What does a Nuclear Technician do?

Assist nuclear physicists, nuclear engineers, or other scientists in laboratory, power generation, or electricity production activities. Day to day that includes work like follow nuclear equipment operational policies and procedures that ensure environmental safety and Conduct surveillance testing to determine safety of nuclear equipment.

What skills should a Nuclear Technician put on a resume?

O*NET rates Operations Monitoring, Monitoring, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, and Reading Comprehension among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Nuclear Technician list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Data logging software, Database software, Linux, Microsoft Access, and Microsoft Excel. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Nuclear Technician work?

O*NET records 37 titles for this occupation, including Licensed Nuclear Operator, Nuclear Auxiliary Operator, Nuclear Equipment Operator, and NEO. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Nuclear Technician role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Nuclear Technician resume example

A resume for a Nuclear Technician needs to show the work itself: assist nuclear physicists, nuclear engineers, or other scientists in laboratory, power generation, or electricity production activities. Day to day that means work like this: follow nuclear equipment operational policies and procedures that ensure environmental safety; conduct surveillance testing to determine safety of nuclear equipment. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

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
Nuclear Plant Equipment Operator
NAPEO
Systems Operator
Accelerator Operator
Accelerator Technician
Cell Support Operator
Electric Systems Operator
Energy Systems Operator

O*NET records 37 titles for this occupation in total.

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

Non-Licensed Nuclear Equipment Operator (NLO)
Non-Licensed Nuclear Plant Operator (NLO)
Nuclear Equipment Operator (NEO)
Nuclear Plant Equipment Operator (NAPEO)

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

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.
Modify, devise, or maintain nuclear equipment used in operations.
Monitor instruments, gauges, or recording devices under direction of nuclear experimenters.
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.

18 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Follow nuclear equipment operational policies and procedures that ensure environmental safety, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Conduct surveillance testing to determine safety of nuclear equipment, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Monitor nuclear reactor equipment performance to identify operational inefficiencies, hazards, or needs for maintenance or repair, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Test plant equipment to ensure it is operating properly, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Data logging software
Database software
Linux
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft operating system
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Word
Spreadsheet software
Structured query language SQL
Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software
VMware

16 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Air compressors
Air purifying respirators
Airline respirators
Area gamma monitors
Atmosphere supplying respirators
Condensate demineralizers
Contamination probes
Control rod drives
Cryostats
Digital ratemeters
Digital signal analyzers
Digital spectrum analyzers

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

clean objects
Data logging
Microsoft operating system

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Operations Monitoring
02Monitoring
03Active Listening
04Critical Thinking
05Reading Comprehension
06Quality Control Analysis
07Active Learning
08Complex Problem Solving
09Judgment and Decision Making
10Operation and Control

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Public Safety and Security
Mechanical
Physics
Engineering and Technology
Education and Training
Chemistry
English Language
Computers and Electronics

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Nuclear Technician do?: Assist nuclear physicists, nuclear engineers, or other scientists in laboratory, power generation, or electricity production activities. Day to day that includes work like follow nuclear equipment operational policies and procedures that ensure environmental safety and Conduct surveillance testing to determine safety of nuclear equipment.
What skills should a Nuclear Technician put on a resume?: O*NET rates Operations Monitoring, Monitoring, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, and Reading Comprehension among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Nuclear Technician list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Data logging software, Database software, Linux, Microsoft Access, and Microsoft Excel. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Nuclear Technician work?: O*NET records 37 titles for this occupation, including Licensed Nuclear Operator, Nuclear Auxiliary Operator, Nuclear Equipment Operator, and NEO. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Nuclear Technician role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.