Radiation therapy technician vs medical radiation dosimetrist

The differences between radiation therapy technicians 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 therapy technician and a medical radiation dosimetrist. Additionally, a medical radiation dosimetrist has an average salary of $121,153, which is higher than the $61,960 average annual salary of a radiation therapy technician.

The top three skills for a radiation therapy technician include patients, radiology and EMR. The most important skills for a medical radiation dosimetrist are eclipse, dose calculations, and HDR.

Radiation therapy technician vs medical radiation dosimetrist overview

	Radiation Therapy Technician	Medical Radiation Dosimetrist
Yearly salary	$61,960	$121,153
Hourly rate	$29.79	$58.25
Growth rate	6%	2%
Number of jobs	34,724	48,089
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 49%	Associate Degree, 41%
Average age	42	47
Years of experience	2	2

Radiation therapy technician vs medical radiation dosimetrist salary

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

	Radiation Therapy Technician	Medical Radiation Dosimetrist
Average salary	$61,960	$121,153
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $94,000	Between $76,000 And $192,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between radiation therapy technician and medical radiation dosimetrist education

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

	Radiation Therapy Technician	Medical Radiation Dosimetrist
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 49%	Associate Degree, 41%
Most common major	Medical Technician	Medical Technician
Most common college	Duke University	Northwestern University

Radiation therapy technician vs medical radiation dosimetrist demographics

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

	Radiation Therapy Technician	Medical Radiation Dosimetrist
Average age	42	47
Gender ratio	Male, 36.1% Female, 63.9%	Male, 57.1% Female, 42.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 8.8% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 3.0% White, 70.9% 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 therapy technician and medical radiation dosimetrist duties and responsibilities

Radiation therapy technician example 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.
Train or supervise student or subordinate radiotherapy technologists.
Administer and monitor anesthesia for patients receiving radiation therapy.

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 therapy technician vs medical radiation dosimetrist skills

Common radiation therapy technician skills

Patients, 50%
Radiology, 9%
EMR, 7%
Aria, 6%
Patient Treatment, 5%
Treatment Machines, 3%

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 Therapy Technician
Radiation Therapy Technician vs Medical Radiation Dosimetrist

Updated January 8, 2025

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