OverviewSalaryAboutEducationWhere are the jobsEmploymentGenderRace/Origin
Overview
Provide radiation therapy to patients as prescribed by a radiation oncologist according to established practices and standards. Duties may include reviewing prescription and diagnosis; acting as liaison with physician and supportive care personnel; preparing equipment, such as immobilization, treatment, and protection devices; and maintaining records, reports, and files. May assist in dosimetry procedures and tumor localization.
Highlights
Undergraduate program resulting in the highest median salary ($105K): General Business
Largest undergraduate program (30.5% of workers): Treatment Therapy Professions
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Titles for this career often contain these words
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Responsibilities and activities
Radiation therapists typically do the following:
- Explain treatment plans to the patient and answer questions about treatment
- Protect the patients and themselves from improper exposure to radiation
- Determine the exact location of the area requiring treatment
- Calibrate and operate the machine to treat the patient with radiation
- Monitor the patient to check for unusual reactions to the treatment
- Keep detailed records of treatment
Radiation therapists operate machines, such as linear accelerators, to deliver concentrated radiation therapy to the region of a patient’s tumor. Radiation treatment can shrink or remove cancers and tumors.
Radiation therapists are part of the oncology teams that treat patients with cancer. They often work with the following specialists:
- Radiation oncologists are physicians who specialize in radiation therapy
- Oncology nurses specialize in caring for patients with cancer
- Medical physicists help in planning of radiation treatments, develop better and safer radiation therapies, and check that radiation output is accurate
Salary
Median salary: $86,850 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $71,350 and $107,830.
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
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Salary growth for radiation therapists
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
Number employed
About Radiation Therapists
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of radiation therapists who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
- Exposed to Disease or Infections (92%)
- Consequence of Error (90%)
- Time Pressure (86%)
- Responsible for Others' Health (62%)
- Unpleasant or Angry People (58%)
- Radiation Exposure (55%)
- High Conflict Frequency (54%)
- Hazardous Equipment (42%)
- Exposed to Contaminants (40%)
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Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Radiation Therapists? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Detail oriented
Radiation therapists must follow exact instructions and input exact measurements to make sure the patient is exposed to the correct amount of radiation.
Interpersonal skills
Radiation therapists work closely with patients. It is important that therapists be comfortable interacting with people who may be going through physical and emotional stress.
Physical stamina
Radiation therapists must be able to be on their feet for long periods and be able to lift and move patients who need assistance.
Technical skills
Radiation therapists work with computers and large pieces of technological equipment, so they must be comfortable operating those devices.
Injury and Illness
About 26 radiation therapists become injured or ill for every 10,000 workers, making this job more dangerous than 57% of other careers. The most common specific concerns detailed following.
Sprains, strains, tears
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by radiation therapists
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), radiation therapists typically hold a associate's degree.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as radiation therapists as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Education and training recommended for radiation therapists
Employers usually prefer to hire applicants who have an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree in radiation therapy. However, candidates may qualify for some positions by completing a certificate program.
Radiation therapy programs include courses in radiation therapy procedures and the scientific theories behind them. These programs often include experience in a clinical setting and courses in human anatomy and physiology, physics, algebra, computer science, and research methodology. In 2016, there were about 110 accredited educational programs recognized by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT).
Details: Licensing and certification recommended for radiation therapists
In most states, radiation therapists must be licensed or certified. Requirements vary by state, but typically include graduation from an accredited radiation therapy program and ARRT certification.
To become ARRT certified, an applicant must complete an accredited radiation therapy program, adhere to ARRT ethical standards, and pass the certification exam. The exam covers radiation protection and quality assurance, clinical concepts in radiation oncology, treatment planning, treatment delivery, and patient care and education. A list of accredited programs is available from ARRT.
Many jobs also require cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or basic life support (BLS) certification.
Education level of Radiation Therapists
About 51% of radiation therapists have at least a bachelor's degree.
Education attained by radiation therapists
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
Top college degrees
Here are the top college degrees held by the 50% of people in this job who have at least a bachelor's degree. Some of degrees may link to multiple programs due to the way Census classifies college majors. Click on a program to learn more about career opportunities for people who major in that field.
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College majors held by radiation therapists
This table shows the college majors held by people working as radiation therapists. If you see "**" before the name of a degree/program, that means this field is one that the Department of Education believes is preparatory for this career. However, you can see from this list that those recommendations are far from your only path to this job!
Major
Select any title to learn more about that degree
Salary comparison for bachelor's only
Higher
Similar
Lower
Career salary (tail) versus Career/Major salary (dot)
Does the bachelor's-only salary rise or fall with this major?
Salary for bachelor's-only
For people with this career and major
Median
Middle 50%
Middle 80%
Salary for all workers
For people with this career and major
Median
Middle 50%
Middle 80%
Education for Career and Major
Bachelor's
Master's
Professional
Doctorate
Workers with this career/major
Percentage in this career with this major
Programs recommended by the Department of Education
The Department of Education recommends the following college degree programs as preparation for this career. You can click the program row to learn more about the program and explore a list of schools that offer the program.
Number of degrees awarded in 2018
Education
Education level of awarded degrees
Assoc./Cert.
Bachelor's
Graduate
Gender
Gender of graduates
Men
Women
Race/Origin
Race/origin of graduates
White
Minority
International
Not so much?
The link between degrees and this career
With the following sankey diagram, you can follow the top ten bachelor's degrees held by people working as radiation therapists, and then, in turn, you can see the 10 occupations that hire the most of each degree's graduates. We hope this provides ideas for similar jobs and similar fields of study.
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Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
Select a state to see local area details
Number of Radiation Therapists per 1,000 workers (ACS)
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Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most radiation therapists? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as radiation therapists. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where radiation therapists earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
- In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for radiation therapists compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
- Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for radiation therapists.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which radiation therapists earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Radiation Therapists (ACS)
Employment
13% of Radiation therapists are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 13% part-time workers, this occupation has a higher percentage of part-time workers than 51% of careers.
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
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Distribution: Salaries of radiation therapists by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
Gender
Radiation therapists and gender
With 69% women, this occupation has a higher percentage of women than 80% of careers.
Gender of Radiation therapists
Men (32%)
Women (69%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
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Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
Context: Salary inequity
The median salary for all full-time male workers in the
US exceeds the full-time median salary for women
by 19%.
The situation is a little better for radiation therapists, with the
median salary for men 10%
higher than the median salary for women.
Race/Origin
Race and origin of Radiation therapists
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Radiation therapists.
Race/origin of radiation therapists
White (84% )
Black (7% )
Asian (6% )
Multiracial (1% )
Other (1% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
American Indian (0% )
Hispanic (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
