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The differences between medical physicists and physicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a medical physicist, becoming a physician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a physician has an average salary of $238,887, which is higher than the $122,845 average annual salary of a medical physicist.
The top three skills for a medical physicist include patients, oncology and radiology. The most important skills for a physician are patients, surgery, and patient care.
| Medical Physicist | Physician | |
| Yearly salary | $122,845 | $238,887 |
| Hourly rate | $59.06 | $114.85 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 46,513 | 46,489 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A Medical Physicist develops and tests new systems to help investigate patients' conditions. They work for hospitals, diagnostic or medical instrumentation manufactures, or universities.
Physicians' general responsibility is to check, diagnose, and treat a patient's condition to improve their overall wellness. A physician could be General Practitioners or Specialist Physicians, wherein General Practitioners are physicians who provide regular checkups for patients depending on their needs and refer them to a Specialist Physicians who are more skilled in a particular field of expertise for a thorough diagnosis. Physicians monitor a patient's medical history and ensure follow-up checkups to observe if the condition of a patient is changing over time. A physician may refer a patient to other health professionals for further examination as needed.
Medical physicists and physicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Physicist | Physician | |
| Average salary | $122,845 | $238,887 |
| Salary range | Between $77,000 And $193,000 | Between $128,000 And $442,000 |
| Highest paying City | Rochester, NY | Cleveland, TN |
| Highest paying state | New York | Wisconsin |
| Best paying company | Saint Luke's Health System | Yuma Regional Medical Center |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a medical physicist and a physician in terms of educational background:
| Medical Physicist | Physician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Most common major | Physics | Medicine |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between medical physicists' and physicians' demographics:
| Medical Physicist | Physician | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 73.4% Female, 26.6% | Male, 39.0% Female, 61.0% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 19.1% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 24% | 13% |