Health physicist vs nuclear scientist

The differences between health physicists and nuclear scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a health physicist and a nuclear scientist. Additionally, a nuclear scientist has an average salary of $112,127, which is higher than the $74,942 average annual salary of a health physicist.

The top three skills for a health physicist include radioactive materials, oversight and ALARA. The most important skills for a nuclear scientist are data acquisition, R, and nuclear power.

Health physicist vs nuclear scientist overview

	Health Physicist	Nuclear Scientist
Yearly salary	$74,942	$112,127
Hourly rate	$36.03	$53.91
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	47,640	44,724
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	6	6

Health physicist vs nuclear scientist salary

Health physicists and nuclear scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Health Physicist	Nuclear Scientist
Average salary	$74,942	$112,127
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $134,000	Between $73,000 And $170,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	-
Highest paying state	New York	-
Best paying company	UCI Health	-
Best paying industry	Energy	-

Differences between health physicist and nuclear scientist education

There are a few differences between a health physicist and a nuclear scientist in terms of educational background:

	Health Physicist	Nuclear Scientist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common major	Physics	Nuclear Engineering
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Health physicist vs nuclear scientist demographics

Here are the differences between health physicists' and nuclear scientists' demographics:

	Health Physicist	Nuclear Scientist
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 76.9% Female, 23.1%	Male, 64.3% Female, 35.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 2.8% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 7.2% White, 77.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 0.8% Unknown, 3.3% Hispanic or Latino, 6.7% Asian, 7.9% White, 80.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	24%	24%

Differences between health physicist and nuclear scientist duties and responsibilities

Health physicist example 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.
Perform all functions of outage health physics job coverage.
Monitor and assist RCA exit portal area as needed.

Nuclear scientist example responsibilities.

Manage pediatric dose development project, technology transfer project and alternate API supplier qualification project on budget and on schedule
Conduct research and analyze data to identify potential biomarkers and provide input for selection of candidates for non-clinical studies development.
Facilitate customer acceptance of demand forecast by developing visualization processes, tutoring clients in methodology, and providing detail walk-through examples.

Health physicist vs nuclear scientist skills

Common health physicist skills

Radioactive Materials, 9%
Oversight, 9%
ALARA, 7%
Radiation Safety, 7%
Emergency Response, 5%
NRC, 3%

Common nuclear scientist skills

Data Acquisition, 65%
R, 24%
Nuclear Power, 11%

Health Physicist vs. similar jobs

Health Physicist related careers

Health Physicist related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Life, Physical, and Social Science Industry
Health Physicist
Health Physicist vs Nuclear Scientist

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse life, physical, and social science jobs