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.
5,150 people do this job in the US. $122,890 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 13%
- 4%
- 83%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 8%. Today's estimate: 9%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 19 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monitor or operate boilers, turbines, wells, or auxiliary power plant equipment.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 20% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Operate nuclear power reactors in accordance with policies and procedures to protect workers from radiation and to ensure environmental safety.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 20% | 6.7 h3.3 h to 1.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Monitor all systems for normal running conditions, performing activities such as checking gauges to assess output or the effects of generator loading on other equipment.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 14% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Implement operational procedures, such as those controlling start-up or shut-down activities.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 8% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Respond to system or unit abnormalities, diagnosing the cause, and recommending or taking corrective action.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 1.7 h25 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Develop or implement actions such as lockouts, tagouts, or clearances to allow equipment to be safely repaired.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Review and edit standard operating procedures.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 h50 min to 1 work day | 28%Half by Feb 2027 | |
| Supervise technicians' work activities to ensure that equipment is operated in accordance with policies and procedures that protect workers from radiation and ensure environmental safety.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Direct measurement of the intensity or types of radiation in work areas, equipment, or materials.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Record operating data, such as the results of surveillance tests.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Conduct inspections or operations outside of control rooms as necessary.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Dispatch orders or instructions to personnel through radiotelephone or intercommunication systems to coordinate auxiliary equipment operation.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 2% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | 99%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).