What is it like to study nuclear engineering?

The only way for me to answer this question is with experiences solely from my perspective, and I'll give it my best shot! First, let me dismantle the question I've posed for myself into three parts:  'What is it like,' 'to study,' and 'nuclear engineering.' For organization's sake I'll begin with the latter and work backwards, then consider the question in its entirety:

Nuclear Engineering
The field of nuclear sciences was advanced tremendously within the last 60 years. With the advent of many key observations and discoveries, scientists determined that it was feasible to engineer nuclear systems. Though nuclear fission has dominated the commercial power sector, nuclear processes continue to pervade many facets of our society.
Nuclear power production sites, nuclear medicine, and nuclear physics have all helped shape our intellectual understanding of the world around us. Though nuclear has also had an impact through culture and emotion. Culturally, nuclear weaponry and scientists have appeared in dozens of popular movies, playing roles which range from grim and villainous to heroic and triumphant. Emotionally and psychologically, atmospheric nuclear weapons testing payload delivery is on a scale unimaginable to most and is a bringer of total destruction. Fear and anxiety over who controlled fissile material in weapons configurations has ravaged the minds of those who were alive during the Cold War Era, even to this day.

To Study
By definition: 'study - the devotion of time and attention to acquiring knowledge on an academic subject.' Strategies used for studying vary from person to person. An individual selectively chooses which modes of study they find most useful and effective. Personally, I have identified study habits which make the time I spend more efficient. For example, it has proved to be beneficial for me to drink tea while I study. Even if I don't understand yet why that may be the case, I can continue through trial and error (experimentation) in order to determine environmental factors, tools, and strategies which may aid in retaining information. Many operate under the misconceptions that studying must take place in a specific room or spot, that studying must take inordinate amounts of time for subject mastery, and that the act of studying ensures knowledgeable comprehension of the subject matter. I believe none of these to be entirely correct, and would venture to say that it is narrow-minded to believe as such.

What is it like?
Many are taken aback at the thought of studying the subject of nuclear. When presented with the thought, they cringe in agony, it seems, as they imagine all sorts of unfathomable calculations and concepts. Sure, it can be argued that there is difficulty in general populous comprehension - this can be said about anything intricate and elaborate. In reality, nuclear engineering is only slightly more complex than learning to play a musical instrument. Through practice and repetition, most (all?) skill sets are attainable. This brings about a neat division, however, in that some musicians are capable of orchestrating symphonies, while others are amateur musicians and hobbyists who know little more than simply musical verse. The same holds true for nuclear engineers - some are well versed in the area while others, like myself, are just beginning to take a foothold in the industry. The caveat is that in order to demonstrate ability of craftsmanship/engineering, the ideas which one comes up with (i.e. a nuclear engineer's design plans or a guitarist's new solo during the bridge) need to be structured, governed by physical law from a nuclear perspective, whereas a guitarist may develop an entirely new subset of playing style methods which he arbitrarily constrains based on an abstractions.

So, what is it like to study nuclear engineering?
I am neither equipped with the verbiage necessary nor the experience required to explain how fulfilling and rewarding studying nuclear engineering can be. But with the time that I have spent delving into the material, it is evident that the incorporation of nuclear technologies into current infrastructure will yield benefits manifest.
...To Be Continued