Nuclear Engineering Jobs: Hours, Descriptions, & More

[questionmenow]

Hello, I am very interested in majoring in nuclear engineering. I not sure which jobs stand out to me but I've been attracted to most of the job descriptions I've looked at. The only things is from what I gather the hours are not good. Are there generally some jobs in the field with solid hours? Also, if you are/know someone in nuclear engineering how do you like it? Tell me a bit about what you do?

 

[Dr. Courtney]

In jobs where the facility needs to be staffed 24/7, at least 25% of the jobs are the decent shifts.

Of course, there are other jobs too with decent working hours with that degree.

 

[MathematicalPhysicist]

What's the difference between nuclear physicist and nuclear engineer?

And can't an experimentalist in this field also be a theorist?

I mean every experimentalist should know the theory like the theorist, while the theorist doesn't need to know how to deal with experiment apparatus.

 

[Dr. Courtney]

What's the difference between nuclear physicist and nuclear engineer?

And can't an experimentalist in this field also be a theorist?

I mean every experimentalist should know the theory like the theorist, while the theorist doesn't need to know how to deal with experiment apparatus.

In most cases nuclear physicists are investigating new laws of nuclear physics. Whereas, nuclear engineers are using known operational principles of nuclear power plants to design and safely operate them.

While experimentalists can also be theorists, one must pay sufficient attention to what one is being paid to do and the expectations of the employer. It can be challenging to satisfy the demands of the employer with enough time left over to pursue alternate interests. Very few employers pay folks to be both experimentalists and theorists.

 

[MathematicalPhysicist]

Well if we take anecdotes, Einstein was paid to be a patent clerk, and still found the time to write his papers and phd.

Yeah I know different workload.