Answer to Question #1131 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Q

I have searched for jobs. There are lots of opportunities for radiation control technicians, which is good. By comparison, there are practically none for health physicists with a PhD. Any suggestion(s) other than posting my résumé? Thanks in advance for your response.

A

Although searching for a job can be quite disheartening, professional health physicists undertaking this pursuit have reason to be optimistic. According to a recent survey conducted by the Health Physics Society (HPS), the demand for radiation safety professionals is approximately 130% of supply. This deficit is expected to increase to approximately 160% in the next five years. Thus as a job seeker, the odds are in your favor. (Additional information on the attrition of health physics professionals can be found in the HPS position paper titled "Human Capital Crisis in Radiation Safety.") However, knowing jobs exist is only the beginning. How does one find them? Two useful sources are provided by HPS. The first is the Health Physics Newsletter, which includes job postings each month. Job postings can also be found in the "Members Only" section of the HPS Web site. Subscribing to the RadSafe mailing list (email Majordomo@list.vanderbilt.edu with the body of the message reading "subscribe radsafe") or searching the RadSafe archives can also provide leads. A comprehensive listing of links to various employment opportunities is located at the Radiation Information Network. If interested in employment with government agencies (for example, NRC, DOE) or national laboratories, a link to current job openings is typically found on the home page of each agency or lab. Heather J. Gepford, CHP