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The differences between medical physicists and research physicists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a medical physicist and a research physicist. Additionally, a medical physicist has an average salary of $122,845, which is higher than the $74,663 average annual salary of a research physicist.
The top three skills for a medical physicist include patients, oncology and radiology. The most important skills for a research physicist are data analysis, laser, and python.
| Medical Physicist | Research Physicist | |
| Yearly salary | $122,845 | $74,663 |
| Hourly rate | $59.06 | $35.90 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 46,513 | 46,060 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A Medical Physicist develops and tests new systems to help investigate patients' conditions. They work for hospitals, diagnostic or medical instrumentation manufactures, or universities.
A research physicist's job is to conduct research into physical phenomena, develop theories based on observation and experiments, and devise methods to apply physical laws and theories. Their duties and responsibilities include describing observations, developing simulations, and advising authorities on procedures to be followed.
Medical physicists and research physicists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Physicist | Research Physicist | |
| Average salary | $122,845 | $74,663 |
| Salary range | Between $77,000 And $193,000 | Between $51,000 And $107,000 |
| Highest paying City | Rochester, NY | Coram, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Saint Luke's Health System | Sandia National Labs |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Technology |
There are a few differences between a medical physicist and a research physicist in terms of educational background:
| Medical Physicist | Research Physicist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Physics | Physics |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between medical physicists' and research physicists' demographics:
| Medical Physicist | Research Physicist | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 73.4% Female, 26.6% | Male, 85.4% Female, 14.6% |
| 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, 2.6% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 10.8% White, 74.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 24% | 24% |