Radiation Oncologists

ANZSCO ID 253918

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
250
Future Growth
N/A
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
86%
Female Share
47%
Average age
40

Summary

Radiation Oncologists provide medical care and management of patients with cancer and other medical conditions through the conduct and supervision of radiation treatment, and provide advice on the provision of palliative and other supportive care of patients with cancer.

Tasks

  • Examines internal structures and functions of organ systems, and considers x-ray findings and other examinations and tests.

  • Makes diagnoses and advises patients, physicians, surgeons or other doctors.

  • Administers radiopaque substances by injection, orally, or as enemas, to render internal structures and organs visible on x-ray films or fluoroscope screens.

  • Conducts ultrasound, gamma camera, radioisotope scans and CT scanning.


Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. Employment projections data are only produced for occupations at the broad four digit Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) level. While data are not available for this occupation, projections data are available for the parent occupation, Other Medical Practitioners, under the outlook section.


Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 86% of people employed as Radiation Oncologists work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 20 percentage points above the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 46 hours per week in their main job. This is similar to the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Sources:Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average.


Industries

Main industries

1
Health Care and Social Assistance
98.8%
2
Public Administration and Safety
2.8%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

41.5% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

22.0% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

19.9% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

6.1% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

5.3% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

1.2% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.0% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

4.1% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Radiation Oncologists All Jobs Average
NSW 41.5 31.6
VIC 22.0 25.6
QLD 19.9 20.0
SA 6.1 7.0
WA 5.3 10.8
TAS 1.2 2.0
NT 0.0 1.0
ACT 4.1 1.9


  • Around 69% of Radiation Oncologists live in capital cities, compared with the all jobs average of 62%.

    New South Wales has a large share of employment relative to its population size.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian states, territories and regions, in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
40
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
47%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Radiation Oncologists is 40 years. This is the same as the all jobs average.

    A large share of workers are aged 35 to 44 years.

    Females make up 47% of the workforce. This is similar to the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Radiation Oncologists All Jobs Average
15-19 0.0 5.0
20-24 0.0 9.3
25-34 26.4 22.9
35-44 37.2 22.0
45-54 20.5 21.6
55-59 9.3 9.0
60-64 3.9 6.0
65 and Over 2.7 4.2
Median Age 40 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

Medical Practitioners need to undertake further training with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists to become a Radiation Oncologist.

Registration with the Medical Board of Australia is required.

Visit

  • Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
  • ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Radiation Oncologists All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 50.2 10.1
Bachelor degree 49.8 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 0.0 11.6
Certificate III/IV 0.0 21.1
Year 12 0.0 18.1
Year 11 0.0 4.8
Year 10 and below 0.0 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.


Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Other Medical Practitioners who are caring and empathetic and can work well in a team, with the ability to communicate with a diverse range of people.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 55%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 55%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 54%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 52%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 50%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 50%

    Operation and control

    Controlling equipment or systems.

  • 48%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 48%

    Operation monitoring

    Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

  • 48%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 48%

    Quality control analysis

    Doing tests and checking products, services, or processes to make sure they are working properly.

  • 46%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 46%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 46%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 45%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 45%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 43%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 43%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 43%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 41%

    Management of personnel resources

    Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.

  • 39%

    Troubleshooting

    Figuring out why a machine or system went wrong and working out what to do about it.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 76%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 63%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 60%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 59%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 59%

    Medicine and dentistry

    Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.

  • 57%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 56%

    Therapy and counselling

    Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.

  • 55%

    Physics

    The physical laws of matter, motion and energy, and how they interact through space and time.

  • 55%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 52%

    Biology

    Plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, how they rely on and work with each other and the environment.

  • 46%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 38%

    Philosophy and theology

    Philosophical systems and religions, including their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and impact on society.

  • 36%

    Mechanical

    Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

  • 36%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 35%

    Chemistry

    Chemical composition, structure, and properties. How chemicals are made, used, mixed, and can change.

  • 34%

    Sociology and anthropology

    Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

  • 34%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 33%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 31%

    Engineering and technology

    Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.

  • 18%

    Telecommunications

    Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 57%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 57%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 57%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 55%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 55%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 55%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 54%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 50%

    Arm-hand steadiness

    Keep your hand or arm steady.

  • 50%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 50%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 50%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 48%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 46%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 46%

    Finger dexterity

    Put together small parts with your fingers.

  • 45%

    Control precision

    Quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

  • 45%

    Far vision

    See details that are far away.

  • 45%

    Flexibility of closure

    See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.

  • 45%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 43%

    Brainstorming

    Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.

  • 43%

    Manual dexterity

    Quickly move your hand to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.


Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 85%

    Controlling equipment or machines

    Operating machines or processes either directly or using controls (not including computers or vehicles).

  • 83%

    Helping and caring for others

    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.

  • 82%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 78%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

    Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.

  • 77%

    Working with the public

    Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.

  • 76%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 75%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 75%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 72%

    Checking for errors or defects

    Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.

  • 72%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

  • 71%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 71%

    Collecting and organising information

    Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.

  • 65%

    Assessing and evaluating things

    Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.

  • 65%

    Checking compliance with standards

    Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

  • 64%

    Coordinating the work of a team

    Getting members of a group to work together to finish a task.

  • 62%

    Training and teaching others

    Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.

  • 61%

    Working with computers

    Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

  • 60%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 59%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.

  • 58%

    Doing physically active work

    Use your arms, legs and whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling objects.


Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 81%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 76%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

  • 71%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 52%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.

  • 24%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 14%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.


Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
  • 90%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 90%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.

  • 71%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 71%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 67%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 62%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.


Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:
  • 99%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 98%

    Physically close to people

    Work physically close to other people.

  • 97%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 96%

    Disease or infection

    Be exposed to disease or infections.

  • 94%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 94%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 94%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 94%

    Repeating same tasks

    Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.

  • 91%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 91%

    Consequence of error

    Work where mistakes have serious consequences.

  • 89%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 88%

    Using your hands to handle, control, or feel

    Spend time using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls.

  • 88%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 86%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 83%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 83%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 80%

    Making repetitive motions

    Spend time making repetitive motions.

  • 79%

    Walking and running

    Spend time walking and running.

  • 78%

    Competition

    Compete with others, or be aware of competitive pressures.

  • 78%

    Spend time standing

    Spend time standing at work.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 29-1124.00 - Radiation Therapists.


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