Environmental Engineers vs Nuclear Engineers: $107K vs $134K Median Pay

Environmental Engineers vs Nuclear Engineers: what changes?

Consider Environmental Engineers if you want to research, design, plan, or perform engineering duties in the prevention, control, and remediation of environmental hazards using various engineering disciplines. Consider Nuclear Engineers if you would rather conduct research on nuclear engineering projects or apply principles and theory of nuclear science to problems concerned with release, control, and use of nuclear energy and nuclear waste disposal. Both list bachelor's degree; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Environmental Engineers and Nuclear Engineers. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Environmental Engineers

National median pay (2025): $107,110
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Design, or supervise the design of, systems, processes, or equipment for control, management, or remediation of water, air, or soil quality.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 2,300

Know before you choose

Review the full career brief for day-to-day working conditions.

See the full Environmental Engineers brief

Nuclear Engineers

National median pay (2025): $133,970
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Design or develop nuclear equipment, such as reactor cores, radiation shielding, or associated instrumentation or control mechanisms.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 800

Know before you choose

BLS projects essentially flat employment (0.4%) through 2035. Annual openings mostly reflect replacement, not a rapidly expanding field.

See the full Nuclear Engineers brief

How the national numbers differ

Environmental Engineers has the edge on projected growth

Environmental Engineers is at 6.3% projected growth, compared with 0.4% projected growth for Nuclear Engineers.

Environmental Engineers has the edge on annual openings

Environmental Engineers is at 2,300 annual openings, compared with 800 annual openings for Nuclear Engineers.

Nuclear Engineers has the edge on median pay

Nuclear Engineers is at $133,970, compared with $107,110 for Environmental Engineers.

61.1/ 100

Environmental Engineers

43.8/ 100

Nuclear Engineers

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Environmental Engineers vs Nuclear Engineers

Dimension	Environmental Engineers	Nuclear Engineers
Median pay (2025)	$107,110	$133,970
Pay percentile	87.3 percentile	92.7 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	6.3%	0.4%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	2,300	800
2025 employment	39,100	16,600
How you qualify	Bachelor's degree	Bachelor's degree
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 4	Job Zone 4
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Environmental Engineers brief Read Nuclear Engineers brief

Environmental Engineers vs Nuclear Engineers: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Environmental Engineers

Nuclear Engineers

How the national numbers differ

Environmental Engineers has the edge on projected growth

Environmental Engineers has the edge on annual openings

Nuclear Engineers has the edge on median pay

Environmental Engineers vs Nuclear Engineers

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