# 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.

- **SOC code:** 19-4051.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-4051-00
- **Also known as:** Licensed Nuclear Operator, Nuclear Auxiliary Operator, Nuclear Equipment Operator (NEO), Operations Technician, Auxiliary Operator, Equipment Operator, Non-Licensed Nuclear Equipment Operator (NLO), Non-Licensed Nuclear Plant Operator (NLO)
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- 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.
- Test plant equipment to ensure it is operating properly.
- Apply safety tags to equipment needing maintenance.
- Follow policies and procedures for radiation workers to ensure personnel safety.
- Monitor instruments, gauges, or recording devices under direction of nuclear experimenters.
- Modify, devise, or maintain nuclear equipment used in operations.
- Perform testing, maintenance, repair, or upgrading of accelerator systems.
- Warn maintenance workers of radiation hazards and direct workers to vacate hazardous areas.
- Calculate equipment operating factors, such as radiation times, dosages, temperatures, gamma intensities, or pressures, using standard formulas and conversion tables.
- Measure the intensity and identify the types of radiation in work areas, equipment, or materials, using radiation detectors or other instruments.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Public Safety and Security _(knowledge)_
- Mechanical _(knowledge)_
- Physics _(knowledge)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Operations Monitoring _(transferable_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_
- Information Ordering _(ability)_
- Monitoring _(essential_skill)_
- Engineering and Technology _(knowledge)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Physics _(Specialized Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Chemistry _(Specialized Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Active Learning _(Common Skill)_
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Linux _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Access _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Windows _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Structured query language SQL _(hot technology)_
- Data logging software
- Database software
- Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software
- VMware

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 41st percentile (Moderate) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 53rd percentile (Moderate) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 26th percentile (Low) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 51st percentile (Moderate) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 71st percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** -7.7% growth (Declining); 0.7k annual openings; 6k → 5.5k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $104,240; 5,990 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-4051-00_