Health physicist vs optical scientist

The differences between health physicists and optical 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 an optical scientist. Additionally, an optical scientist has an average salary of $83,856, 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 an optical scientist are system design, zemax, and optical design.

Health physicist vs optical scientist overview

	Health Physicist	Optical Scientist
Yearly salary	$74,942	$83,856
Hourly rate	$36.03	$40.32
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	47,640	43,029
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	6	6

Health physicist vs optical scientist salary

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

	Health Physicist	Optical Scientist
Average salary	$74,942	$83,856
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $134,000	Between $52,000 And $132,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	New York	Connecticut
Best paying company	UCI Health	Meta
Best paying industry	Energy	Technology

Differences between health physicist and optical scientist education

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

	Health Physicist	Optical Scientist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common major	Physics	Physics
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	Harvard University

Health physicist vs optical scientist demographics

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

	Health Physicist	Optical Scientist
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 76.9% Female, 23.1%	Male, 90.7% Female, 9.3%
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, 1.9% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.4% Asian, 12.8% White, 73.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	24%	24%

Differences between health physicist and optical 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.

Optical scientist example responsibilities.

Manage sample inventory via in-house laboratory information management system (LIMS) and implement additional systems for sample and chemical organization.
Key activities include process chemistry development, synthesis of intermediates, compound purification and structure identification, and comprehensive scientific documentation.
Perform engineering research and development for numerous government fund projects, with problems focuse on adaptive optics and direct energy systems.

Health physicist vs optical scientist skills

Common health physicist skills

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

Common optical scientist skills

System Design, 21%
Zemax, 17%
Optical Design, 15%
Prototyping, 11%
Asap, 11%
Optical Components, 10%

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Health Physicist vs Optical Scientist

Updated January 8, 2025

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