How To Become A Radiation Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a radiation technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average radiation technician salary is $43,400. The most common degree is a associate degree degree with an medical technician major. It usually takes 1-2 years of experience to become a radiation technician. Radiation technicians with a Radiation Therapy certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -17% and produce -900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreRadiation TechnicianUS Average

Salary

3.4

Avg. Salary $43,400

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate -17%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.98%

Asian 10.12%

Black or African American 9.60%

Hispanic or Latino 16.96%

Unknown 5.66%

White 56.68%

Gender

female 27.62%

male 72.38%

Age - 35

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 35

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a radiation technician

Explore radiation technician education requirements

Most common radiation technician degrees

Associate

31.0 %

Bachelor's

30.2 %

High School Diploma

25.9 %

Start to develop specific radiation technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Patient Care	39.25%
Radiation Safety	19.67%
Pacs	9.13%
OSHA	7.33%
Radiation Treatments	4.06%

Complete relevant radiation technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New radiation technicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a radiation technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real radiation technician resumes.

Research radiation technician duties and 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.

Prepare your radiation technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your radiation technician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a radiation technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable radiation technician resume templates

Build a professional radiation technician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your radiation technician resume.