Radiation Therapists
Provide 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.
17,070 people do this job in the US. $105,310 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 29%
- 0%
- 71%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 5%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 25%. Today's estimate: 27%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 22 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare or construct equipment, such as immobilization, treatment, or protection devices.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 11% | 50 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Help physicians, radiation oncologists, or clinical physicists to prepare physical or technical aspects of radiation treatment plans, using information about patient condition and anatomy.Done daily by most who do it. | 10% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 77%Half by now | |
| Conduct most treatment sessions independently, in accordance with the long-term treatment plan and under the general direction of the patient's physician.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 9% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Administer prescribed doses of radiation to specific body parts, using radiation therapy equipment according to established practices and standards.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 8% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Train or supervise student or subordinate radiotherapy technologists.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Maintain records, reports, or files as required, including such information as radiation dosages, equipment settings, or patients' reactions.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | 100%Half by now | |
| 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.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 17 min8 min to 29 min | Stays with people | |
| Position patients for treatment with accuracy, according to prescription.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 10 min4 min to 21 min | Stays with people | |
| Check for side effects, such as skin irritation, nausea, or hair loss to assess patients' reaction to treatment.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 13 min4 min to 21 min | Stays with people | |
| Photograph treated area of patient and process film.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Act as liaison with physicist and supportive care personnel.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 17 min4 min to 25 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Follow principles of radiation protection for patient, self, and others.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 8 min4 min to 13 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).