How Much $$$ do Radiology Technician Make?

After you graduate from a RT certificate or associate hospital based program – what’s the average start out pay?

Before we present you some statistic please read some interesting forum poster experience:

“Supply and demand”… It depends upon where you live, whether urban or rural (with some small rural hospitals paying more simply because they have to in order to attract staff, but with most probably paying less than their city counterparts, although the employees may make more money by taking “call”, since their facilities may not have “24/7″ in-house coverage), what the cost of living is in a given area, whether or not there are programs in the area providing a ready source of new grads, etc.

Where I live, I believe the starting pay is around $18/hr in the area hospitals, although I believe it’s closer to $16/hr at my facility. With shift differentials, the pay could be several dollars per hour more. I’ve been told that some second-year students are being employed as “student techs” or the equivalent, and that some are making up to $27/hr. While great for the students (if true), this is an affront to the RT’s in the area, as even experienced techs may not make that much, with “top-outs” sometimes being lower than that figure at a number of local hospitals.

I believe we are going to reach a “saturation point” in our area soon, because one local rad tech program is taking 25 students per year rather than the 10 they used to accept, another is enrolling 36 per year instead of their usual 24, another program has opened up in the last couple of years in a city only 80 miles from here, and a new one will soon begin in a town only 50 miles from here. (There’s another school about 60 miles from here that, to the best of my knowledge, has not increased their enrollment–yet–but which also serves as a source of employees for local hospitals.) This phenomenon has happened, or will happen, in other parts of the country as well, and, while good for applicants and hospitals, this will mean less pay (or at least smaller, less frequent adjustments in pay) for RT’s.

Something many RT’s may not consider is that, even if the “starting pay” is pretty good, they may “top out” in just a few years if the wage they start at is close to the top of the pay scale, and many hospitals don’t adjust the entire scale when they alter the base pay. Also, many facilities may not really change their scale at all, but simply adjust the pay as needed to fill a vacancy in a crisis, but resume paying their old starting pay when there are more applicants available. Also, existing staff may not(probably won’t) receive any adjustment in their pay even if the starting pay increases. The shortage isn’t over yet, and may not be for several years–if ever, with us “baby-boomers” nearing retirement, and with the increasing use of imaging, especially in CT, US, MRI, PET, “fusion imaging”, etc.–but in some parts of the country, RT’s are going to find fewer opportunities and lower wages.

In addition, while many facilities pay very attractive wages, and many may still offer “sign-on” and “retention” bonuses, one also needs to look at the reasons for these differences (compared to what other facilities in the area are paying): Could it be that the hospitals offering high wages and bonuses are chronically under-staffed, or have horrible working conditions, old equipment, etc.?

It’s also important to consider factors other than the hourly wage: insurance (premiums, coverage, copays, etc.), including medical, dental, LTD, STD, life, etc.; type of pension/annuity available, and so on.
Sometimes a slightly lower salary is more than made up for by the value of benefits, with employers usually picking up 50% or more–often 80% or more–of the cost of employee benefits. The bigger the hospital–unless part of a large “chain”, in which case even small facilities may be able to match benefits found at larger ones–the better and cheaper these benefits usually are for the employee.

Just a few things to ponder…

By: Tony

Yahoo answers: How much do Radiology Technician’s make an hour?