Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code RCI
Radiologic Technologists and Technicians
Take x-rays and CAT scans or administer nonradioactive materials into patient's bloodstream for diagnostic or research purposes. Includes radiologic technologists and technicians who specialize in other scanning modalities.
Also called: CT Tech (Computed Tomography Technologist), Multimodality Technologist, RT (Radiologic Technologist), X-Ray Tech (X-Ray Technologist), Mammographer, Radiographer, Radiologic Technician (RAD Tech), Radiology Technician (Radiology Tech).
O*NET 29-2034.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $80,110
- Middle half earn $64,810 to $98,750. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 3 of 5
- Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Explain procedures and observe patients to ensure safety and comfort during scan.
- Process exposed radiographs using film processors or computer generated methods.
- Perform procedures, such as linear tomography, mammography, sonograms, joint and cyst aspirations, routine contrast studies, routine fluoroscopy, or examinations of the head, trunk, or extremities under supervision of physician.
- Record, process, and maintain patient data or treatment records and prepare reports.
- Prepare contrast material, radiopharmaceuticals, or anesthetic or antispasmodic drugs under the direction of a radiologist.
- Complete quality control activities, monitor equipment operation, and report malfunctioning equipment to supervisor.
- Position patient on examining table and set up and adjust equipment to obtain optimum view of specific body area as requested by physician.
- Review and evaluate developed x-rays, video tape, or computer-generated information to determine if images are satisfactory for diagnostic purposes.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Reading Comprehension3.8 / 5
- Active Listening3.8 / 5
- Speaking3.4 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.3 / 5
- Monitoring3.3 / 5
- Writing3.0 / 5
Knowledge areas
- English Language4.4 / 5
- Medicine and Dentistry4.2 / 5
- Customer and Personal Service4.1 / 5
- Biology4.1 / 5
- Physics4.0 / 5
- Computers and Electronics3.8 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic82
- Investigative65
- Artistic0
- Social40
- Enterprising0
- Conventional68
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- radiographer · DE Röntgentechniker/Röntgentechnikerin · FR technicien en imagerie médicale et radiologie thérapeutique/technicienne en imagerie médicale et radiologie thérapeutique
- diagnostic radiographer · DE Medizinisch-technischer Assistent für radiologische Diagnostik/Medizinisch-technische Assistentin für radiologische Diagnostik · FR technicien en imagerie médicale diagnostique/technicienne en imagerie médicale diagnostique
- nuclear medicine radiographer · DE Medizinisch-technischer Assistent Nuklearmedizin/Medizinisch-technische Assistentin Nuklearmedizin · FR technologue en médecine nucléaire
- therapeutic radiographer · DE Fachassistent Strahlentherapie/Fachassistentin Strahlentherapie · FR technicien en radiothérapie/technicienne en radiothérapie
- physics technician · DE Physikotechniker/Physikotechnikerin · FR technicien en physique/technicienne en physique
- clinical perfusion scientist · DE Fachassistent Herz-Kreislauf-Funktionsdiagnostik/Fachassistentin Herz-Kreislauf-Funktionsdiagnostik · FR perfusionniste clinique
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Occupational therapists (2222)56,000 employed
- Podiatrists (2256)16,200 employed
- Medical radiographers (2254)44,200 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Japan
Japan classifies jobs in its own way. The closest category that names the same work is “診療放射線技師”, which may be narrower or broader than this occupation.
- Median monthly pay
- ¥329,000
- Middle half earn ¥275,100 to ¥399,100 a month.
- Workers in the category
- 62,540
- Regular employees in firms of ten or more.
Scheduled monthly pay before tax, excluding overtime and bonuses, so it is not comparable to the annual figures above. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, via e-Stat, under the Japanese Government Standard Terms of Use. The category match was made by hand.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €61,714 |
| Germany | €59,529 |
| Ireland | €56,877 |
| Austria | €55,374 |
| Netherlands | €53,595 |
| Sweden | €43,567 |
| France | €41,515 |
| Spain | €35,735 |
| Italy | €33,649 |
| Portugal | €26,072 |
| Poland | €14,380 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.56. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (29-2034).
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