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Healthcare · Helping & Teaching

Oncologist: what the job actually is

A physician who treats people with cancer, and who has the hardest conversations in medicine more often than almost anyone.

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Oncologist: quick facts

Oncologist salary in Ontario: Job Bank reports one figure for the whole group of specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine, not for oncologist alone. For that group the median pay is $295,785 a year (reference period 2023-2024). The group's three-year outlook in Ontario is good. The job usually needs a university degree.

Median pay in Ontario
$295,785 a year
Pay range (low to high)
$110,998 to $599,836 a year
Job outlook, 2025-2027
Good
People working in it in Ontario
14,650
Usually needs
Usually a university degree

Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 31100. Pay varies by region and experience.

The work

What this job actually is

  • A medical doctor who specialises in cancer. You help people understand a diagnosis, decide on treatment and cope with what comes after, sometimes for years.
  • Much of the work is conversation. You explain what the tests show, what the options are and what each one may cost the person in time, side effects and uncertainty. You often do this while the person is frightened and the family is listening.
  • Cancer care is a team. Nurses, pharmacists, radiation therapists, social workers and other doctors all have a part, and you coordinate decisions with them.
  • Job Bank reports one pay figure and one outlook for all specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine, not for oncology alone. The pay on this page is the figure for that whole group.
  • Oncology covers more than one kind of treatment. We did not read an official page that sets out how the routes differ, so we do not describe them here. Ask a medical school or an oncologist which route matches the work you picture.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

  1. 7:45 — Read the results that came back overnight. Some patients you will call before clinic opens.
  2. 8:30 — Clinic. A patient arrives for a treatment review. You ask how the last week was before you look at any numbers.
  3. 9:30 — A new patient with a recent diagnosis. You sit down, you do not rush, and you start with what they already understand.
  4. 10:45 — A conversation with a family about stopping treatment that is no longer helping. You say it plainly and stay in the room.
  5. 12:00 — Lunch standing up, with a colleague, working out a plan for a difficult case.
  6. 13:00 — A team meeting where specialists review the scans and agree on a recommendation. You argue for the one you think is best, and sometimes you change your mind.
  7. 14:30 — A patient who is doing well. You tell them, and for a moment the whole building feels lighter.
  8. 15:30 — Phone calls to family doctors, other hospitals and patients waiting for news.
  9. 17:00 — Notes. You write what was said as carefully as what was decided.
  10. 18:00 — Drive home in silence. You learn what you need to do to be able to switch off, or you do not last.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.

You may like this if
  • You can sit in a room with someone in fear or grief, and not look away or fill the silence with something easy.
  • You are good at explaining complicated information in plain words and at checking that it was understood.
  • You like working in a team and are comfortable with decisions that are shared and argued over.
  • You want to follow patients through a long, uncertain stretch of their lives.
  • You are prepared to keep learning, because treatments change as research changes.
You may hate this if
  • You cannot stand losing patients. Some of the people you treat will die, and you will have known them for a long time.
  • You dislike delivering bad news. It is part of the job, often, and no wording makes it easy.
  • You want a short route. After a bachelor's degree and medical school, Job Bank says four to five years of specialty residency for this group, and two more years of subspecialty training may be needed.
  • You are afraid of carrying other people's grief home. The work is heavy, and burnout is a risk that has to be planned for.
  • You dislike uncertainty about outcomes. Treatments work for some people and not for others, and you cannot always say which.
  • You do not like a job that turns every relationship into a hard one. Many patients you meet are at the worst point of their lives.

The route in

How you actually get there in Ontario

  1. Do a degree and get into medical school

    Job Bank says a bachelor's degree is usually required before medical school, and that graduating from an approved medical school is required. Each school sets its own entry rules. Our family physician page lists the six Ontario medical schools.

  2. Match into residency and then oncology training

    Job Bank gives four to five years of specialty residency for this group and says two more years of subspecialty training may be required. We did not read oncology's own residency pages or how the routes into it are organised, so ask a medical school and do not assume.

  3. Pass the Royal College examinations

    Job Bank says the certifying examinations of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada are required. The CPSO's independent practice certificate page also lists the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination, Parts 1 and 2.

