Radiology assistant vs radiation therapist

The differences between radiology assistants and radiation therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a radiology assistant and a radiation therapist. Additionally, a radiation therapist has an average salary of $84,981, which is higher than the $30,902 average annual salary of a radiology assistant.

The top three skills for a radiology assistant include patients, patient care and customer service. The most important skills for a radiation therapist are patients, patient care, and radiation oncologist.

Radiology assistant vs radiation therapist overview

	Radiology Assistant	Radiation Therapist
Yearly salary	$30,902	$84,981
Hourly rate	$14.86	$40.86
Growth rate	-5%	6%
Number of jobs	25,979	39,384
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Associate Degree, 40%
Average age	43	42
Years of experience	2	2

What does a radiology assistant do?

Radio technicians are responsible for installing, adjusting, examining, maintaining, and repairing mobile or stationary radio transmitting. Their tasks include achieving all essential support management actions needed to establish and sustain the combat potency of assign electronic and electrical equipment. Also, they observe their performance, find out the causes of faults, and analyze given technical data for an electronic repair job. Job qualifications include knowledge in electronic principles, analog electronics theory, and electromagnetism, as well as dexterity and mechanical skills.

What does a radiation therapist do?

A radiation therapist is a medical professional who works in hospitals or cancer treatment centers and treats cancer and other diseases in patients by giving radiation treatments. Radiation therapists are required to explain the treatment plans to patients as well as conduct x-ray tests on patients to determine the exact location of the area that requires treatment. They must examine radiation machines to ensure that they are safe and working properly. Radiation therapists must also follow safety procedures to protect patients and themselves from overexposure.

Radiology assistant vs radiation therapist salary

Radiology assistants and radiation therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Radiology Assistant	Radiation Therapist
Average salary	$30,902	$84,981
Salary range	Between $19,000 And $48,000	Between $63,000 And $113,000
Highest paying City	Pontiac, MI	Los Angeles, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Mississippi
Best paying company	Brigham and Women's Hospital	Cedars-Sinai
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between radiology assistant and radiation therapist education

There are a few differences between a radiology assistant and a radiation therapist in terms of educational background:

	Radiology Assistant	Radiation Therapist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Associate Degree, 40%
Most common major	Medical Technician	Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology
Most common college	New York University	Duke University

Radiology assistant vs radiation therapist demographics

Here are the differences between radiology assistants' and radiation therapists' demographics:

	Radiology Assistant	Radiation Therapist
Average age	43	42
Gender ratio	Male, 30.0% Female, 70.0%	Male, 34.3% Female, 65.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 8.2% White, 58.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	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%
LGBT Percentage	10%	17%

Differences between radiology assistant and radiation therapist duties and responsibilities

Radiology assistant example responsibilities.

Manage patient transportation from room to room, discharges, admissions, surgery exam transportation and in hospital house transport.
Used Dictaphone, Digiscribe, RIS, Medrite, RMS, IDXRAD, and Flexirad.
Work closely with breast surgeons and oncologists to schedule breast MRI s prior to surgery.
Ensure patients who come in to retrieve their reports and images are in compliance with HIPAA regulations.
Install new programs on transcription equipment for radiology department.
Escort patients to examination rooms and prepare them for radiologic exams providing compassion and open communication aim at increasing comfort.

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.

Radiology assistant vs radiation therapist skills

Common radiology assistant skills

Patients, 28%
Patient Care, 12%
Customer Service, 7%
CPR, 5%
Medical Terminology, 5%
Data Entry, 3%

Common radiation therapist skills

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

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Radiology Assistant
Radiology Assistant vs Radiation Therapist

Updated January 8, 2025

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