Surgical Technologist Salary

Factors Affecting The Surgical Technologist Salary

Would you like to be part of a surgical team without having to spend years and years for your training? Can you live with a surgical technologist salary that will be far lower than that of actual medical professionals?

Surgery is not for the faint of heart. It involves a lot of blood, slicing and sewing up. But it's necessary to save lives. And physicians who are experts at surgery can't do it alone, especially for complicated procedures. So there is a surgical nurse and a surgical technologist to back him up. That's where you can come in to play a crucial role.

The role of a surgical tech

Primarily, it is your job as surgical technologist to keep the operating room environment sterile. This includes not only the actual room but the equipment and machines as well to ensure the surgical team composed of surgeons, anesthesiologists and nurses will be able to perform their task seamlessly. Part of your function is also to hand over the instruments to the surgeon during the actual procedure.  

Prepping patients prior to the operation and constantly monitoring them during the entire procedure is likewise part of your job description. You also operation suction machines and diagnostic equipment. Most importantly, it is your responsibility to write up a report the medical procedure.

You may, however, also find work in dental clinics, in which case surgery is less complex and massive than in operating rooms.

Is the compensation worth it?

For all these duties and responsibilities, what is the surgical technologist salary? The median is $40,000 and expected to rise steadily until 2014. As with most careers, there are several factors affecting the level of pay you receive.

Foremost of which is your workplace. Where can you find employment opportunities as surgical tech? Specialty and general hospitals, dentist and physician clinics, and outpatient care facilities. The surgical technologist salary in a dentist clinic is $36,000. Specialty clinics pay $40,000. Operating room assignments means working in shifts and hazard pay, so that also adds to your total take-home pay.

The state or city where you work in also has a bearing on how much you earn. In Houston, Texas, the hourly rate is $15 to $21 or up to $61,000 annually. While there are many options for work in San Diego, Los Angeles and Sacramento in California, the annual surgical technologist salary in those areas range from $43,000 to $52,000, much lower than other areas. In Florida, the median hourly rate is $18.13.

Experience and expertise

If you want to be earning a comfortable surgical tech salary, it will come in time. Experience counts a lot in determining pay, especially when working in such as complex and sensitive field as surgery. The longer you've worked, the higher your market value.

Even without the medical training of surgeons and physicians, you play a very important role in surgical procedures so much so that most everything depends on you to set up everything properly and ensure things will go smoothly pre- and post-operation.

And then there is specialization. Surgical technologists find it in their best interest to specialize to further beef up their pay through surgical technologist schools. So, you can either be a surgical tech for open heart surgery, neurosurgery, organ transplant, plastic surgery and orthopedic surgery. The more complex, naturally the higher the pay.

Surgery is definitely an exciting field to be in. And surgical technologists are fortunate to be able work in such environment even with just two years of initial surgical technician training. To last in this career, continuing studies is certainly a requirement. Who knows, you may eventually decide to further advance your career and become a registered nurse, or even a physician. But in the meantime, a surgical technologist salary isn't so bad for the work you do.

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