Dosimetry vs Medical Physics? About to Graduate RT School and Feeling Conflicted About My Next Step
I’m about to graduate from radiation therapy school and I’ve been really conflicted on what direction to go next career wise. Right now I’m stuck between pursuing medical dosimetry or medical physics. I already have my bachelor’s degree in Biology, and I want to start applying to programs within the next few months, but I keep going back and forth.
I honestly feel more drawn to dosimetry because I like treatment planning and the day to day role and I hear a lot of great things from dosimetrists enjoying their job and how they have a flexible/great worklife, but what’s holding me back is constantly hearing people say AI is eventually going to take over a lot of the dosimetry field. I’m not sure how true that actually is, especially long term, so it’s been making me second guess things.
On the other hand, medical physics seems very stable and something im interested in, but from what I understand it would add a lot more years of schooling and training before actually being fully established in the field. Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it or if I’d burn out before getting there.
I know there is a great difference in responsibilities/salary for both careers, but for people already working in either field, what would you realistically recommend right now? How do you see the future of dosimetry with AI? And for physicists, was the extra schooling and residency worth it in the end?