What the work involves, what it pays, and real lines you can start from. Answer a few small questions and leave with a resume.
Also called control operator, control room operator, licensed nuclear control room operator and licensed reactor operator.
$122,890
Median pay a year
5,150
People do this work
6
Resume lines ready for you
Pay and headcount are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lines are written from what the US Department of Labor records about this work.
An example
A Nuclear Power Reactor Operator resume, filled in
Every line below comes from the same public record as the rest of this page. The greyed parts are the ones only you can answer.
Nuclear Power Reactor Operator
Summary
Nuclear Power Reactor Operator controlling reactors, adjusting controls, monitoring systems, and recording data to ensure safety and compliance with environmental standards. Responds to abnormalities and supervises technicians to maintain operational integrity
Experience
Nuclear Power Reactor Operator
Where you worked
Month Year to Month Year
Operated nuclear power reactors in accordance with policies and procedures to protect workers from radiation and ensure environmental safety
Adjusted controls to position rods and regulate flux level, reactor period, coolant temperature, or rate of power flow, following standard procedures
Responded to system or unit abnormalities, diagnosing the cause, and recommending or taking corrective action
Recorded operating data, such as the results of surveillance tests
Supervised technicians' work activities to ensure that equipment was operated in accordance with policies and procedures that protected workers from radiation
Directed the collection and testing of air, water, gas, or solid samples to determine radioactivity levels or ensure appropriate radioactive containment
Skills
Core Skills
Directing operational activities, Operating energy production equipment, Monitoring equipment operation, Watching operating equipment, Diagnosing equipment malfunctions, Planning production procedures, Moving equipment between areas, Operating energy distribution equipment, Maintaining sustainable energy equipment, Inspecting facilities
Tools and software
Outage management system OMS
Education
Certificate Your training program, Year
Yours will not say this. It will say what you did, in your own words, and Rung writes it with you one question at a time.
Nothing to write from scratch
What to put on a Nuclear Power Reactor Operator resume
Real duties for this job, already written the way a resume reads. Inside Rung you choose the ones that were yours.
What did you do each day?
Choose what fits, or say your own.
Operated nuclear power reactors per policiesAdjusted controls to regulate reactor parametersDeveloped actions for safe equipment repairsResponded to system abnormalities and diagnosed issuesMonitored systems for normal running conditionsRecorded operating data from surveillance tests
becomes
On your resume
Operated nuclear power reactors in accordance with policies to ensure safety and compliance
Developed actions for safe equipment repairs, ensuring compliance with safety protocols and minimizing downtime.
These are written the way a resume line reads. Rung asks which ones are actually yours, keeps your own words, and never claims work you did not do.
Then it asks for one more thing
The line that could show more, and the fact that lands it.
Make it stronger
A few lines could show more. Each one is asked, and answered by choosing.
Add how often you operated reactors or what you monitored.
The line
Operated nuclear power reactors daily during all shifts to ensure safety and compliance
Add how often you operated reactors or what you monitored.
Pick one that fits
Daily during all shiftsRegularly for safety checksConsistently throughout operations
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Show what improved once the actions were developed.
The line
Developed actions for safe equipment repairs, ensuring compliance with safety protocols and minimizing downtime.
Show what improved once the actions were developed.
Pick one that fits
Reduced repair time significantlyImproved safety during repairsEnhanced equipment reliability
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Every ready answer is in plain words, never a figure. Nothing is invented to fill a gap.
What it is made of
Skills for a Nuclear Power Reactor Operator resume
What this work is made of. Rung offers these and keeps the ones you claim.
What are you good at?
Directing operational activities
Operating energy production equipment
Monitoring equipment operation
Watching operating equipment
Inspecting facilities
Diagnosing equipment malfunctions
Planning production procedures
Moving equipment between areas
Operating energy distribution equipment
Maintaining sustainable energy equipment
Recording production data
Documenting organizational procedures
The work itself
What a Nuclear Power Reactor Operator does
The public record of what this job is, in one paragraph.
Operate or control nuclear reactors. Move control rods, start and stop equipment, monitor and adjust controls, and record data in logs. Implement emergency procedures when needed. May respond to abnormalities, determine cause, and recommend corrective action.
What it pays
How much does a Nuclear Power Reactor Operator make?
Annual pay across the United States. The middle figure is the median: half earn less than that, and half earn more.
25th percentile
$109,440
Median
$122,890
75th percentile
$130,490
About 5,150 people do this work in the United States.
What it pays in each state
State
25th percentile
Median
75th percentile
AL
$115,520
$119,000
$146,140
IL
$119,100
$123,980
$130,500
NE
$108,650
$108,650
$124,120
NY
$121,310
$129,580
$142,560
SC
$107,190
$118,620
$119,540
Other names
Other names for this job
control operator, control room operator, licensed nuclear control room operator, licensed reactor operator, nuclear control operator, nuclear control room non licensed operator, nuclear control room operator, nuclear operator, nuclear plant operator, NPO, nuclear reactor operator, nuclear station operator.
More names for this work
NSO, nuclear supervising operator, nuclear unit operator, power reactor operator, reactor operator, unit reactor operator, control room agent, control room officer, nuclear power plant process control worker.
If you served
Military jobs this work counts as
From the crosswalk the US Department of Labor publishes itself. If one of these was your job, this page is about the civilian work it maps to.
This page is about the occupation Nuclear Power Reactor Operators. What this job involves and what it is made of come from O*NET 30.3, the US Department of Labor's occupation database, refreshed July 2026; Rung writes those records into the plain sentences you see. Pay comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS release for 2025. Rung is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by either agency. How Rung handles accuracy is on the accuracy page, and the full data credits are on the credits page.