Healing Patients
A career as a Radiation Therapist
What is a radiation therapist?
Cancer patients have a variety of treatments options available to them and depending on what treatment option they choose radiation therapy is a treatment they can choose to have.
Work Environments:
A radiation therapist primary works at hospitals or a cancer treatment center. They are considered to be part of a cancer team that administrates radiation treatments
Job outlook:
Quick Facts: Radiation Therapists
$77,560 per year
$37.29 per hour
Associate’s degree
Work Experience in a Related Occupation
None
None
19,100
24% (Much faster than average)
4,500
Within the next 10 years or so it looks like Radiation therapist will grow by almost ¼!
Salary:
The average salary of a radiation therapist is between $60,000-$70,000. However radiation therapist can make more if they work for “outpatient care centers”. By the year 2016 jobs for radiation therapist are expected to grow by 25%, which is a fast growing career.
About what radiation therapist does:
Radiation therapist uses a “linear accelerators” to operate beans of radiation onto a patient’s tumor. Which literally shrinks or removes the tumor completely. Usually treatment periods last half an hour on average and are regularly administered daily for a few months at a time. During treatment radiation therapist are consistently monitoring their patients health as well as “adjust for any serious side effects” They must be able to record and organize treatment records of their patients. Radiation therapist unusually work an average 40 hour week and usually don’t work evenings or weekends however they are standing on their feet for their entire shift.