How To Become A Nuclear Security Officer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a nuclear security officer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a nuclear security officer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.17 an hour? That's $37,784 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 38,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreNuclear Security OfficerUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $37,784

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.6

Growth Rate 3%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.58%

Asian 6.38%

Black or African American 12.86%

Hispanic or Latino 16.09%

Unknown 5.30%

White 57.79%

Gender

female 14.09%

male 85.91%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress Level

8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

4.9

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

9.4

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Newest jobs for Nuclear Security Officer in Columbus, OH

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Key steps to become a nuclear security officer

Explore nuclear security officer education requirements

Most common nuclear security officer degrees

Bachelor's

48.2 %

Associate

22.2 %

High School Diploma

17.5 %

Start to develop specific nuclear security officer skills

Skills	Percentages
Safety Violations	15.25%
Patrol	13.83%
Emergency Situations	6.18%
NRC	5.61%
Nuclear Regulatory	4.71%

Complete relevant nuclear security officer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New nuclear security officers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a nuclear security officer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real nuclear security officer resumes.

Research nuclear security officer duties and responsibilities

Train to be a first responder and train in CPR.
Enforce laws as directed under 10 CFR 73.55
Compose reports, perform other duties as specified in U.S. 10 CFR and post orders.
Process employees and visitors through metal, and explosive detectors, and attend CCTV where require.

Prepare your nuclear security officer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your nuclear security officer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a nuclear security officer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Nuclear Security Officer Resume templates

Build a professional Nuclear Security Officer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Nuclear Security Officer resume.

Apply for nuclear security officer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a nuclear security officer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do nuclear security officers rate their job?

-/5

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Nuclear Security Officer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2022

Cons

The pay is not worth what you have to do sometimes

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019