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

What is a radiation therapy technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A radiation therapy certificate qualifies anyone to be a radiation therapy specialist. The specialist works with cancer patients as part of the healthcare team and is usually supervised by a radiation oncologist. A radiation therapy specialist positions a cancer patient for treatment performs mathematical calculations for radiation dosage and administers the dosage and treatments with specialized equipment. However, the specialist must be registered as a radiologic technologist with the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists.

In addition to managing a patient's well-being, the specialist monitors a patient's condition over weeks to track the need for a change in treatment plans. Although they use their judgment to accurately administer treatment, they must guarantee overall safety. Radiation therapy specialists are highly trained and are integral members of the cancer care team. They earn a median salary of $80,570 yearly. Nonetheless, the field is expected to grow by 13 percent in the new decade.

ScoreRadiation Therapy TechnicianUS Average

Salary

4.8

Avg. Salary $61,960

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.9

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.66%

Asian 2.97%

Black or African American 6.80%

Hispanic or Latino 9.88%

Unknown 8.80%

White 70.88%

Gender

female 63.89%

male 36.11%

Age - 42

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 - 42

Stress level

9.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.7

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a radiation therapy technician

Explore radiation therapy technician education requirements

Most common radiation therapy technician degrees

Associate

49.1 %

Bachelor's

35.8 %

Certificate

5.7 %

Start to develop specific radiation therapy technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	49.64%
Radiology	9.24%
EMR	7.40%
Aria	6.03%
Patient Treatment	4.68%

Complete relevant radiation therapy technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New radiation therapy 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 therapy technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real radiation therapy technician resumes.

Research radiation therapy technician duties and responsibilities

Manage flow and daily operation of the treatment linac.
Develop skills in RapidArc (or VMAT) treatment.
Train and supervise student radiotherapy technologists.
Deliver daily radiation therapy treatments to oncology patients.

Prepare your radiation therapy technician resume

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

Build a professional radiation therapy 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 therapy technician resume.