Healthcare Practitioners
Medical Dosimetrists
Also called: CMD (Certified Medical Dosimetrist), Dosimetrist, Medical Dosimetrist, Medical Physicist
US median pay
$147,470
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+5%
faster than average
Openings a year (US)
200
3,500 employed
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Preparation 4/5 · Considerable preparation
What this job is
Generate radiation treatment plans, develop radiation dose calculations, communicate and supervise the treatment plan implementation, and consult with members of radiation oncology team.
What they do day to day
- 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.
- Record patient information, such as radiation doses administered, in patient records.
- Advise oncology team members on use of beam modifying or immobilization devices in radiation treatment plans.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Judgment and Decision Making3.6/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.6/5
- Time Management3.5/5
- Social Perceptiveness3.4/5
- Service Orientation3.2/5
- Systems Analysis3.1/5
- Coordination3.1/5
- Systems Evaluation3.0/5
Knowledge
- Mathematics4.2/5
- Physics4.2/5
- Computers and Electronics4.0/5
- Biology3.7/5
- Medicine and Dentistry3.6/5
- English Language3.6/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 4 of 5 — Considerable preparation. Usually a bachelor's degree and several years of related experience.
Typical entry education (BLS): Bachelor's degree.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Bachelor's degree40%
- Post-baccalaureate certificate35%
- Master's degree15%
Who this job suits
Mostly Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.