Education · 1 of 5

The path

Four years to your first job, eight to a full professional license if you want one.

1. 1

   High school

   Grades 11 and 12

   Physics, chemistry and as much math as your school offers. Calculus before college is a real advantage.

2. 2

   Bachelor's degree

   4 years

   Nuclear engineering, or mechanical or electrical engineering with a nuclear minor. Choose a program accredited by ABET (the national accreditor for engineering degrees).

3. 3

   Internship or co-op

   Summers

   A summer at a plant, a reactor vendor or a national laboratory. This is how almost everyone gets hired.

4. 4

   FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam

   Final year

   Sit it in your final year while the material is fresh. It makes you an engineer in training.

5. 5

   Four years of engineering work

   4 years

   Then you are eligible for the professional exam. There is a nuclear version of it among the twenty or so offered.

6. 6

   PE (Principles and Practice of Engineering) licensure

   After 4 years of work

   Optional in this field but it raises your pay and lets you sign off work in your own name.