  4. Get licensed by the CPSO

    Licensing by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario is compulsory. The CPSO says a certificate holder may only practise in the areas where they are educated and experienced.

Where this comes from: Job Bank — Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine, requirements in Ontario · CPSO — Independent practice certificate requirements

The money

Oncologist salary in Ontario

Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.

$110,998
Low (a year)
$295,785
Median (a year)
$599,836
High (a year)

Ontario, NOC 31100. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth. Job Bank reports this one by the year rather than by the hour, because the income is commission and the hours behind it are nothing like fixed.

Source: Job Bank — Oncologist wages in Ontario

Where it is heading

The outlook for the next three years

Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.

Ontario, 2025-2027

Good4 out of 5 stars

  • Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
  • A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
  • There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.

What is changing in this work

  • Increased need for health-related services to support the growing and aging population in Ontario
  • Greater demand on the health care system because of the backlog of medical procedures and patient care needs
  • Major investments in health care facilities
  • Initiatives to improve home and community-based patient care services
  • Demand may be greater in rural and northern communities of Ontario

Who hires for it

  • Hospitals
  • Offices of physicians
  • Almost 60% of specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine are self-employed
14,650
people work in this job in Ontario
43%
are women (48% across all jobs)
59%
are self-employed (15% across all jobs)

Source: Job Bank — Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine job prospects in Ontario (NOC 31100). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.

Before you leave school

Things you can do now

  • Take senior biology, chemistry and English, and keep your marks strong. This route asks for sciences, and the job asks for words.
  • Build the habit of saying difficult things kindly: telling a friend something true that they would rather not hear, without making it worse.
  • Volunteer in a setting where people are unwell or grieving, if your age allows, and notice how you feel after, not just during.
  • Read the admission requirements of one Ontario medical school so you know what your university years need to include.

Test it

Do this before you decide anything

Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.

Write the first minute of a hard conversation

About 45 minutes
  1. Think of a true, difficult thing you might one day have to tell someone, such as telling a friend you cannot keep a promise. Do not use anyone's real illness.
  2. Write the first minute of what you would say, in plain words, with no jargon and no false comfort. Read it aloud to yourself and cut every line that sounds like you are protecting yourself.
  3. Notice how it felt to say it. Were you steadier by the third read, or did you want to stop?
  4. Open the Job Bank requirements page for specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine and write the route in order.

What it tells you. If you found the plain words and could stay with the discomfort, this kind of work may be possible for you, and the long route is the thing to weigh next. If it left you wanting to avoid it, take that seriously and look at specialties where hard conversations are fewer, such as radiology or dermatology.

Better than any article

Questions for somebody who does this job

Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.

  1. “How do you start a conversation when you have to give a diagnosis?”
  2. “What do you do to be able to switch off when you go home?”
  3. “How do you keep going when patients die?”
  4. “What is the part of the work that nobody warned you about?”
  5. “What made you choose oncology over another specialty?”
  6. “What would you tell a student about the length of the training?”

Could you own one of these?

The part other career sites never mention

Rarely on your own. Job Bank says a large share of specialists in this group are self-employed, but cancer treatment depends on hospitals, treatment centres and a team. Ask an oncologist how their work is arranged and who employs the team around them.

Business 101 is free and teaches that part

Quick answers

Questions people ask about this job

How much does an oncologist make in Ontario?

Job Bank reports one figure for the whole group of specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine, not for an oncologist alone. For that group the median pay is $295,785 a year (reference period 2023-2024, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $110,998 to $599,836 a year. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.

What is the job outlook for an oncologist in Ontario?

Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as good for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions. A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements. There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.

What do you need to become an oncologist in Ontario?

Job Bank says this work usually needs a university degree. The usual route in Ontario, in order: Do a degree and get into medical school; Match into residency and then oncology training; Pass the Royal College examinations.

Where does an oncologist work in Ontario?

Hospitals. Offices of physicians. Almost 60% of specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine are self-employed. (Job Bank.)

How many people work as an oncologist in Ontario, and how many are women?

Job Bank counts about 14,650 people working in this job in Ontario. 43% of them are women, compared with 48% across all jobs. That describes who does the work today, not who can.

Health careers in Ontario: outlook and pay What can you do with your degree?

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Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.