Career Explorer Production
Human edge, steady
Nuclear power reactor operators
Operate or control nuclear reactors. Move control rods, start and stop equipment, monitor and adjust controls, and record data in logs. Implement emergency procedures when needed. May respond to abnormalities, determine cause, and recommend corrective action.
Changing faster than most: more resilient than 35% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by -5.9% by 2035, expected to shrink. The work leans on ethical judgement.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $122,890
- Job growth to 2035
- -5.9%
- Openings a year
- 400
- People doing it (2025)
- 5,200
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then long on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Advise others on business or operational matters
- Diagnose system or equipment problems
- Plan work activities
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Operate energy production or distribution equipment
- Monitor equipment operation
- Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures
What the work looks like
- Operate nuclear power reactors in accordance with policies and procedures to protect workers from radiation and to ensure environmental safety.
- Adjust controls to position rod and to regulate flux level, reactor period, coolant temperature, or rate of power flow, following standard procedures.
- Develop or implement actions such as lockouts, tagouts, or clearances to allow equipment to be safely repaired.
- Direct reactor operators in emergency situations, in accordance with emergency operating procedures.
- Respond to system or unit abnormalities, diagnosing the cause, and recommending or taking corrective action.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as the increasingly widespread implementation of digitization in nuclear power plants make nuclear power reactor operators more productive.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Power distributors and dispatchersHuman edge, steady, Index 38, +1.2%
- Power plant operatorsHuman edge, steady, Index 36, -5.1%
- Stationary engineers and boiler operatorsHuman edge, steady, Index 77, +3.1%
- Transportation inspectorsHuman edge, steady, Index 57, +2.2%
Also known as: Nuclear Control Operator, Nuclear Reactor Operator, Nuclear Station Operator (NSO), Reactor Operator (RO), Licensed Reactor Operator, Nuclear Control Room Operator, Nuclear Plant Operator (NPO), Nuclear Power Reactor Operator.
Is this career on your child's list?
Build a free Career Playbook matched to your child, or get a 90-day Action Plan with dated next steps, written for your child by name.
Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.