Healthcare practitioners
Medical dosimetrist
Generate radiation treatment plans, develop radiation dose calculations, communicate and supervise the treatment plan implementation, and consult with members of radiation oncology team.
Median pay
$147,470
Growth to 2035
+5%
about as fast as average
Openings a year
200
Time to qualify*
Minimal
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Medical dosimetrist
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- None
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Exposure to disease
Medical dosimetrist: 21% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Design the arrangement of radiation fields to reduce exposure to critical patient structures, such as organs, using computers, manuals, and guides.
- Plan the use of beam modifying devices, such as compensators, shields, and wedge filters, to ensure safe and effective delivery of radiation treatment.
- Identify and outline bodily structures, using imaging procedures, such as x-ray, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, or positron emission tomography.
- Calculate the delivery of radiation treatment, such as the amount or extent of radiation per session, based on the prescribed course of radiation therapy.
- Calculate, or verify calculations of, prescribed radiation doses.
- Develop radiation treatment plans in consultation with members of the radiation oncology team.
- Supervise or perform simulations for tumor localizations, using imaging methods such as magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, or positron emission tomography scans.
- Create and transfer reference images and localization markers for treatment delivery, using image-guided radiation therapy.
Also called: CMD (Certified Medical Dosimetrist) · Dosimetrist · Medical Dosimetrist · Medical Physicist · Radiation Oncology Medical Physicist
Outlook and AI
Medical dosimetrists held 3,500 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 3,700 by 2035 (+5%, about as fast as average; all jobs: +3.5%).
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