Radiation therapist vs medical radiation dosimetrist

The differences between radiation therapists and medical radiation dosimetrists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a radiation therapist and a medical radiation dosimetrist. Additionally, a medical radiation dosimetrist has an average salary of $121,153, which is higher than the $84,981 average annual salary of a radiation therapist.

The top three skills for a radiation therapist include patients, patient care and radiation oncologist. The most important skills for a medical radiation dosimetrist are eclipse, dose calculations, and HDR.

Radiation therapist vs medical radiation dosimetrist overview

	Radiation Therapist	Medical Radiation Dosimetrist
Yearly salary	$84,981	$121,153
Hourly rate	$40.86	$58.25
Growth rate	6%	2%
Number of jobs	39,384	48,089
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 40%	Associate Degree, 41%
Average age	42	47
Years of experience	2	2

Radiation therapist vs medical radiation dosimetrist salary

Radiation therapists and medical radiation dosimetrists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Radiation Therapist	Medical Radiation Dosimetrist
Average salary	$84,981	$121,153
Salary range	Between $63,000 And $113,000	Between $76,000 And $192,000
Highest paying City	Los Angeles, CA	-
Highest paying state	Mississippi	-
Best paying company	Cedars-Sinai	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between radiation therapist and medical radiation dosimetrist education

There are a few differences between a radiation therapist and a medical radiation dosimetrist in terms of educational background:

	Radiation Therapist	Medical Radiation Dosimetrist
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 40%	Associate Degree, 41%
Most common major	Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology	Medical Technician
Most common college	Duke University	Northwestern University

Radiation therapist vs medical radiation dosimetrist demographics

Here are the differences between radiation therapists' and medical radiation dosimetrists' demographics:

	Radiation Therapist	Medical Radiation Dosimetrist
Average age	42	47
Gender ratio	Male, 34.3% Female, 65.7%	Male, 57.1% Female, 42.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 8.8% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 4.5% White, 69.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 3.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.5% Asian, 9.9% White, 69.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	17%	22%

Differences between radiation therapist and medical radiation dosimetrist duties and responsibilities

Radiation therapist example responsibilities.

Manage all payroll, accounts receivable and payable, and maintain complete records of equipment and staff.
Manage daily clinical staffing needs by appropriately deploying PRN therapist when need, which save company from employing an additional FTE.
Perform SBRT and SRS, and IMRT treatments under the supervision of the physician.
Set up patients on treatment machine, port films and IGRT to line up patients.
Ensure treatment plans are consistent with oncologist's prescriptions and verify EMR for daily treatment delivery.
Monitor patients records through EMR, maintain weekly and monthly reports for the company, maintain and order supplies.

Medical radiation dosimetrist example responsibilities.

Manage patient charts in MOSAIQ record and verify system.
Limit experience with Nucletron HDR unit.
Limit experience with Oncentra HDR planning software and Nucletron HDR unit.
Create radiation treatment plans for various tumor locations on high-volume dosimetry team while maintaining high-level quality assurance guidelines.
Full participatory Varian GammaMedplus iX HDR for breast and cervical treatment applications.

Radiation therapist vs medical radiation dosimetrist skills

Common radiation therapist skills

Patients, 28%
Patient Care, 9%
Radiation Oncologist, 8%
Patient Treatment, 6%
Dosimetry, 4%
Treatment Planning, 4%

Common medical radiation dosimetrist skills

Eclipse, 29%
Dose Calculations, 24%
HDR, 10%
Patient Treatment, 9%
MIM, 7%
Quality Patient Care, 6%

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Radiation Therapist
Radiation Therapist vs Medical Radiation Dosimetrist

Updated January 8, 2025

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