Answer to Question #5108 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Q

Can you contrast nuclear engineers and health physicists? In particular, which has a higher enrollment rate at bachelor, MS, and PhD levels? Which area can expect more growth in the next 10 years? Are there appreciable salary differences?

A

Health Physics is the profession dedicated to the protection of humans and their environment from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation while providing for its beneficial uses.

Nuclear Engineering is concerned with the design and construction of nuclear facilities.

There are some tasks nuclear engineers are responsible for in which health physicists probably would never be involved to any appreciable extent and visa versa. And to contrast that, there are some tasks in which these professions are both intimately involved.

Both professions require multidisciplined individuals to understand and solve, in many cases, unique problems. They are clearly entwined professions. Health physicists and nuclear engineers collaborate daily in some facilities. Professionals in other facilities may have little interaction. They are part of a team interested in the positive and safe application of nuclear and radiation technology for the betterment of human kind.

Nuclear engineering is a slightly larger profession, so one can anticipate in total more participants at every level in nuclear engineering than health physics. Both, in the scheme of things, are relatively small occupations with respect to the total number of participants.

Growth potential in both professions can be categorized as very good. If the application of nuclear power production is again invested in by the United States then the growth potential in both occupations will be considered exceptional. If nothing new happens we know with great certainty in health physics that the demand for professionals will and currently does exceed supply. This is due to the attrition of professionals who might be categorized within the baby-boomer cohort. It is hard to predict how the medical industry will impact health physics employment demand. We know that this will cause a growth in demand but it is hard to estimate the impact of new technology on the profession. I encourage you to review the reports on the human capital crisis available on the Health Physics Society website and an equivalent but independent report produced by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI).

The salary earned is by and large comparable when folks are employed in the same facilities and have basically the same credentials. However, the professional engineers, PE credential, one expected of senior engineers, because of its status in law may command a slightly larger income in most cases. Further, because health physicists have a tendency to be associated with more diverse employment opportunities, they have a slightly larger diversity in their salary distribution.

I hope this response helps you to understand the two disciplines better.

Rich Brey, PhD, CHP