How To Become A Health Physicist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a health physicist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Professor Darren Williams

We have physics to thank for many medical advances, such as X-ray machines and MRIs, and a lot of our electrical power supply. However, too much exposure to radiation can kill or seriously injure a person. Health physicists help make sure that the life-saving radiation technologies don't end up actually killing the people that interact with them.

Health physicists are experts in the way that radiation interacts with living beings. They can do anything from researching safe levels of radiation for specific particles to investigating the presence of radiation in the environment. Many health physicists work in medical establishments to make sure that all equipment is used safely. However, some work in power plants or for the military.

No matter where they work, most health physicists need an advanced degree in health or physics. It takes years of study to master a complicated, potentially deadly field like the effects of radiation on the human body. Exposure to radiation isn't exactly as fun as it looks in the comic books.

What general advice would you give to a health physicist?

Professor Darren Williams

Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University

I've always operated under the assumption that people will pay for what they value. My curt advice, then, is to make oneself valuable to the profession and to society, and the rest will follow.

ScoreHealth PhysicistUS Average

Salary

5.9

Avg. Salary $74,942

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.5

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.72%

Asian 7.19%

Black or African American 2.85%

Hispanic or Latino 8.05%

Unknown 3.38%

White 77.81%

Gender

female 23.06%

male 76.94%

Age - 47.5

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 - 47.5

Stress level

4.5

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.8

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a health physicist

Explore health physicist education requirements

Most common health physicist degrees

Bachelor's

63.0 %

Master's

19.9 %

Associate

11.8 %

Start to develop specific health physicist skills

Skills	Percentages
Radioactive Materials	9.43%
Oversight	8.82%
ALARA	6.76%
Radiation Safety	6.67%
Emergency Response	4.54%

Complete relevant health physicist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New health physicists 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 health physicist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real health physicist resumes.

Research health physicist duties and responsibilities

Manage the work and flow through the plant and department with regard to NDT.
Ensure local site regulatory compliance by providing RSO oversight.
Interpret and apply NRC and EPA regulations pertinent to each assignment.
Review verification data for compliance with EPA cleanup standards.

Prepare your health physicist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your health physicist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a health physicist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable health physicist resume templates

Build a professional health physicist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your health physicist resume.