Nuclear Engineering
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Nuclear Engineering occupation series (code 0840).
The verdict
In the Engineering and Architecture Group family, Nuclear Engineering counts 2,813 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.1% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount edged up from the prior period; pay averages n/a, which pays below the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- +0.3%
- Pay change
- 0.0%
- Avg tenure
- 13.5 yrs
- Rank in family
- #10 of 29
FedScope read on Nuclear Engineering (dense series)
Headcount moved up versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path. Pay moved sideways between the two reporting periods, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. On length of service, this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
Code 08, the Engineering and Architecture Group family, is where the federal government classifies Nuclear Engineering alongside 28 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Nuclear Engineering postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Engineering and Architecture Group family. Across the Engineering and Architecture Group family, 120,278 employees work in 29 occupations; Nuclear Engineering is 2.3% of that headcount. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (0th percentile) of pay among Engineering and Architecture Group occupations.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Nuclear Engineering pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
n/a
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-100.0%
Where Nuclear Engineering ranks on lean federal pay
Nuclear Engineering earns more on average than 0% of federal occupation series (0 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Nuclear Engineering sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Nuclear Engineering.
Related Occupations in Engineering and Architecture Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Engineering | 27,619 | $158,941 | 16.9 yrs |
| Engineering Technical | 14,443 | $93,062 | 15.2 yrs |
| Mechanical Engineering | 12,920 | $136,601 | 11.9 yrs |
| Electronics Engineering | 12,889 | $155,270 | 16.8 yrs |
| Civil Engineering | 10,260 | $124,230 | 14.7 yrs |
| Aerospace Engineering | 8,359 | $155,848 | 14.8 yrs |
| Electronics Technical | 7,298 | $103,713 | 15.6 yrs |
| Electrical Engineering | 5,231 | $142,419 | 13.5 yrs |
| Computer Engineering | 3,753 | $160,672 | 14.2 yrs |
| Environmental Engineering | 2,429 | $139,024 | 17 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Nuclear Engineering outside the Engineering and Architecture Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar dense headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (2,813 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families (n/a here).
Key takeaways
- Place Nuclear Engineering pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Engineering and Architecture Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Nuclear Engineering postings on USAJOBS.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.