direct environmental compliance activities associated with nuclear plant operations or maintenance.
  • Write operational instructions to be used in nuclear plant operation or nuclear fuel or waste handling and disposal.
Also called
EngineerNuclear EngineerNuclear Licensing EngineerNuclear Reactor EngineerNuclear Design EngineerNuclear Process EngineerNuclear Safety EngineerNuclear Steam Supply System Engineer (NSSS Engineer)Radiological EngineerReactor Engineer
More job titles for this occupation (35)
Atomic Process EngineerCore Measures AbstractorEngineering OfficerInstrumentation and Controls EngineerNuclear Criticality Safety EngineerNuclear ElectricianNuclear Equipment Design EngineerNuclear Equipment Research EngineerNuclear Equipment Test EngineerNuclear Fuels Reclamation EngineerNuclear Fuels Research EngineerNuclear MechanicNuclear OfficerNuclear Plant Technical AdvisorNuclear Power Plant EngineerNuclear Project Manager (Nuclear PM)Nuclear Radiation EngineerNuclear Test Reactor Program CoordinatorNuclear Waste Management EngineerRadiation EngineerRadiation OfficerRadiation Protection EngineerRadioactive Materials Waste Management EngineerRadiological Defense OfficerReactor Projects EngineerRegulatory Compliance CoordinatorRegulatory CoordinatorSafety EngineerSteam Technical AdvisorStructural EngineerSurvivability EngineerSystem EngineerSystem Safety EngineerWeapons DesignerWeapons Engineer

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.