Also called: Clinical Medical Physicist, Radiation Oncology Physicist
Makes sure cancer radiation treatments and medical scanners are accurate and safe.
In a cancer center, you check every patient's radiation plan so the beam destroys the tumor while sparing healthy tissue. Early mornings or evenings you test the linear accelerators with special detectors. You're the physicist doctors call when something looks off.
Based on AAPM salary surveys for certified clinical physicists; BLS counts them with physicists.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 11 years after high school. Master's or PhD in medical physics (CAMPEP-accredited), then a 2-year hospital residency and board certification (ABR).
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school, Certification. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Physics, Medical Physics, Nuclear Engineering.
Growing faster than average. Demand grows with cancer treatment and imaging; residency spots are the main bottleneck.
Low risk for 10 years. AI auto-plans treatments and checks QA, but a board-certified physicist must verify plans and answer for patient safety.
Classes: AP Physics C, AP Calculus BC, AP Biology.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-2012.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.