Oncologist
Cancer care: choosing treatments, running them, and having the conversations nobody else wants to have.
Save this career to see your personalized pathway in My Senda.
- Typical pay
- €48k–€100k
- Usual education
- Medicine degree + 5-year oncology residency
- Outlook
- Expanding fast as new treatments arrive.
A day in the life
Tumour board meetings, chemotherapy planning, monitoring side effects, clinical trials and long relationships with patients and families.
Ways in
- Medicine degree
- MIR exam
- Five-year medical or radiation oncology residency
- Hospital oncology units and research centres
What to study at 16
The subjects you choose for the final years of secondary school can shape which degrees, exams and careers are easiest to reach. This is about choosing courses, not choosing a school.
Spain
Bachillerato de Ciencias y Tecnología
Portugal
Ciências e Tecnologias
France
Bac général — spécialités
Germany
Oberstufe — Leistungskurse
Italy
Liceo scientifico
Netherlands
Profiel Natuur & Gezondheid
Exams you'll need
The gates between you and this job, and when each one comes.
Browse all examsSkills that matter
Best courses to take
The study routes that lead most directly into this career.
Degree in Medicine
Six years, the highest entrance marks in the country, and the only route to becoming a doctor of any specialty.
Specialty chosen after the MIR exam.
Helpful school subjects: Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Pathology, Pharmacology, Clinical rotations