Health & Medicine

Radiology Technician

Take X-rays and other medical images that help doctors see inside the body and find problems

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What does a Radiology Technician do?

Radiology technicians work in hospitals, imaging centers, and clinics. They position patients, run X-ray machines, and take clear pictures for doctors to read. Some train further for CT or MRI scans. It suits careful people who are kind to nervous patients and comfortable with equipment.

A day in the life

7:00 AMCheck the machines and stock lead aprons and supplies
7:30 AMTake chest X-rays for patients arriving at the ER
10:00 AMPosition a child's arm and keep them calm for an X-ray
12:00 PMRoll a portable X-ray machine to a hospital room
2:00 PMRun a CT scan and check that the images are clear
4:00 PMLog each exam and send images to the doctor who reads them

What's great

  • A two-year degree leads to a licensed job
  • Work with high-tech equipment
  • Can add CT, MRI, or other skills
  • Meet many different patients each day

The hard parts

  • Radiation safety rules apply every single time
  • Heavy lifting and moving patients
  • On your feet most of the shift
  • Some shifts include nights and weekends

What is a Radiology Technician's salary and outlook?

$37k – $93k
Salary Range
Associate's degree
Typical Education
Growing

Typical pay in this guide runs from about $37,200 to $93,000 a year, with a midpoint around $62,000. These are planning figures for students, not a job offer or an official wage.

CareerLens rates the outlook as Growing.

For the official national outlook, see BLS Occupational Data.

How do you become a Radiology Technician?

A common path is Associate degree in radiologic technology, plus a national exam and state license. The ladder often runs from Radiologic Technologist (X-ray) to CT or MRI Technologist, then Imaging Supervisor, and Director of Radiology Services. Other routes: Certificate program for people with a health degree; Bachelor's degree for management roles; Add-on training in MRI, CT, or mammography.

  • Certificate program for people with a health degree
  • Bachelor's degree for management roles
  • Add-on training in MRI, CT, or mammography

Career path

Entry level
Radiologic Technologist (X-ray)
Mid career
CT or MRI Technologist
Senior
Imaging Supervisor
Executive
Director of Radiology Services

Will AI replace a Radiology Technician?

How much will AI change this job?

Quite a bit

AI will help with some tasks in this job, while the most important parts stay human.

AI helps read scans, but people still run the show.

AI tools can help spot patterns in X-rays and scans faster. But radiology technicians still position patients, operate machines, and make sure images are safe and accurate. The hands-on and caring parts of this job stay with people.

AI can help with

  • Highlighting possible problem areas on scans
  • Sorting and organizing patient imaging files
  • Suggesting best camera settings for clearer images

What stays human

  • Positioning patients safely and comfortably for scans
  • Comforting nervous or scared patients
  • Deciding how to adjust equipment for tricky cases

Skills to build now

  • Take biology or anatomy classes when you can
  • Practice following instructions carefully and precisely
  • Build comfort talking to and helping different people

Based on public research from Anthropic and OpenAI, drafted with AI, checked automatically, and read by a person. How we know

This describes how the work may change. It is not a prediction that the job will disappear.