X-ray Technician Salary, Educational Pathways, and Career

X-ray technician jobs are not hard to come across these days. With a job growth of 15% within the next decade, a career as an x-ray technician may be well worth looking into. X-ray technicians are important members of the healthcare team. When a physician needs to locate the cause of an injury or illness, they often turn to the most easily available diagnostic tool known: the x-ray machine. With the help of an x-ray technician, patients are ushered into a room where they are positioned properly for the procedure. It only takes a few moments to obtain the results making this diagnostic tool quite ideal for emergency situations when physicians are not sure on how to proceed with a certain situation such as accidental injury.

A career as an x-ray technician is filled with technical challenges as well as interpersonal challenges. The workplace requires one to be quick on their feet and steady on their resolve. They deal with different personality types as well, requiring them to behave properly when patients need help with positioning or have numerous questions that need to be answered. Their job can be tiring especially when patients who are chronically ill become very uncooperative during the procedure or when they are called out of their beds in the middle of the night to perform emergency x-ray exams.

It is the x-ray technician’s job to prepare the patient before procedure. They need to check if the patient is wearing any metallic objects and makes sure that the patient fully understands the procedure. Once the procedure is done, x-ray technicians are able to interpret the basic shapes and figures that they see, but they are not allowed to give an illness related diagnosis. They may be able to describe what they see to the patient, but are not allowed to provide diagnosis. If they see anything requiring emergency attention, they will immediately call a physician to verify their findings.

The average salary of an entry level technician begins at a humble $40,000 annually, but the more experience on gains, the faster this salary increases. Education is important in order to find work as an x-ray technician. You only need a high school diploma or equivalent in order to enroll. There are a lot of schools that offer 1 year certification programs, and while this might be an easy way to get a job, many employers would rather higher someone who has an associate’s degree and has taken the certification exam for x-ray technicians. A Bachelor’s degree holder will have the chance to sit in an administrative position someday, but would have o endure 4 years of schooling. In school, you will be taught al about the essential details on becoming an x-ray technician. You will be taught to speak in medical terminologies, handle patients, as well as operate the machines. Once you become a certified x-ray technologist, you must prove that you have had 24 hours of continued learning every 2 years or so in order to qualify for recertification.