Health physics technician vs radiation technician

The differences between health physics technicians and radiation technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a health physics technician and a radiation technician. Additionally, a health physics technician has an average salary of $46,170, which is higher than the $43,400 average annual salary of a radiation technician.

The top three skills for a health physics technician include radiation safety, radioactive materials and air samples. The most important skills for a radiation technician are patient care, radiation safety, and pacs.

Health physics technician vs radiation technician overview

	Health Physics Technician	Radiation Technician
Yearly salary	$46,170	$43,400
Hourly rate	$22.20	$20.87
Growth rate	-17%	-17%
Number of jobs	55,571	25,551
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Associate Degree, 31%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	2	2

Health physics technician vs radiation technician salary

Health physics technicians and radiation technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Health Physics Technician	Radiation Technician
Average salary	$46,170	$43,400
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $81,000	Between $27,000 And $69,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between health physics technician and radiation technician education

There are a few differences between a health physics technician and a radiation technician in terms of educational background:

	Health Physics Technician	Radiation Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Associate Degree, 31%
Most common major	Biology	Medical Technician
Most common college	-	Duke University

Health physics technician vs radiation technician demographics

Here are the differences between health physics technicians' and radiation technicians' demographics:

	Health Physics Technician	Radiation Technician
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 72.4% Female, 27.6%	Male, 72.4% Female, 27.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 6.6% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 10.1% White, 56.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between health physics technician and radiation technician duties and responsibilities

Health physics technician example responsibilities.

Perform TEDE ALARA reviews to determine if respiratory protection would save dose on specific jobs.
Perform air, rod and contamination surveys, RWP surveys and RHR hoop valve cut and drain.
Alloy 600 lead technician responsibilities include reviewing daily surveys, performing ALARA briefs, designating tasks and developing shift schedule.
Develop a comprehensive written respiratory protection program for the NDT to align newly acquire SCBA capability with 29 CFR 1910 requirements.
Provide support for RCP removal and replacement
Follow specific RWP procedures and determine if results fall within prescribe guidelines.

Radiation technician example responsibilities.

Operate and maintain analytical instruments such as ICP-MS, GC-MS/FID/ECD and HPLC.
Enforce NRC requirements for clean rooms and radiation protocol for employees.
Compose written reports of data collect from patient evaluation and present to department chief for thorough analysis of patient diagnosis.
Publish numerous reports for BRL and AMSAA on NBC survivability and insurgency warfare.

Health physics technician vs radiation technician skills

Common health physics technician skills

Radiation Safety, 13%
Radioactive Materials, 10%
Air Samples, 8%
DOE, 5%
Radiation Surveys, 4%
ALARA, 4%

Common radiation technician skills

Patient Care, 39%
Radiation Safety, 20%
Pacs, 9%
OSHA, 7%
Radiation Treatments, 4%
Nuclear Power, 3%

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Health Physics Technician
Health Physics Technician vs Radiation Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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