Radiologic technicians take the x-ray photos doctors use.
Radiologic technicians, which are popularly known as x-ray technicians, operate and perform routine maintenance on radiology machines while dealing with patients and staff in a manner that protects them from unnecessary exposure to the radiation emitted by the devices. Radiologic technicians must also be able to follow a physician's instructions to produce the proper x-ray image required for treatment.
Average Salaries
The average radiologic technician annual salary is $52,210 as of May 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics's Occupational Outlook Handbook. Salary.com lists a slightly smaller average salary for those in the field, reporting average yearly earnings as $48,023 as of December 2010. Half of all radiologic technicians earned between $43,934 and $52,474 in Salary.com's survey, and the top-earning 10 percent earned annual salaries that exceeded $56,526.
Hourly Earnings
Radiologic technicians' earnings may be paid on an hourly basis. As of December 2010, radiologic technicians earned hourly wages in the range of $15.59 to $23.63, according to PayScale. Hourly employees working in this field could expect annual earnings to fall between $33,607 and $51,233, although those figures may be greatly affected if the technician worked significant amounts of overtime or was employed only on a part-time basis.
By Industry Segment
Although radiologic technicians operate exclusively alongside the medical and health care industries, their earnings vary according to which sector of the industry employs them. Those working in medical and diagnostic laboratories boast the highest average annual salary of $55,210 as of May 2008, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook. Those employed in a physician's office had the smallest median annual earnings, at $48,530. Those in hospitals earned average salaries of $52,890 annually.
By Region
The earnings of radiologic technicians are generally stable in the low to mid-$50,000 range across the nation, according to Salary Expert, although a few high and low points appear. Those working in Boston earn an average salary much higher than the national median, averaging $72,657 annually, while those in Orlando, Florida, fared the worst, with a median annual salary of $43,302 reported. Radiologists in half of the markets reported by Salary Expert earned between $51,404 and $54,667.
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