• Continuous filing dates have been added.

Testing is considered continuous as dates can be set at any time. Applications will be reviewed to ensure the minimum requirements for participation in this exam are met. Possession of the entrance requirements does not assure a place on the eligible list. Once you have taken the examination, you may not retest for 12 months from the established list date.

Applications must be submitted by the filing dates indicated below. Applications postmarked, personally delivered, or received via interoffice mail after the final filing date, will be held for the next administration of the exam

Upcoming Filing Cutoff Dates:

• 3/11/2026
• 9/9/2026

Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) must be received or postmarked by the filing date indicated above. Applications postmarked, personally delivered or received via interoffice mail after the filing date will be processed in the next group.

Persons who meet the minimum qualifications as stated on this announcement may take this competitive examination.

The information below will help you determine which classification(s) is(are) appropriate for you. Applicants must meet the Minimum Qualifications as stated on this bulletin to compete in this examination.

Open and Open, Non-Promotional Examination(s):

• SUPERVISING HEALTH PHYSICIST - Open

For all Classifications, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

2721

For SUPERVISING HEALTH PHYSICIST, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

• EX-02721

Submit an Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) to apply for this examination.

Electronic applications can be submitted through your account at www.CalCareers.ca.gov.

You may apply by mail to:

• Examination Services Unit
  P.O. Box 997378 MS 1700-1702
  Sacramento, CA 95899-7378
  

Indicate the Examination Code and Classification(s) on your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678).

You may drop off your application and any applicable or required documents at:

• Examination Services Unit
  1615 Capitol Avenue
  Sacramento, CA 95814
  8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Indicate the Examination Code and Classification(s) on your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678). All applicants must provide proof of identification. Accepted forms of identification are: 1) a photo identification card or 2) two forms of signed identification.

The following items must be submitted with your Examination/Employment Application form. Failure to submit these items may result in rejection of your application.

• Transcript (Official or Unofficial)

If you require assistance or alternative testing arrangements due to a disability, indicate on your application that you need reasonable accommodation. You will be contacted by a representative of the testing department to make the necessary arrangements. If you have not been contacted by the time you receive notification of testing, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

If you are unable to submit your application or complete the test due to a disability, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

All applicants must meet the education and/or experience requirements as stated on this exam bulletin to be accepted to the examination.

Either One

Two years of experience in performing the duties of a Senior Health Physicist in California state service.

Or Two

Six or more years of increasingly responsible professional experience in health physics or a closely related field, at least three years of which must have included supervisory responsibility for a major program in health physics or radiologic health.
 

AND

Graduation from college with a major in radiologic health, radiologic science, health physics, engineering, mathematics, physical science, life science or a closely related field. (Possession of a Master's Degree in Radiologic Health, Radiologic Science, Health Physics, Engineering, Mathematics, Physical Science, or Life Science may be substituted for two years of the required general experience.)

The required degree must have been obtained from a recognized U.S. university or from a foreign university approved by the Bureau of Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education under the provision of California Education Code Chapter 3, Part 59, Division 10.

The examination will consist of a Qualifications Assessment and is the sole component of the Supervising Health Physicist examination. To obtain a position on the eligible list, a minimum score of 70% must be received. The Qualifications Assessment is designed to elicit specific information regarding each candidate’s education, training, and experience relative to the testing classification. Responses to the questionnaire will be assessed based on pre-determined rating criteria.

The Qualifications Assessment package will be emailed to the applicant in the form of a survey. Please monitor your email account’s spam, junk, bulk, etc. folder(s) as the examination email may be filtered depending on your specific account settings.

The participating department’s reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meets the needs of the service if the circumstances under which this examination has changed. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service law and rules and all competitors will be notified.

This examination consists of the following component(s):

A final score of 70% must be attained to be placed on the eligible list.

In addition to evaluating the applicant's relative knowledge, skill and ability as demonstrated by quality and breadth of education/experience, emphasis in each test component will be on measuring competitively, relative to job demands, each applicant's:

Knowledge of:

1. Various parameters involving the use of radiation machines and radioactive materials.
2. California radiation control laws and regulations.
3. Supervisory methods and techniques.
4. Theory and practice of health physics and radiation protection.
5. Various parameters entering into evaluation of radiological hazards involved in medical, dental, industrial, and laboratory work.
6. Principles of leadership.
7. Basic research techniques.
8. Theory and practical design of shielding for protection against radiation.
9. Biological effects of ionizing radiation.
10. Radiation standards set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurement.
11. Functions and operations of State and Federal programs in radiation control and radiological health.
12. Principles of public administration and personnel management.

