anyone here a Radiology tech

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend
a bunch of stuff splattered from salary.com

I work with XR techs, radiology directors, with former techs, and have aunts and uncles that are XR techs and sonographers. I don't have any reason to exaggerate numbers since I know what many of those jobs can and do pay.

Pay can range wildly from facility to facility. My wife is a clinical pharmacist. Her pay isn't even on the high side of the bell curve. Two places she worked at previously would have put her squarely in the middle.

 

[SP33Demon]

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend

Originally posted by: SP33Demon
They make 60K+ a year. For 2-3 years of school at a community college, it's an awesome deal.

Easily to claim something as fact...

Median annual earnings of radiologic technologists were $48,170 in May 2006. The middle 50 percent earned between $39,840 and $57,940. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $32,750, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $68,920. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of radiologic technologists in 2006 were:



Medical and diagnostic laboratories $51,280
General medical and surgical hospitals $48,830
Offices of physicians $45,500

Well, maybe it's just because we're in the DC area with a high cost of living but my buddy is making 60K at age 23...

Edit: He is on call sometimes on weekends...

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: vi edit

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend
a bunch of stuff splattered from salary.com

I work with XR techs, radiology directors, with former techs, and have aunts and uncles that are XR techs and sonographers. I don't have any reason to exaggerate numbers since I know what many of those jobs can and do pay.

Pay can range wildly from facility to facility. My wife is a clinical pharmacist. Her pay isn't even on the high side of the bell curve. Two places she worked at previously would have put her squarely in the middle.

Also depends on regional area/institution. Techs in high volume places with dedicated imaging divisions and research groups are going to be paid well compared to places with just one scanner. Like techs at UCD-Health Sciences Center or Mayo are paid well because of the sheer volume of patients coming in for scans, the myriad of different scanners, and different position levels/responsibilities in the departments.

The two or three techs at Joeville Memorial Hospital, USA that run the one CT scanner and don't have an MRI machine at all, much less PET and/or Nuc Med opportunities may not be paid as well.

 

[SacrosanctFiend]

Originally posted by: vi edit

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend
a bunch of stuff splattered from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

I work with XR techs, radiology directors, with former techs, and have aunts and uncles that are XR techs and sonographers. I don't have any reason to exaggerate numbers since I know what many of those jobs can and do pay.

Pay can range wildly from facility to facility. My wife is a clinical pharmacist. Her pay isn't even on the high side of the bell curve. Two places she worked at previously would have put her squarely in the middle.

Fixed for ya.

Anecdotal vs. National labor market analysis. Sure, pay can be high (I know HR directors who make 160K), but that's not what the majority get paid.

 

[Fritzo]

I'm a former X-ray tech. The job SUCKED! It took 2 years of training, and I was rewarded with a low paying/crappy hour job that involved things like:

-Cleaning up barium enemas (if you saw anyone over 65 getting a lower GI, you would crinch because you knew they couldn't hold it)

-smelly homeless people in the ER. Some of those guys would take their shoes off and you would actually throw up. This isn't "it smelled bad and I'm exagerating." I'm talking it would initiate a gag reflex on anyone on the floor bad.

-Constantly demanded to do things that you really don't think you're qualified to do. I had to hold clamps during heart surgery, plug up bullet holes with my fingers, administer IV drips, do nurse duties and get paid 1/4 their pay...the list was endless

-Figure on hours like 2pm-midnight one week, then 2am-10am the next week, and then 8am-8pm several days to fill in, etc. You don't get a cushy day shift job until you get at least 10 years in.

-Pay scale is awful for what you do. Starting pay is usually in the low-mid $20's, and goes up to the mid $30's after several years (with an AS degree. A BS degree pays more, but most people go to administrative positions with a BS degree).

The fun parts of the job however included making copies of x-rays when people stuffed things into various body cavities, hanging out with hot nurses, and getting to sleep on comfy beds when it's slow. Oh, and free food in the cafeteria was cool (they had some good stuff!).

Worst job I've ever had all in all though.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I create ton of AD accounts for the hospital here and to give you an idea, about 95% of the accounts are radiology techs of some sort. (usually doctors). I get in average about 2 per day.

You can probably walk up to a hospital and they'll ask you when you can start. (ok maybe not, but seems the demand is quite high).