Say nuclear, and people automatically start thinking of power generation.
But Wyoming’s nuclear technology jobs aren’t going to require a deep dive into math and physics that do more than generating electricity. And those jobs are going to come with six-figure salaries.
With literally hundreds of jobs on the horizon, thanks to TerraPower’s nuclear plant in Kemmerer — not to mention small modular reactors from companies like Virginia-based BWXT Advanced Technologies — nuclear techs are set to be the next “it” job in the Cowboy State.
And Western Wyoming Community College, with a $1.9 million grant from the Wyoming Innovation partnership, is gearing up to train all the people Wyoming’s emerging nuclear sector will need, with a brand-new degree program that will be the first of its kind in the state.
The Nuclear Technology Program’s architect is Derek Jacobson, who comes to academia with a hands-on project management background in the petroleum industry, where he set up plants and production facilities.
He expects the pay rate to attract a lot of prospective students.
“This is going to be a great way to make a living,” Jacobson said. “To be able to compete, they’re going have to have a yearly salary, a median salary of about $70,000.”
That doesn’t include overtime, he added.
“You’re going to have that 40-hour base, however many weeks a year,” he said. “But in reality, a lot of the operators, or at least a lot of the techs we looked at, you’re going to be six figures easily.”
Median wages for nuclear technicians were $101,740 in May 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Over time, nuclear technicians will also be able to advance to higher grades, Jacobson added, allowing them to boost their $70,000 base pay rates.
Hundreds Of Techs Needed
TerraPower alone has projected that it will employ hundreds of plant operators, maintenance crews, and security staff for what will be one of the world’s most advanced nuclear reactors.
Their plant is supposed to be operational by 2030.
Then, too, there are companies like BWXT Advanced Technologies, which recently inked a deal with Tata Chemicals to provide the trona mining company with up to eight nuclear microreactors for a manufacturing facility in Green River.
Jacobson said Western Wyoming Community College’s Nuclear Technology Program will be applicable for both types of nuclear reactors.
To ensure that, he’s combed through paperwork submitted by TerraPower to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as well as held advisory meetings with TerraPower and other nuclear industry officials.
Jacobson has been working overtime himself to create the Nuclear Technology Program, even working on it through the Thanksgiving break, to fast-track the program as quickly as possible.
Vice President of Academic Affairs Beth Gard told Cowboy State Daily the program has been approved by the state Academic Affairs Committee already.
It’s set to go before the Community College Commission on Feb. 7. If all goes well, then the program should be on track for the Fall semester of 2025.
That first class will have about 15 available seats, Jacobson said.
Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs. (via Facebook) 
A scientist inspects date on screens in a control room of a nuclear reactor in this file photo. (Getty Images) 
A technician assembles a superconducting magnet used in a nuclear fusion reactor in this file photo. (Getty Images)
Fast-Tracking New Program
One of the things that’s helped to speed his program along is the fact that TerraPower’s Natrium plant will be retrofitted to Rocky Mountain Power’s existing Naughton Power Plant near Kemmerer.
Power plants typically work by using heat to turn a turbine, generating power. In this case, the Naughton facility is being retrofitted with nuclear power serving as the heat source.
“That means we already have a lot of the existing equipment we will need, because (TerraPower) isn’t much different than a thermal power plant where you use coal and natural gas as your heat source,” he said. “(They) all have steam turbines, they generate steam to drive the turbines and generate power. And we already had a plant operations program. So that is what enables us to roll out this program so soon.”
Jacobson also believes these new style nuclear reactors will open up the role of nuclear technicians to a larger percentage of people.
“Say nuclear, and people start thinking about nuclear physics,” he said. “But (the new nuclear technology) will have a lot better, easier control. That opens up the breadth of people who are going to be able to be nuclear techs.”
Safety First
One of the large new components of the Nuclear Technology Program, though, will be a safety class.
“We need them to know that hey, ‘You’re going to work in really high-heat environments,’” Jacobson said. “‘You’re going to be working around semi-irradiated material, and things of that nature.’ So we want them to understand the radiation side of it, but that doesn’t necessarily require a deep dive into nuclear physics.”
Many of the jobs requiring that deeper dive will be handled by third-party contractors, Jacobson said, rather than nuclear technicians.
“A lot of these companies will bring in third-party contractors to handle fuel rod replacement, reactor type of optimization and reactor core replacements,” he said. “But, so as far as our program is concerned, they’ll still be able to take whatever skills they learn here and apply it in TerraPower.”
Although much attention and focus has been on what TerraPower is doing in Kemmerer, Jacobson believes that ultimately most nuclear technology jobs will probably be in the small modular reactors space.
In either case, the world is soon going to be an oyster for those first 15 lucky graduates of Wyoming’s brand-new nuclear tech program, who will be on track for a lucrative new profession that’s poised to quickly ratchet upward in demand, for workers who are expected to make high-paying salaries.
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
