Radation Therapist/Medical Dosimetrist job outlook in states??

[pele_06]

Hey everyone, this is my first time posting on here so dont be too rough. Anyways, I will be graduating with a BSc in Medical Radiaiton Sciences from University of Toronto and a Dipolma (similar to associate degree here in Canada) in Radiation Therapy. I also have a BSc in biology. Just wanted to know how the job market is down in the states for radiation therapist. What kinda salary can one expect to make ?? Here in Canada we start of with 50,000 base, which Canadian dollars of course.

oh and also here in Canada we are trained to do dose calculations (dosimetry) and treatment planning, which is not the case for the most part for radiation therapy grads in the states. So i will probably have an advantage, but not too sure.

If anyone can help me out, I will greatly appreciate it.

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[Mulletfluf]

Hey everyone, this is my first time posting on here so dont be too rough. Anyways, I will be graduating with a BSc in Medical Radiaiton Sciences from University of Toronto and a Dipolma (similar to associate degree here in Canada) in Radiation Therapy. I also have a BSc in biology. Just wanted to know how the job market is down in the states for radiation therapist. What kinda salary can one expect to make ?? Here in Canada we start of with 50,000 base, which Canadian dollars of course.

oh and also here in Canada we are trained to do dose calculations (dosimetry) and treatment planning, which is not the case for the most part for radiation therapy grads in the states. So i will probably have an advantage, but not too sure.

If anyone can help me out, I will greatly appreciate it.

First I would like to say congrats on your upcoming graduation. You've chosen a great field!

To my knowledge, the job market in the states is good, and will remain that way for sometime. Salary is geographically dependent. 50,000.00 CAD is about 43,000 USD, which sounds typical here in the states as well. ASRT has a wage and salary survey posted at their website:
http://www.asrt.org/content/RTs/SurveyResults/WageandSalarySurvey/WageSalSurvey2004.aspx

You are correct that most RTTs in the states do not have treatment planning experience. The level of involvement in dosimetry with most US therapists goes only as far as MU calculations for Sim/Treats, but I think that is even still at a minimum. We check the plans, but don't run them. Dosimetry experience is a nice benefit, but only to a point. Being fresh out of school, I doubt you'd get an opportunity to put your dosimetry training to use. It will benefit you if you'd like to segway into dosimetry eventually.