Nuclear Monitoring Technicians
Life, Physical, and Social Science
The core of the job is measuring radiation in work areas, equipment, and materials, and collecting air, water, gas, or solid samples to check contamination. Readings are used to calculate how long personnel can stay in an area, to watch individual exposures, and to warn supervisors when levels near the allowed limit. When monitoring equipment alarms or something unusual happens, this role is often the first response. Workers are briefed on area radiation levels and shown how to use protective clothing and equipment. A good match if you like close tracking of measurements, clear verbal briefings, and making timely safety calls from instrument data.
Typical education: Associate’s Degree (2-year)
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$110'240
Median Wage Market Position
$110'240
What you might do
- Measure radiation types and levels in work areas
- Collect air, water, and solid samples for radioactivity
- Track radiation doses received by plant workers
- Calculate safe exposure times for personnel
- Alert supervisors when radiation limits are near
- Brief workers on radiation levels and protective gear
Skills that matter
- Measuring radiation with detectors
- Calculating safe worker exposure times
- Briefing workers on radiation levels
- Collecting samples to check contamination
- Responding to radiation monitoring alarms
- Teaching radiation safety procedures
AI & the future of this role
Contamination sampling and compliance monitoring still require careful physical procedures under tight safety rules. AI might help interpret instrument outputs faster, but human accountability and licensed oversight are likely to keep this work in place.
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Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details