X-ray technicians use special machines to see inside the body.
Going to school to become an X-ray technician doesn't involve falling into a vat of toxic goo and emerging with the specialized superpower to see inside a human body. Instead, students in X-ray technician programs, also called radiology technicians, study use computers, medical devices and special film to peer through the skin and muscles into the organs and bones of the body.
X-Ray Technician Schools
The minimum required schooling to secure employment as an X-ray technician is a two-year associate degree from a community college or technical school. The Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology accredits hundreds of programs throughout the country, such as South Arkansas Community College, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Community College of Rhode Island, Northern Kentucky University, Palm Beach State College and Chattahoochee Technical College.
Get In
Acceptance into a radiology program requires a little bit more than just an application. For example, the Gulf Coast Community College requires applicants to have completed course work (at the high school or post-secondary level) in human anatomy, physiology, college algebra and English composition. The Community College of Baltimore County in Maryland requires applicants to have course work in biology, math and physics, with a C or higher grade.
Radiology Course Work
Gulf Coast Community College in Florida's two-year plan for its X-ray technician students is very similar to other Committee-accredited schools. Students cover topics such as introduction to diagnostic imaging, radiographic exposures, radiobiology, radiographic positioning and sectional anatomy.
A similar program course listing is in effect at the Community College of Baltimore County, with courses such as patient care in computerized tomography, imaging procedures, magnetic resonance imaging and physical principles of image formation in magnetic resonance imaging.
Expected Income
In 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the average salary for the X-ray technician/radiology field to be $54,180 per year. Radiology techs employed by several industries noted by the BLS could expect higher salaries. The scientific research and development services industries paid the highest, with salaries of $64,800 per year. Temporary employment for X-ray technicians also offered higher salaries, at $59,620 per year. X-ray technicians in Massachusetts earned the country's highest salaries in 2009, averaging $68,530 per year, followed by those in Nevada, earning $66,420 per year.
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