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.
6,470 people do this job in the US. $110,240 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 40%
- 0%
- 60%
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, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 32%. Today's estimate: 36%.
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 . 18 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modify, devise, or maintain nuclear equipment used in operations.Done daily by most who do it. | 23% | 5 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | Stays with people | |
| Monitor nuclear reactor equipment performance to identify operational inefficiencies, hazards, or needs for maintenance or repair.Done daily by most who do it. | 12% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | 87%Half by now | |
| Conduct surveillance testing to determine safety of nuclear equipment.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 10% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Perform testing, maintenance, repair, or upgrading of accelerator systems.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 8% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | Stays with people | |
| Test plant equipment to ensure it is operating properly.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Follow nuclear equipment operational policies and procedures that ensure environmental safety.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | 95%Half by now | |
| Monitor instruments, gauges, or recording devices under direction of nuclear experimenters.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | 95%Half by now | |
| Follow policies and procedures for radiation workers to ensure personnel safety.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 33 min13 min to 1.3 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Determine or recommend radioactive decontamination procedures, according to the size and nature of equipment and the degree of contamination. | 5% | 2.1 h50 min to 5 h | 65%Half by now | |
| Set up equipment that automatically detects area radiation deviations and test detection equipment to ensure its accuracy. | 4% | 1.7 h38 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Identify and implement appropriate decontamination procedures, based on equipment and the size, nature, and type of contamination.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 3% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Communicate with accelerator maintenance personnel to ensure readiness of support systems, such as vacuum, water cooling, or radio frequency power sources.Done daily by most who do it. | 2% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | 98%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).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).