How To Become A Senior Reactor Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a senior reactor operator 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 senior reactor operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $31.11 an hour? That's $64,712 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -15% and produce -6,500 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreSenior Reactor OperatorUS Average

Salary

5.1

Avg. Salary $64,712

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.2

Growth rate -15%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.39%

Asian 1.50%

Black or African American 5.92%

Hispanic or Latino 7.96%

Unknown 5.47%

White 76.77%

Gender

female 4.23%

male 95.77%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress level

9.2

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.9

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior reactor operator

Explore senior reactor operator education requirements

Most common senior reactor operator degrees

Bachelor's

72.1 %

Master's

16.9 %

Associate

5.9 %

Start to develop specific senior reactor operator skills

Skills	Percentages
NRC	17.31%
Outage	13.51%
Plant Operations	11.05%
Fluid Flow	8.52%
License Class	8.18%

Complete relevant senior reactor operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior reactor operators 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 senior reactor operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior reactor operator resumes.

Research senior reactor operator duties and responsibilities

Need method to proactively manage the business improving cross-functional collaboration & KPI visibility.
Lead compression shift of twenty-one operators and supporting staff in daily operations of manufacturing generic prescription medications in a GMP setting.
Authore multiple watch station examinations and PowerPoint presentations.

Get senior reactor operator experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a senior reactor operator. The most common roles before becoming a senior reactor operator include reactor operator, machinist mate team lead and instructor.

Prepare your senior reactor operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior reactor operator 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 senior reactor operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable senior reactor operator resume templates

Build a professional senior reactor operator 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 senior reactor operator resume.