Radiotherapy and oncology degree

Hi! I'm a y12 student, currently exploring different options for uni. I haven't found much information about the radiotherapy and oncology degree from current students. E.g. how difficult is it to find a job? Is this career high in demand? Do unis help with arranging placements? Do you have any regrets or wish that you chose a different career? Please can you share your experiences so I gain an insight into this career!! (Other options I'm considering are pharmacy, pharmacology and optometry). I'd really appreciate any help!!! Thanks

Hi,
I’m not a current student but the job is heavily in demand and some universities provide you with a grant from the NHS to study it, so you essentially get paid to take this course. I don’t know how each uni works but where I’m looking all placements are decided for you, but you can have some say with the location.

Ahh okay!! Thank you!! I'm also checking the salaries for this career and tbh, they're not great. I would expect it to be higher like you said it's high in demand.

Tbh it doesn’t depend on money, it depends on your passion for that course and aspects, I know people who kept looking at salaries for different courses and ended up not choosing anything

Yes, you're right. But salary does have a little say bc I want to be financially secure in the future especially with all that uni debt

Hi, I am in Year 13 and have just finished my exams, hoping to go to Liverpool Uni this year to study radiotherapy and oncology. I obviously don't know the studying yet but i can share some insight on how i chose radiotherapy. For me, the course and career offer more than a salary, the travel is amazing, the people and of course the actual job is fulfilling. The salary is of course important, but with band 8 it is very probable to earn 60-70,000 with experience. Obviously if you went into the private sector or set up your own company and dealt with the actual machines, you could earn a lot more than this!! there are more options with the degree than just a radiotherapist, so definitely look into this and see if any suit you. I would recommend finding some work experience, even for a few hours, to decide if it is something you do want to do, this really helped me solidify my choice. As the career is such high demand, there are many options for working abroad that other jobs may not bring, such as Canada, Australia and third world countries. This is very appealing to me as working around the world delivering life saving/bettering treatment sounds like what I want to do with my life. Also, the NHS bursary is definitely a big factor, I have been approved £6000 each year of my degree, an extra 1k as it is specialist. This definitely will help with travelling after qualifying but also travel to placements during uni, and is not something to look over. I have been told on open days and offer holder days, the work load is manageable but you need to be organised. Also, it is a transferable skill, I have been told by people, including my school career advisor that I could very easily switch careers with my degree into people related segments, such as HR, mental health etc. The final thing I would say is cancer care is always going to be needed, you will never be replaced by AI, or not be in demand. For me this is great as I will skip the awkward stage of graduating and waiting to find a job. Anyway, I hope this helps as I would definitely have wanted this when I was deciding. Good Luck! xx