Radiation Therapists
Also called: Dosimetrist, Radiation Therapist (RT), Registered Radiation Therapist, Staff Radiation TherapistProvide radiation therapy to patients as prescribed by a radiation oncologist according to established practices and standards. Duties may include reviewing prescription and diagnosis; acting as liaison with physician and supportive care personnel; preparing equipment, such as immobilization, treatment, and protection devices; and maintaining records, reports, and files. May assist in dosimetry procedures and tumor localization.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 7 of its 22 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 2.8% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 0.4% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 5.0 hires for every 10 job openings in health care and social assistance, which employs about 97% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.5.0 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $87,330 | $69,150 to $99,830 | 120 |
| Arizona | $108,760 | $101,160 to $118,410 | 410 |
| Arkansas | $78,950 | $64,330 to $94,700 | 80 |
| California | $166,450 | $131,570 to $182,140 | 1,720 |
| Colorado | $108,020 | $101,820 to $121,520 | 320 |
| Connecticut | $116,170 | $96,510 to $129,600 | 110 |
| District of Columbia | $100,250 | $100,250 to $125,200 | 70 |
| Florida | $100,920 | $92,060 to $105,280 | 1,280 |
| Georgia | $94,460 | $84,400 to $105,730 | 470 |
| Hawaii | $125,520 | $110,610 to $125,530 | not published |
| Idaho | $99,660 | $81,540 to $125,030 | 100 |
| Illinois | $124,600 | $107,380 to $124,850 | not published |
| Indiana | $96,690 | $81,410 to $102,460 | 360 |
| Iowa | $81,610 | $77,150 to $96,670 | 120 |
| Kansas | $108,830 | $97,510 to $121,740 | 240 |
| Kentucky | $97,760 | $81,490 to $105,180 | 170 |
| Louisiana | $94,710 | $87,230 to $101,490 | 230 |
| Maine | $101,980 | $95,890 to $133,910 | 140 |
| Maryland | $107,120 | $97,850 to $115,890 | 250 |
| Massachusetts | $106,300 | $97,550 to $126,790 | 330 |
| Michigan | $95,890 | $83,310 to $102,880 | 450 |
| Minnesota | $98,000 | $85,480 to $105,540 | 210 |
| Mississippi | $88,100 | $82,380 to $95,620 | 70 |
| Missouri | $99,890 | $83,200 to $105,910 | 420 |
| Montana | $105,400 | $88,430 to $110,900 | 50 |
| Nebraska | $98,670 | $84,370 to $107,760 | 120 |
| Nevada | $92,990 | $86,090 to $117,860 | 110 |
| New Hampshire | $106,270 | $87,490 to $110,080 | 60 |
| New Jersey | $129,460 | $119,960 to $137,960 | 600 |
| New Mexico | $100,010 | $76,680 to $119,880 | 100 |
| New York | $129,620 | $108,090 to $141,580 | 820 |
| North Carolina | $99,250 | $84,680 to $103,850 | 710 |
| Ohio | $98,650 | $82,190 to $104,110 | 690 |
| Oklahoma | $98,390 | $81,920 to $102,890 | 120 |
| Oregon | $131,600 | $113,890 to $142,620 | 160 |
| Pennsylvania | $100,540 | $81,440 to $111,340 | 560 |
| Puerto Rico | $37,560 | $37,550 to $52,180 | not published |
| South Carolina | $100,790 | $82,150 to $104,800 | 200 |
| South Dakota | $97,470 | $82,970 to $135,500 | not published |
| Tennessee | $83,520 | $80,770 to $98,480 | 350 |
| Texas | $105,770 | $101,130 to $128,080 | 1,000 |
| Utah | $107,660 | $100,690 to $128,620 | 70 |
| Vermont | $101,060 | $99,190 to $119,390 | 50 |
| Virginia | $103,310 | $95,170 to $129,020 | 500 |
| Washington | $125,880 | $108,430 to $139,190 | 540 |
| West Virginia | $71,590 | $54,880 to $104,900 | 120 |
| Wisconsin | $93,600 | $81,640 to $105,030 | 550 |
Nationally: $105,310. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 7 of its 22 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Follow principles of radiation protection for patient, self, and others. | Not published |
| Not much | Review prescription, diagnosis, patient chart, and identification. | Not published |
| Not much | Position patients for treatment with accuracy, according to prescription. | Not published |
| Not much | Educate, prepare, and reassure patients and their families by answering questions, providing physical assistance, and reinforcing physicians' advice regarding treatment reactions or post-treatment care. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Check radiation therapy equipment to ensure proper operation. | Not published |
| Not much | Administer prescribed doses of radiation to specific body parts, using radiation therapy equipment according to established practices and standards. | Not published |
See all 22 tasks
| AI + software | Observe and reassure patients during treatment and report unusual reactions to physician or turn equipment off if unexpected adverse reactions occur. | Not published |
| AI + software | Maintain records, reports, or files as required, including such information as radiation dosages, equipment settings, or patients' reactions. | Not published |
| Not much | Photograph treated area of patient and process film. | Not published |
| AI + software | Enter data into computer and set controls to operate or adjust equipment or regulate dosage. | Not published |
