Find the tumor on scans
On CT, MRI or other scans, pick out the tumor and nearby structures your plan must allow for.
Career profile
Medical Dosimetrist
Dosimetrists use CT, MRI and a prescription to aim radiation at disease, sparing healthy tissue.
Want to use math, physics and anatomy on a team treating cancer patients? This job does it through careful work at a computer.
A day in the life
Set up the radiation beams
Calculate the dose the doctor prescribed and arrange the beams to treat the target while sparing critical organs.
Talk through the plan's options
You talk the plan through with the radiation oncologist, medical physicist, radiation therapist and other oncology staff.
Double-check the math before use
Recheck calculations and run quality checks on treatment-planning systems to catch errors before anyone uses a plan.
Hand off to the treatment team
Record dose information and pass positioning details or reference images to the staff who deliver the approved plan.
Quick facts
Bachelor's + accredited program
United States · 2026
$147,470
United States · May 2025
5% growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Bachelor's + accredited programTypical entry requires a bachelor's degree and an accredited medical dosimetry program with supervised clinical experience.
Pay
$147,470Median annual wage for U.S. medical dosimetrists.
Outlook
5% growthProjected U.S. employment growth for medical dosimetrists.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You like using anatomy, physics, and math to solve a patient-specific problem.
- You can inspect details repeatedly without treating the final check as routine.
- You prefer close technical teamwork to being the main patient-facing clinician.
Things to weigh
- Accuracy carries real weight. O*NET respondents reported daily time pressure, and 65% described the consequences of error as extremely serious.
- Much of the day is spent sitting at a computer, even though the plan will guide hands-on treatment elsewhere in the department.
- Patient contact is usually limited, and work involving radiation or radioactive material requires strict safety procedures.
Where AI may help
AI tools are beginning to draft outlines of tumors, organs, and other anatomy on patient images and help create treatment plans. Systems that update plans when a patient's anatomy changes can also add time-sensitive replanning.
What people still lead
Dosimetrists review computer-generated outlines and dose patterns, correct problems, and work with physicians and physicists to adjust or optimize the plan.
What we can’t predict yet
Use differs by clinic and system. Automated outlining needs local testing and upkeep plus checks for each patient, so its effect on workload is not yet uniform.
Pay in context
Earnings
Individual pay can vary by employer industry; BLS reports different median wages across major employing industries.
National midpoint
The median annual wage was $147,470. That figure describes the middle of the May 2025 wage distribution across the occupation, not what a new graduate should expect. The median hourly wage was $70.90.
The national spread
In May 2025, the 10th-percentile annual wage was $111,670 and the 90th-percentile wage was $185,450. These are wage percentiles, not starting and senior salaries.
Small-field outlook
BLS projects employment to rise from about 3,500 jobs in 2025 to about 3,700 in 2035, with roughly 200 openings per year on average. Because these figures cover the entire country, they do not show how many openings will be available near you.
Getting started
Medical dosimetry bachelor's route
- What the route involves
- Complete a bachelor's-level medical dosimetry program that combines subjects such as physics, anatomy, and radiology with supervised clinical experience.
- What it can lead to
- This route can complete both the bachelor's-degree and dosimetry-program portions of the education requirement for the CMD exam.
- What to check
- Confirm the program's current JRCERT status and admission prerequisites before applying.
Related bachelor's, then dosimetry
- What the route involves
- Earn a bachelor's degree—often in a related science or after radiation-therapy preparation—then complete a JRCERT-accredited certificate or master's program in medical dosimetry with clinical education.
- What it can lead to
- The accredited dosimetry program adds the specialized education needed to an existing bachelor's degree, making you eligible to apply for the CMD exam.
- What to check
- Each accredited program sets its own prerequisite courses, so a related degree does not guarantee admission.
Certified Medical Dosimetrist (CMD) is the credential earned by meeting MDCB's education rules and passing its certification exam; BLS says most employers require certification. For current U.S. exam eligibility, MDCB requires at least a bachelor's degree plus graduation from a JRCERT-accredited medical dosimetry program lasting at least 12 months.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Learn the department
After hiring, learn the team's procedures, plan-review checkpoints, and escalation rules. Use peer review on early cases and ask when prescription intent or anatomy is unclear.
Broaden your cases
Build skill across image review, dose calculation, beam design, quality checks, and a wider range of treatment techniques.
Specialize or lead
With experience, you may teach trainees, support research, improve planning systems, or coordinate technical work.
Where you can work
Large hospital or academic center
Hospitals employed 58% of dosimetrists in 2025. One current academic-hospital role combines complex techniques, trainee instruction, and clinical-trial documentation with three onsite and two remote days; that hybrid schedule is employer-specific.
- Indoors
- Office
- Remote may be possible
- Safety-sensitive
Physician office or outpatient cancer center
Physicians' offices employed 27% and outpatient centers 3% in 2025. Planned care often supports regular schedules, but outpatient does not guarantee fixed daytime hours: one current ambulatory role lists variable 8 a.m.–8 p.m. weekdays and rotating weekends.
- Indoors
- Office
- Shift work
- Safety-sensitive
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Use JRCERT's program finder to choose two accredited medical dosimetry programs. Compare their prerequisite courses and clinical-placement details; note three shared requirements and one difference that could affect where or when you enroll.
Stay safe: Program listings and prerequisites can change, so verify them before paying an application fee.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Medical Dosimetrists. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- O*NET OnLine. 29-2036.00 — Medical Dosimetrists. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Medical Dosimetrist Certification Board. Eligibility. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology. Find a Program. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- American Society for Radiation Oncology. The State of Medical Dosimetry. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- American Association of Physicists in Medicine. Task Group No. 384 — Clinical Implementation of Automated Segmentation for Adaptive Radiation Therapy. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- American Society for Radiation Oncology. 2024 Dosimetry Great Catch. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Boston Medical Center. Medical Dosimetrist (Senior/Staff). Accessed 2026-09-23.
- NYU Langone Health. Dosimetrist — Radiation Oncology, Cancer Center. Accessed 2026-09-23.