Radiation Therapist

Duties and Responsibilities: Radiation Therapists duties include explaining treatment plans to patients, follow safety procedures to protect the patient and themselves from overexposure to radiation, examine machines to ensure if they are working properly, x-ray the patient to determine the exact location of the area requiring treatment, check computer programs to make sure the machine will give the correct dose of radiation to the appropriate area of the patient's body, operate the machine to treat the patient accurately, monitor patients to see if they are responding positively to treatment, and keep detailed records of treatments.

Salary: $22,000 - $36,000

Education: Although candidates may qualify by completing a 12-month certificate program, employers usually prefer to hire applicants who have an associate’s degree or a bachelor's degree in radiation therapy. Radiation therapy programs include courses in radiation therapy procedures and the scientific theories behind them. These programs often include courses in human anatomy and physiology, physics, algebra, computer science, and research methodology.

Reflection: I would not like to be a radiation therapist because it seems a little bit dangerous. It’s like you are playing with fire, except its invisible and poisonous fire. Also I would think that you would have to be passionate about radiology to become a radiation therapist.