General Nuclear Engineering

Types of Degrees General Nuclear Engineering Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many general nuclear engineering graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	248
Doctor’s Degree	171
Graduate Certificate	19

What General Nuclear Engineering Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to general nuclear engineering were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for General Nuclear Engineering Majors

General Nuclear Engineering majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for General Nuclear Engineering Majors

A major in general nuclear engineering prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for General Nuclear Engineering Majors

General Nuclear Engineering majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

What Can You Do With a General Nuclear Engineering Major?

People with a general nuclear engineering degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720
Nuclear Engineers	4.0%	$107,600

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in General Nuclear Engineering?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 84% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of general nuclear engineering majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	9
Black or African American	4
Hispanic or Latino	24
White	151
International Students	50
Other Races/Ethnicities	10

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in General Nuclear Engineering, too. About 20.2% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to General Nuclear Engineering

Some degrees associated with general nuclear engineering may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to general nuclear engineering have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.2%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	0.8%
Bachelor’s Degree	55.8%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	5.9%
Master’s Degree	19.2%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	3.3%
Doctoral Degree	11.1%
Post-Doctoral Training	3.3%

Online General Nuclear Engineering Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	11	5
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	31	3
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	28	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Siemens Pressebild under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.