Nuclear Monitoring Technicians
Collect and test samples to monitor results of nuclear experiments and contamination of humans, facilities, and environment.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Operations Monitoring
- Speaking
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Instructing
Key knowledge
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Public Safety and Security
- Chemistry
- English Language
- Computers and Electronics
- Education and Training
- Mechanical
What the work involves
- Calculate safe radiation exposure times for personnel using plant contamination readings and prescribed safe levels of radiation.
- Provide initial response to abnormal events or to alarms from radiation monitoring equipment.
- Monitor personnel to determine the amounts and intensities of radiation exposure.
- Inform supervisors when individual exposures or area radiation levels approach maximum permissible limits.
- Instruct personnel in radiation safety procedures and demonstrate use of protective clothing and equipment.
- Determine intensities and types of radiation in work areas, equipment, or materials, using radiation detectors or other instruments.
- Collect samples of air, water, gases, or solids to determine radioactivity levels of contamination.
- Set up equipment that automatically detects area radiation deviations and test detection equipment to ensure its accuracy.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree (29.4% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (32.8%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (36.5%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Nuclear Monitoring Technicians is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
- Projection education uses SOC 19-4051 (detailed_parent); it may describe a broader group.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Higher on contact with others than 51% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 75% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 82% of occupations compared | 64% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 82% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 74% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 65% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 51% of occupations compared | 28% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 80% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 2.57%
- Contact with others about half the time: 8.91%
- Contact with others most of the time: 34.23%
- Constant contact with others: 54.29%
n = 37, Incumbent 07/2014
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 37.08%
- Fairly important: 11.88%
- Important: 6.7%
- Very important: 26.13%
- Extremely important: 18.2%
n = 36, Incumbent 07/2014
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 2.61%
- Very important: 33.38%
- Extremely important: 64.02%
n = 37, Incumbent 07/2014
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 2.35%
- Very little freedom: 2.85%
- Limited freedom: 35.74%
- Some freedom: 43.77%
- A lot of freedom: 15.29%
n = 36, Incumbent 07/2014
Time pressure
- Never: 2.85%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 14.71%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 29.22%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 33.84%
- Every day: 19.38%
n = 36, Incumbent 07/2014
Conflict situations
- Never: 13.21%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 15.24%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 34.41%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 27.4%
- Every day: 9.74%
n = 37, Incumbent 07/2014
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 14.73%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 26.11%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 26.98%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 28.3%
- Every day: 3.88%
n = 37, Incumbent 07/2014
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 13.5%
- Fairly serious: 9.18%
- Serious: 8.4%
- Very serious: 29.84%
- Extremely serious: 39.08%
n = 36, Incumbent 07/2014
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O*NET-SOC 19-4051.02 · SOC 19-4051 (detailed_parent, medium confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8