Radiology Technician Schools

Radiology technicians are a vital part of health care teams across the U.S., and their services are in demand in a variety of medical settings. Radiology technicians also specialize in a number of areas under the umbrella of diagnostic imaging.

Where Can You Work as a Radiology Technician?

Most radiology technicians work in a hospital setting, in a radiology or imaging department. Here they might be responsible for one or more of a number of imaging procedures. The procedures that take place in these departments include CT (CAT) scans, MRIs, mammograms, PET-CT scans, nuclear medicine scans and ultrasounds (sonograms do not use radiation to create images, but sonography is often grouped within an imaging department). Then there are services available to patients within these procedures, such as pediatric imaging and open extremity MRI (which provides orthopedic imaging, creating scans of the knees, elbows, ankles, wrists, feet and hands). Since newer and more advanced equipment is coming out year after year, those who work in these departments will need to stay abreast of the newest technology in radiation equipment.

Those with the appropriate level of experience and education can be promoted to a supervisory or administrative role as head of these departments in hospitals, where they will be responsible for managing the department, making schedules and ensuring that all equipment is in working order, among other tasks.

Radiology technicians may also be employed in doctor’s offices, medical laboratories, mobile units, outpatient care centers and medical centers whose sole purpose is diagnostic imaging. If a patient is particularly ill, some radiology technicians may even do their job from a patient’s bedside.

Job Titles

A great place to look at careers for people in the radiology technician field is the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT). Here you can see how people started out as basic radiology technicians and then moved up to different positions within the field.

One of such positions ASRT highlighted in one of their profiles was a director of education for a radiology department. A person who works in this career would be responsible for developing upper-level training programs in MRI and CT for the radiology technologists that work under them. This career also carries the responsibility of making sure all radiology staff are on top of their continuing education so they can maintain their licensing. You can land a career like this after you have proven yourself as a leader by taking on a supervisory role.

Another career that ASRT highlighted is in general and emergency radiologic technology. This is a stimulating and varied career where you may be providing imaging for a high-priority car accident victim one day and then performing a routine screening on another day. These sorts of career positions allow you to conduct a large number of imaging procedures, giving you diverse experience. There are also plenty of opportunities provided to train others in these procedures, giving you the leadership experience you need to eventually move into a supervisory role.