Thoughts on career in medical physics?

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>I am going to be a senior studying ME at UC Berkeley next fall. The urgency of choosing a focus for graduate school or career is beginning to hit hard. Any insight on a career in medical physics? From what I've been reading, after undergrad, I can get a masters (2 years) or PhD (4-5 years) and do a residency for another 2 years before I finally start clinical practice.</p>

<p>Originally I wanted my concentration to be in controls engineering/mechatronics, but I think medical physics would be more spiritually rewarding for me. Plus, I hear that job security and salary is quite good.</p>

<p>One problem is that I don't have any experience in the medical field (in classes or internships), so when I apply for grad schools I don't know how I will convince them of my interest based on unrelated Letters of Rec and statement of intent. Any thoughts on how to work around this problem or on medical physics as a career?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

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<p>vik_tor115 - my husband is a medical physicist. There are presently a lot of positions in this field and the salaries have risen due to shortages and the need for expertise. If you have specific questions I will try to ask my husband who isn't on this site. He works in a hospital setting in oncology - I think there is a good future for this field. Where are you located?</p>

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<p>Oops- I see you are in CA. You might give a call to one or two of the radiation oncology centers and talk with some of the medical physicists who work in these fields. Not all medical physicists work in radiation therapy, however. My husband and his colleagues have people in to see what they do frequently and some future physicists have even worked at lower level positions while going to school to get their MS. There is a shortage in the field at least here in the NE.</p>