How To Become A Cancer Center Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is a cancer center director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A cancer center director is in charge of the daily operations and overall functioning of a cancer center, a department within a hospital or research facility dedicated to treating cancer. The cancer center director is responsible for all the logistics that allow a cancer center to function, for example managing compliance with government regulations, purchasing new equipment, and coordinating programs.

Cancer center directors need to be strong leaders because an important component of their job is interacting with people. They hire new healthcare professionals and supervise the work of existing employees. Cancer center directors also interact directly with patients and try to make their experience as soothing as possible, for example by building gardens or hosting activities.

Cancer center directors need a lot of experience in order to cope with the responsibility of running a center. Most have at least a bachelor's, if not a master's, degree in nursing or business. They also need many years of experience in healthcare management. Cancer center directors earn an average annual salary of $78,527 and work in a profession that is in high demand across the country.

ScoreCancer Center DirectorUS Average

Salary

4.8

Avg. Salary $61,560

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.72%

Asian 7.93%

Black or African American 11.22%

Hispanic or Latino 14.26%

Unknown 4.26%

White 61.60%

Gender

female 69.16%

male 30.84%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a cancer center director

Explore cancer center director education requirements

Most common cancer center director degrees

Bachelor's

49.6 %

Associate

17.2 %

Master's

10.9 %

Start to develop specific cancer center director skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	31.65%
Oncology	14.08%
Patient Care	12.11%
Clinical Trials	5.18%
Customer Service	5.05%

Complete relevant cancer center director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New cancer center directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a cancer center director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real cancer center director resumes.

Research cancer center director duties and responsibilities

Manage outpatient cancer center services including oncology sub-specialty clinic, outpatient infusion center, and radiation therapy department.
Manage delivery of quality early childhood education programs by establishing an environment of learning and maintaining the integrity of the programs.
Prep and mail radiology films.
Work with MDS to insure patient care and needs are met and max reimbursement obtain.

Get cancer center director experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a cancer center director. The most common roles before becoming a cancer center director include staff nurse, volunteer team lead and medical assistant.

Apply for cancer center director jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a cancer center director job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams