Becoming a Nuclear Engineer

The following article outlines the job duties, training involved, salary expectations and future prospects of taking on a career as a Nuclear Engineer.

Preview:

Nuclear engineers are concerned with the safe generation of nuclear power. This includes the design, development, and operation of nuclear reactors for power stations, submarines, and other applications. Nuclear engineers also design and operate plant for the reprocessing of nuclear materials.

The Job:

Nuclear engineers have one thing that sets them apart from all other types of engineers - the failure of their designs and operational plant could have catastrophic consequences for life, not just within the plant, or the plant's immediate vicinity, but for thousands of miles around. The effects of the failure of a nuclear plant, as seen in Chernobyl, in Ukraine, are not only evident in the immediate area of a plant, but are carried on the winds and appear as nuclear fall-out around the globe.

Nuclear engineers work at nuclear power stations, and for the manufacturers of power station equipment, on every aspect of nuclear reactors and fuel reprocessing plants. In terms of design, they are concerned with the core of a nuclear reactor, the means of increasing and decreasing the output of energy the generation and dissipation of heat, and the physical properties of the materials that must with stand the rapid fluctuations of pressure and temperature.

Design of every aspect of a nuclear environment must always be fail safe, and all parts must be designed to last for a known, often lengthy, period of time. Nuclear engineers employed by the operators of a nuclear plant work on overall designs, leaving the precise details to those working for plant and equipment manufacturers to work through.

Nuclear engineers also design equipment for inserting new radioactive fuel rods and the removal of radioactive waste.

These engineers are also responsible for operating the plant at its optimum output, and for on-going maintenance. Much of the operation is by remote control-handling items in the plant from safe areas outside. Waiting for breakdowns to occur is not an option. This poses difficulties because people cannot enter much of the reactor area and problems have to be diagnosed by remote sensing. Sometimes, this includes the use of cameras and robots.

These engineers also run plants that takes spent fuel from nuclear reactors and processes it to make it safe or for reuse.

They also produce nuclear fuel by concentrating material, such as uranium, which is of lower activity than can be used in the nuclear reaction process.

Their concern is not merely confined to the reactor, however, but it also covers any area that is likely to be irradiated and may therefore, allow radioactive material to escape into the environment.

A number of nuclear engineers have been employed by governments to design and manufacture nuclear warheads.

Opportunities for travel are few except when there is a need to confer with nuclear engineers from other countries on the latest advances in their field.

Training Involved:

Trainees usually gain experience in several different departments to build up their personal expertise. The areas that are covered include risk assessment, health and safety design, process development, the installation and extraction of parts of the plant, inspection and maintenance techniques, and plant operation.

Initial training usually takes 2 years. In some countries, study for degree courses maybe integrated with periods of work experience. At least a further 2 years must be spent in a responsible position before full professional status is granted.

Training does not end there - it carries on throughout their careers, providing them with the latest updates on new technology and its application.

Salary Expectations:

The base salary range of a Nuclear Engineer ranges from $42,383 to $64,106 annually, while the median salary for most Nuclear Engineers is $73,521 annually. (US Base Pay)

Future Prospects:

Nuclear power, which came to prominence in the 1960's, is considered in many countries to be environmentally risky. Some countries rely heavily on nuclear reactors for the production of electricity; others have none at all. Most have a mixture of sources of power, including some nuclear power stations. Since the Chernobyl disaster, questions are constantly asked about what would happen if a nuclear plant failed completely.

The transport of nuclear material and the safe disposal or storage of nuclear waste also raises important questions. Consequently; nuclear power has not been a growth area and is unlikely to be so in the future. There are, however, nuclear reactors around the world that must be operated safely and efficiently, providing continued employment for nuclear engineers well into the next century. Eventually the decommissioning of old nuclear plants will become an important activity in which nuclear engineers will inevitably become involved.

For further information, contact national professional bodies representing nuclear or chemical engineers. Also contact those trade associations that represent the industry as a whole.