HEALTH AND MEDICINE

Nuclear Medicine Technologist

Gives patients radioactive tracers and operates PET and gamma cameras to image organs and detect disease.

Physics, Chemistry and Biology After Class 12 Public sector company (PSU)

Facts checked 29/10/2026

Is this for me?

People in this work enjoy

Working with advanced machines and physics ideas, while still meeting patients every day
Careful, precise work where getting a dose right really matters
Being part of a hospital team that helps find cancer, heart and bone problems early

It may not suit you if you dislike

You work with radioactive material and must follow safety rules every single time
Patients may be frightened, unwell or elderly, and you may need to lift or position them
Government posts are few and come up rarely, and shift or on-call work is possible (reported)

Class 11–12 subjects: Class 12 with Physics and Chemistry is the national minimum. Most colleges also ask for Biology and English, with about 50% marks. Some colleges, such as MIT-WPU, accept PCM students who take Biology as an extra subject. You usually need to be 17 by 31 December of the admission year, and you must submit a medical fitness certificate.
First degree: B.Sc Nuclear Medicine Technology. The national (NCAHP) model is 4 years: 3 years of study plus a 1-year internship. Older courses ran 3 years. The other way in is a B.Sc in Physics, Chemistry or Life Sciences, followed by a 1-year postgraduate diploma such as DMRIT (BARC/HBNI).
Entrance exams: There is no single national entrance exam. Colleges admit on Class 12 marks or their own test (Manipal uses MET). For BARC's DMRIT, BARC held its own entrance test in the past (reported; check the latest notice). Government jobs have their own recruitment notices.
Licence or registration: There is no single exam to practise. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) requires nuclear medicine facilities to employ a technologist with a bachelor's degree in nuclear medicine technology. The other accepted route is a science degree plus a postgraduate diploma or degree in the subject. To become a Radiological Safety Officer (RSO) you need more: a postgraduate qualification and a separate AERB-specified certification exam run by BARC.

Subjects that keep this door openClass 11–12: Physics + Chemistry + Biology.Physics, Chemistry and Biology.Way back: You can add the missing subject later as an extra subject (for example through NIOS) and still apply, but check the exam's and college's rules. A longer road, but open.Check your subjects against every career

What the work is like

Preparing patients, drawing and checking radioactive doses, injecting tracers, running PET, SPECT and gamma cameras, checking image quality, keeping radiation records and handling radioactive waste safely.

A day in the work
You arrive early and check that the gamma camera or PET scanner is working and that the tracer doses have been calculated and checked. Then you meet the first patients, explain what will happen, inject the tracer in a shielded set-up, and later help each patient lie still on the scan bed. Between scans you record doses, clean up any spills, label waste and wear your radiation badge. The nuclear medicine doctor reviews your images, and some days you also check that equipment passes its routine quality tests.

Professional qualificationRun by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), with the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) setting the national curriculum. You can start after: Class 12 with Physics and Chemistry (most colleges also want Biology). Minimum time: About 4 years after Class 12 (3 years of study plus a 1-year internship, per the NCAHP curriculum).

The full route: exams, training, registration

Step 1 · Class 11–12Take Physics, Chemistry and Biology, plus English. Aim for at least 50% overall. Most colleges ask for this, and it keeps every option open.
Step 2 · Class 12Apply to a B.Sc Nuclear Medicine Technology course. Admission is by Class 12 marks or the college's own test (for example MET at Manipal). Check that the college runs the course full-time with a hospital attached.
Step 3 · Years 1–3Study anatomy, radiation physics, radiochemistry, radiopharmacy, imaging instruments and radiation safety, with clinical practice alongside.
Step 4 · Year 4Do a 1-year internship or clinical training in a working nuclear medicine department, handling patients, tracers and scanners under supervision. This is the NCAHP model; some older courses are 3 years.
Step 5 · First jobWork in a hospital PET-CT or nuclear medicine unit. Government posts, such as Scientific Assistant 'B' at Tata Memorial Centre or BARC, are advertised only from time to time. Their notices ask for a B.Sc with a nuclear medicine qualification, and some also ask for the RSO Level-II exam.
Optional · Radiation safetyTo work as Radiological Safety Officer, you need a postgraduate degree or diploma in nuclear medicine technology and then must pass the RSO (Nuclear Medicine) certification exam conducted by BARC's Radiological Physics and Advisory Division.
Optional · PostgraduateM.Sc Nuclear Medicine Technology (3 years, including a year of residency, in the NCAHP model). This leads to senior, teaching and quality-control roles.

Ways in

Direct degree after Class 12Class 12 (PCB) → B.Sc Nuclear Medicine Technology (about 4 years including internship) → job. This is the main route and the one AERB and NCAHP describe.
Science degree, then a diplomaClass 12 (PCB or PCM) → B.Sc in Physics, Chemistry or a life science → 1-year postgraduate diploma such as DMRIT (BARC/HBNI) → job. HBNI's rules ask for a B.Sc with at least 50% marks and Physics or Chemistry as a subject.

Recently changed, or still changing

NCAHP has now published a national curriculum for B.Sc and M.Sc Nuclear Medicine Technology. Course length and entry rules at individual colleges may change, so check each college's current page.
AERB does not approve university courses itself. It checks entry qualification, radiation-safety syllabus and hospital training. The course must be full-time; distance or part-time study is not accepted.

