<p>To add to ____'s statement,</p>
<p>I also work with various ME undergraduates with nuclear training, that have interned with ORNL, Pantex and LANL, all on various nuclear weapons and proliferation topics.</p>
<p>This is a field that i'm considering majoring in. According to the website on the BLS describing the field, nuclear engineering jobs are expected to grow more slowly than the average. However, i'm not sure if this is actually still true. Recently, I believe the first new nuclear reactor in 30 some years was commissioned to be built. If nuclear power makes a comeback in this country, there might be an increased demand for nuclear engineers.</p>
<p>The problem i've seen with the profession is that there doesn't generally seem to be many jobs in local regions of the country. It sounds as if you'll have to be prepared to travel to find a permanent job. Aside from power generation, where most nuclear engineers are employed, I don't really know if there are too many other job opportunities open. The navy is of course an option, but I know that plenty of people have their reservations about the military for different reasons. Because of the sparse job offerings, i'm considering taking the route of a double major with nuclear engineering in something more vague (like physics) which has an enormous amount of job opportunities.</p>
<p>Someone mentioned working with nuclear medicine. Is this the major for that, though? I believe the actual job title for someone in this field is 'Medical Physicist'. So, i'm not sure if majoring in Physics or Medical Physics (some colleges have that major I believe) wouldn't be a better route to take for that field instead of nuclear engineering.</p>
<p>I talked to a former nuclear engineering, who did it many years ago. He said it was too stressful because you just can't screw up, and if you do, it could affect not only locally, but probably globally, and everybody could be cursing your name for generations. He said many in the field generally quit or switch to another engineering field after 2-4 years because it was so high stress.</p>
<p>The Air Force Institute of Technology has a class in nuclear explosive physics and classes in nuclear weapon effects all which utilize classified documents as course texts. This is according to their website. If I remember correctly, WestPoint also has a class or to in nuclear weapons design.</p>
<p>If you are interested, go for it. If you are wavering and thinking too much about jobs, don't. That kind of reflects on your actual level of interest.</p>
<p>There are some exciting developments in "Nucular" Eng. In addition to the power plants and weaponry, there is a massive international effort to work on fusion power. Here is the prospect of being part of a small international group much like the days of Bohr and Heisenberg. Future success in this area, (which is expected within our lifetime, I read), in addition to being one of the most remarkable achievements mankind has ever known, will bring a change unseen since the deployment of electrical wires.</p>
<p>
[quote]
You do NOT have to be IN the military to do this stuff.
[/quote]
No, you don't, but the military -- and the Navy specifically -- is one of the best places to learn about nuclear power. This is not because the Navy uses nuclear weapons; it's because the Navy operates more than 80 nuclear-powered vessels (submarines, aircraft carriers, etc.). In fact, the US Navy may well operate more nuclear power plants than any other single agency worldwide.</p>
<p>The Navy has a Naval Nuclear Power School, which is one of the most rigorous nuclear engineering programs in the world. According to [url=<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Nuclear_Power_School%5DWikipedia%5B/url">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Nuclear_Power_School]Wikipedia[/url</a>], "Students frequently study upwards of 85 hours per week as required by the instructors depending on a student's GPA." Civilian colleges and universities routinely accept credits for study at this school; however, much of the curriculum is classified and will not transfer to civilian schools.</p>
<p>Ex-Navy engineers are commonly hired for civilian jobs in the nuclear field, just as ex-military pilots are commonly hired by airlines. Navy "alumni" are often very competitive job candidates compared to civilian college graduates: the navy engineers are highly trained, are low security risks, are mature and dependable, and typically have lots of hands-on experience with nuclear facilities. For many people, a 6-year Navy committment is an attractive educational alternative to a civilian BS/MS program, especially considering that the Navy doesn't charge tuition.</p>
<p>As another example of what nuclear engineers do, my father is a member of the Canadian government agency that grants licenses for nuclear plants -- both creation of new licenses and renewals of old ones. The pay is apparently pretty comfortable, and there are a ton of opportunities for advancement. Many who retire from the government side, including some family friends of ours, sign on as contractors with the private sector afterward; full government pension + private contract pay = double income for the same hours worked.</p>
<p>Before his current job he was at another agency, working with a team to design what was then a revolutionary new design for nuclear plants. That agency also had a sales division, which basically sent nuclear engineers around the world selling nuclear plants to foreign governments.</p>
<p>thanks for some of the info on Nuc E guys.</p>
<p>some interesting info about Nuc E</p>
<p>" New technology area with exciting opportunities in several areas.
Power generation
Electricity
Process heat
Diagnostics and imaging
Regulation
Fusion and Space reactors????
Demand for graduates exceeds the supply
Nuclear power can address environmental concerns"</p>
<p>"Modeling of current and future reactor cores, systems and componentsComputational modeling of reactor cores and radiation sources Azmy, Hochreiter, Ivanov, Mahaffy(NRC, ORNL, Exelon, Westinghouse, AREVA, ECOM)</p>
<p>Reactor control systems space nuclear thermal propulsion modeling and control Edwards(NASA)</p>
<p>Improving the NRCs TRAC/RELAP Advanced Computational Engine (TRACE) thecurrent safety analysis tool, used on ESBWR, AP1000, and existing plants-Mahaffy, Hochreiter(NRC, OECD/NEA)</p>
<p>Reactor fuel management and optimization of fuel utilization Ivanov(Exelon, Westinghouse, AREVA, GE)"</p>
<p>" Wide Variety of Career Paths:
Product Design
Research and Development
Manufacturing
Management
Consulting
Startup Companies
Electrical Utility Companies
Reactor Hardware and Fuel Supplies
Westinghouse
ABB Combustion Engineering
AREVA
Framatome Technologies & Siemens Power Corporation
General Electric
Architect Engineering Companies
Battelle & Stone and Webster
Smaller Support/Service Companies
Department of Energy
State and Federal Regulatory Agencies
Medical Instrument Design Companies
Graduate and Professional Schools"</p>