| Not much | Conduct most treatment sessions independently, in accordance with the long-term treatment plan and under the general direction of the patient's physician. | Not published |
| Not much | Check for side effects, such as skin irritation, nausea, or hair loss to assess patients' reaction to treatment. | Not published |
| Not much | Prepare or construct equipment, such as immobilization, treatment, or protection devices. | Not published |
| AI + software | Schedule patients for treatment times. | Not published |
| AI + software | Act as liaison with physicist and supportive care personnel. | Not published |
| AI + software | Help physicians, radiation oncologists, or clinical physicists to prepare physical or technical aspects of radiation treatment plans, using information about patient condition and anatomy. | Not published |
| Not much | Train or supervise student or subordinate radiotherapy technologists. | Not published |
| Not much | Provide assistance to other healthcare personnel during dosimetry procedures and tumor localization. | Not published |
| Not much | Calculate actual treatment dosages delivered during each session. | under 0.01% |
| AI alone | Implement appropriate follow-up care plans. | Not published |
| Not much | Assist in the preparation of sealed radioactive materials, such as cobalt, radium, cesium, or isotopes, for use in radiation treatments. | Not published |
| Not much | Store, sterilize, or prepare the special applicators containing the radioactive substance implanted by the physician. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 2 of the 22 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 22 tasks fall under 24 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #35 Process digital or online data
- #46 Provide support or encouragement to others
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare mixtures or solutions | |||
| Administer basic health care or medical treatments | |||
| Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care | |||
| Operate medical equipment | |||
| Assist healthcare practitioners during medical procedures | |||
| Process digital or online data | |||
| Provide support or encouragement to others | |||
| Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance |
Show all 24 activities
| Explain medical information to patients or family members | |||
| Verify personal information | |||
| Analyze health or medical data | |||
| Schedule appointments | |||
| Monitor health conditions of humans or animals | |||
| Develop patient or client care or treatment plans | |||
| Treat injuries, illnesses, or diseases | |||
| Examine people or animals to assess health conditions or physical characteristics | |||
| Administer therapeutic treatments | |||
| Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment | |||
| Supervise personnel activities | |||
| Train others on health or medical topics | |||
| Follow standard healthcare safety procedures to protect patient and staff members | |||
| Maintain health or medical records | |||
| Clean medical equipment or facilities | |||
| Fabricate medical devices |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- Math or a calculation51%
- An explanation or answer21%
- Advice or a recommendation12%
- A document or report3%
- A plan or strategy3%
How they worked with Claude
11% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for radiation therapists specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 1,257 moves out
- 1 Radiologic Technologists and Technicians Moderate +5.0% 20%
- 2 Marketing Managers Very high +6.9% 18%
- 3 Medical and Health Services Managers High +24.2% 9%
- 4 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 5 Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists Moderate +7.7% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 1,039 moves in
- 1 Radiologic Technologists and Technicians Moderate +5.0% 25%
- 2 Marketing Managers Very high +6.9% 10%
- 3 Medical and Health Services Managers High +24.2% 8%
- 4 Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists Moderate +7.7% 4%
- 5 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 9% postsecondary certificate
- 3% some college
- 50% associate's
- 38% bachelor's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 35 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 3% less than high school
- 2% high school
- 4% some college
- 20% associate's
- 62% bachelor's
- 8% master's
- 1% professional degree
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 150 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
1 program: Medical Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiation Therapist.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
97.9% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | 57.5% | 19.1% |
| a certification | 69.6% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | 2.4% | 2.8% |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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