Your real chances

Government posts are few. The ACTREC (Tata Memorial Centre) 2025 notice listed 3 Scientific Assistant 'B' (Nuclear Medicine) posts, and the 2024 notice listed 5. Applicant numbers are not published, but the posts are rare, so many graduates work in private hospitals.

Source: ACTREC, Tata Memorial Centre advertisement 2025 ↗

Time and money

Stage	Time	Government college or body	Private college	Help available
Class 11–12 (PCB + English, 50% overall)	2 years	Your school's fees	Your school's fees	—
Direct route: B.Sc Nuclear Medicine Technology (3 years study + 1-year internship)	4 years	Check the college's fee page	Check the college's fee page	Check the college's fee page; the page gives no scholarship details
Science-degree route: B.Sc Physics/Chemistry/Life Sciences, then 1-year PG diploma (DMRIT, BARC/HBNI)	1 year diploma after B.Sc	BARC charged no course fee, only an HBNI enrolment fee (reported, 2019); check latest notice	—	DAE paid one-year stipendiary training scheme for science graduates (paid training)
First job: Scientific Assistant 'B' (Nuclear Medicine), ACTREC, Tata Memorial	Advertised only from time to time	Pay Level 6, ₹35,400 basic + allowances (2025 notice)	Hospitals set their own pay	—

Total timeAbout 4 years after Class 12

Total costDepends mostly on the college you choose — compare fee pages.

Good to knowThe technologist is not the doctor; government posts are few, and the DAE diploma scheme is paid training.

Fees from: BARC careers: Scientific Assistant and Technician recruitment · HBNI Ordinance for the DMRIT diploma. Fees change every year — check the college's own fee page before you pay.

What people earn

Official pay

Scientific Assistant 'B' (Nuclear Medicine) at ACTREC, Tata Memorial Centre: Pay Level 6, ₹35,400 basic (Cell 1) + allowances (7th CPC), per the 2025 notice. Upper age limit was 30 years as on 22.08.2025. Scientific Assistant 'C' (Nuclear Medicine) at Tata Memorial Hospital was Pay Level 7, ₹44,900 basic + allowances in the 2025 notice. Hospitals in the private sector set their own pay.

Source: ACTREC, Tata Memorial Centre advertisement 2025 ↗

Pay depends a lot on the employer: government posts follow a fixed pay scale, while private hospitals and PET-CT chains in big cities set their own pay. It usually rises with experience, extra skills such as PET-CT or radiopharmacy, and a postgraduate degree.

Myth and fact

Myth: ~~A nuclear medicine technologist is a doctor who treats cancer with radiation.~~

Fact: A technologist is an allied health professional who prepares patients, handles tracers and runs the scanners. The nuclear medicine physician (MBBS plus postgraduate degree) reads the scans and decides on treatment.

For girls and students with disabilities

DAE units such as BARC follow Government of India reservation and age relaxation for SC, ST, OBC, persons with disabilities and ex-servicemen. Some colleges keep a disability quota under NCAHP rules, but the work involves handling radioactive material and positioning patients, so check each college's rules and the physical requirements in each job notice.

Try it now

Class 7–9Watch a few free lessons on atoms, radioactivity and X-rays. Then write one page on how an X-ray picture differs from a scan that uses a tracer inside the body.Open link ↗
Class 10–12Ask a nearby hospital with a nuclear medicine or PET-CT unit whether a technologist can speak to students for 15 minutes. Prepare three questions about their work and how they stay safe.
College or afterRead AERB's RSO training page and note which certification exams exist. Then list which ones you would need at each career stage.Open link ↗

Good to know

The technologist is not the doctor. A nuclear medicine physician (MBBS plus postgraduate degree) is responsible for the diagnosis and the scan report. The technologist handles the tracer, the camera and patient preparation.
Government notices differ. A 2025 ACTREC (Tata Memorial) notice asked for a B.Sc plus PGDFIT/DMRIT and the RSO Level-II exam, while a 2024 notice there accepted B.Sc Nuclear Medicine Technology with 50%. Read each notice.
Only a small number of government posts come up in a year, so many graduates work in private hospitals and PET-CT centres.
If you do not get a nuclear medicine seat, B.Sc Radiography or Medical Lab Technology are close neighbours.

Sources: NCAHP Competency Based Curriculum for Nuclear Medicine Technology (hosted on gsahc.in) · AERB Safety Code for Nuclear Medicine Facilities (qualifications of technologist and RSO) · AERB RSO training and certification page · AERB standard syllabi for radiation safety courses (RSO-NM eligibility) · ACTREC, Tata Memorial Centre advertisement 2025 (Scientific Assistant 'B', Nuclear Medicine) · ACTREC, Tata Memorial Centre advertisement 2024 (Scientific Assistant 'B', Nuclear Medicine) · BARC careers: Scientific Assistant and Technician recruitment · HBNI Ordinance for the Diploma in Medical Radio-Isotope Techniques (DMRIT) · Manipal (MCHP) B.Sc Nuclear Medicine Technology eligibility page