X Ray Technician Salary

How To Get The X Ray Technician Salary You Deserve

Will a job working with radiation equipment while helping people interest you? Is the x ray technician salary worth it to pursue this allied health care career? Hospitals always have a need for them as do community medical centers and private facilities like convalescent homes and laboratory clinics.

The fact remains that the x ray technician supply is far below the actual demand. If you're considering a job that pays well and offers plenty of opportunities, you might want to explore x ray technician training programs.

Train for it

Becoming a radiographer or radiology technologist, as x ray technicians are also known, requires formal training. To qualify for the job you need a certain set of skills and knowledge because radiation technology is very precise and needs a lot of care to be proficient at.

The minimum training requirement is a year to complete a certificate program at a community or vocational college. You learn the basics about x-rays, including the equipment, its uses and operation as well as about the human body through anatomy and physiology subjects and diagnosing using imaging devices and proper positioning both of the machine and the patients.    

Just as important as the classroom instruction is the hands-on or clinical training. It is here where you will truly develop your skills and put into practice the techniques and knowledge you learned in class. The time devoted to clinical practice usually entails intensive sessions so you the student become both confident and competent. Once you graduate, you are then ready to join the workforce with entry level positions that could result in an x ray technician salary ranging from $25,000 to $30,000.

Be recognized as a professional

After completing training, whether this is a diploma program, associate or even bachelor's degree from any accredited x ray technician schools, one of your goals is to be recognized as a professional x ray technician. Not all states require radiographers to be certified. However, you can on your own, take the certification exam administered by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) and be awarded the Registered Technologist designation.

This simply tells prospective employers you are more than qualified for the job, having the necessary skills, training and ethics orientation needed to be effective in the workplace. Many employers in fact now require this x ray certification for guarantee they will have competent staff. Correspondingly, a certification will raise your starting x ray technician salary up to $36,000.

Study to specialize in more areas

Experience plays a big part in advancing your career, whatever job you may hold. Working as x ray technician is no exception. The longer you have been working, and the more tasks and responsibilities you take on in the workplace, the more you build a reputation as a reliable member of the health care team. 

But eventually, you may be looking for more challenges to add to your credentials. Specialization is your answer. Of course, this means further studies but you will have more marketable skills after that will lead to better opportunities and a higher hourly rate range ($15.53 to $23.56). Move on from the basics and get training for computed tomography (CT) scanning, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or angiography.

Demonstrate dedication and commitment

One of the downsides of being an ultrasound technician is working too many hours. You may be called in to work weekends or holidays. And continuing education is a must because of new developments in technology. Diagnostic imaging can be stressful, especially if you have to constantly deal with patients who are in pain, weak and in terrible discomfort. Not only will you have to handle complex equipment, it is also your task to inform the patient of the procedure and position them properly for this. 

Communication skills are very important and you must have the patience and compassion while on the job. Still, many stay on in the job because they find fulfillment in what they do, aside from eventually building up their x ray technician salary. Eventually you can become a chief or senior technician and earn from $42,000 to $48,000. With leadership skills, you can even make it to program director and make $64,000 annually.

In the end, hard work does pay off for this profession. Having a sense of helping the sick plus a lucrative x ray technician salary should make you think if you can begin your own career.

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