13. Radiation Dosimeter and the theory and design of instruments and method used to measure radiation.
14. State and departmental Equal Employment Opportunity policies.
15. Theory and principles of physical science and engineering.
16. Department’s Equal Employment Opportunity objectives.
17. Manager’s role in Equal Employment Opportunity and the processes available to meet EEO objectives.
18. Training procedures.
19. Advance scientific research techniques.
20. Trends and developments in radiological health.
21. Atomic and nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry and the use of radioisotopes.
22. Radiological ecology.
23. Radioactive waste disposal techniques and procedures.

Ability to:

1. Analyze situations accurately, derives recommendations, and takes effective action.
2. Communicate effectively.
3. Interpret laws and regulations.
4. Effectively supervise subordinate personnel.
5. Direct and coordinate the work of others.
6. Establish and maintain cooperative relations with those contacted in the course of the work including Federal, State, and local agencies.
7. Gain confidence and compliance of persons of varied scientific disciplines.
8. Evaluate plans and specifications to ensure prevention of radiation hazards.
9. Train and guide subordinate personnel.
10. Prepare clear and concise administrative and technical reports, and correspondence.
11. Develop methods to minimize radiation hazards.
12. Conduct routine investigations of radiological health hazards.
13. Train personnel in the various phases of radiological health work.
14. Develop and evaluate programs.
15. Effectively carry out the State and departmental EEO policies.
16. Effectively contribute to the Department’s EEO objectives.
17. Independently plan, conducts, and correlates difficult and complex investigations of radiological health exposure.

A Servicewide Open eligible list for the SUPERVISING HEALTH PHYSICIST Classification will be established for:

• State of California

The names of successful competitors will be merged onto the eligible list(s) in order of final score regardless of test date. Eligibility expires 24 months after it is established. Applicants must then retake the examination to reestablish eligibility.

Veterans' Preference will be granted for this examination. Veterans' Preference is an assistance program for veterans, veteran widows and widowers, and spouses of 100% disabled veterans who seek employment with the state. Veterans' Preference is also extended to currently serving military members nearing their retirement or separation date.

You are not eligible for Veteran's Preference if you are:

• A veteran who has been dishonorably discharged or released.
• A veteran, widow or widower of a veteran, or spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran who currently has permanent civil service status. (Permanent civil service status is the status of an employee who is lawfully retained in his/her position after completion of the applicable probationary period. This does not include limited term).

Veterans' Preference is codified in Government Code Sections 18973 – 18979.

Veteran status is verified by the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Directions to apply for Veterans' Preference are on the Veterans' Preference Application (Std. Form 1093), which is available at www.CalCareers.ca.gov, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Career Credits are not granted for examination(s) administered on an Open basis or a Promotional basis.

• Department of Public Health
• State of California

Questions regarding this examination should be directed to:

California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice). TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.

Examination and/or Employment Application (STD 678) forms are available at the California Department of Human Resources, local offices of the Employment Development Department, and through your CalCareer Account (www.CalCareers.ca.gov).

If you meet the requirements stated on this examination bulletin, you may take this examination, which is competitive. Possession of the entrance requirements does not assure a place on the eligible list. Your performance in the examination described in this bulletin will be rated against a predetermined job-related rating, and all applicants who pass will be ranked according to their scores.

Department of Public Health reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meet the needs of the service, if the circumstances under which this examination was planned change. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service laws and rules and all applicants will be notified.

General Qualifications: Applicants must possess essential personal qualifications including integrity, initiative, dependability, good judgment, the ability to work cooperatively with others, and a state of health consistent with the ability to perform the assigned duties of the class. A medical examination may be required. In open examinations, investigation may be made of employment records and personal history and fingerprinting may be required.

Eligible Lists: Eligible lists established by competitive examination, regardless of date, must be used in the following order: 1) sub-divisional promotional, 2) departmental promotional, 3) multi-departmental promotional, 4) service-wide promotional, 5) departmental open, 6) open. When there are two lists of the same kind, the older must be used first. Eligible lists will expire in one to four years unless otherwise stated on the bulletin.

High School Equivalence: Equivalence to completion of the 12th grade may be demonstrated in any one of the following ways: 1) passing the General Education Development (GED) Test; 2) completion of 12 semester units of college-level work; 3) certification from the State Department of Education, a local school board, or high school authorities that the competitor is considered to have education equivalent to graduation from high school; or 4) for clerical and accounting classes, substitution of business college work in place of high school on a year-for-year basis.

Accepted applicants must provide proof of identification at each in-person test session. Acceptable identification consists of a photo identification card or two forms of signed identification.