According to people in this career, the main tasks are...
| Task | Importance |
|---|---|
| Initiate corrective actions or order plant shutdowns in emergency situations. | 90% |
| Monitor nuclear facility operations to identify any design, construction, or operation practices that violate safety regulations and laws or could jeopardize safe operations. | 89% |
| Design or develop nuclear equipment, such as reactor cores, radiation shielding, or associated instrumentation or control mechanisms. | 84% |
| Examine accidents to obtain data for use in design of preventive measures. | 83% |
| Direct operating or maintenance activities of nuclear power plants to ensure efficiency and conformity to safety standards. | 83% |
| Recommend preventive measures to be taken in the handling of nuclear technology, based on data obtained from operations monitoring or from evaluation of test results. | 77% |
| Write operational instructions to be used in nuclear plant operation or nuclear fuel or waste handling and disposal. | 77% |
| Conduct environmental studies on topics such as nuclear power generation, nuclear waste disposal, or nuclear weapon deployment. | 76% |
| Direct environmental compliance activities associated with nuclear plant operations or maintenance. | 74% |
| Prepare environmental impact statements, reports, or presentations for regulatory or other agencies. | 73% |
| Prepare technical reports of findings or recommendations, based on synthesized analyses of test results. | 72% |
| Develop or contribute to the development of plans to remediate or restore environments affected by nuclear radiation, such as waste disposal sites. | 70% |
| Conduct tests of nuclear fuel behavior and cycles or performance of nuclear machinery and equipment to optimize performance of existing plants. | 68% |
| Design or oversee construction or operation of nuclear reactors, power plants, or nuclear fuels reprocessing and reclamation systems. | 68% |
| Design or direct nuclear research projects to develop, test, modify, or discover new uses for theoretical models. | 68% |
| Design fuel cycle models or processes to reduce the quantity of radioactive waste generated from nuclear activities. | 67% |
| Consult with other scientists to determine parameters of experimentation or suitability of analytical models. | 64% |
| Perform experiments that will provide information about acceptable methods of nuclear material usage, nuclear fuel reclamation, or waste disposal. | 63% |
| Discuss construction project proposals with interested parties, such as vendors, contractors, or nuclear facility review boards. | 63% |
| Keep abreast of developments and changes in the nuclear field by reading technical journals or by independent study and research. | 63% |
