Types of Duties

• Radiation therapists operate machinery that emits highly-focused beams of radioactive energy. Therapists work in hospitals and outpatient care centers, administering treatments for patients suffering from medical conditions, such as cancer. Using directions written by doctors, therapists make adjustments to machinery to ensure that patients receive the appropriate dosage or strength of treatment on the appropriate parts of their bodies. Before treatments, therapists explain the procedures to patients and give them instructions throughout the treatment. Radiation therapists also update patient medical history, listing what treatment was given and when.
  
  

Education

• The minimum education necessary to work as an radiation therapist is a two-year associate degree. The majority of therapists, approximately 58 percent of all professionals in the field, hold an associate degree, according to the Occupational Information Network. Roughly 35 percent of all radiation therapists have a four-year bachelor's degree and around 4 percent hold a master's degree. The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists accredits radiation therapy programs in the United States and worldwide. As of 2010, around 100 programs in the United States have ARRT accreditation.
  
  

Credentialing

• More than 30 states require radiation therapists to have state licenses prior to working with patients as of 2009, explains the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Each state has its own licensing requirements, but most involve completing an approved education program and passing a written examination. All radiation therapists can choose to pursue voluntary certification from the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. To qualify, therapists must have attended an ARRT-accredited school and pass an examination created by the ARRT. Some states also use this exam as the standardized test required for licensing.
  
  

Compensation

• Radiation therapy technologists in the United States averaged hourly wages of $37.18 and annual salaries of $77,340 as of May 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. Pay rates ranged from $24.03 per hour and $49,980 per year for the lowest-paid 10 percent of therapists to $51.55 per hour and $107,230 per year for the highest-paid. In addition to standard medical benefits and retirement plans, some employers will reimburse or initially pay for the cost of the required continuing-education courses necessary to maintain certification or licensing.