Nuclear Medicine Technologist Salaries

By Jennifer Williams, allied health world Contributing Writer
Published: March, 2 2010

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Nuclear Medicine Salary

Nuclear Medicine Technologist Salaries can range drastically depending upon several factors, including level of education, experience, and the relative size of the employer as it relates to the industry in general. Regardless of these factors and whether or not a professional sits at the top or bottom of the wage scale, it can be stated with great confidence that a nuclear medicine salary is highly desirable and sufficient.
The highest nuclear medicine salary, for those within the top 10th percentile, will be in the neighborhood of $87,000 per year. On the lower end of the salary bracket, for the lowest 10th percentile, the nuclear medicine tech salary would be around $48,000. Still,

on average, the estimated wage earnings for a nuclear medicine technologist are roughly $65,000 annually. It is important to keep in mind that both the lower 10th percentile and the top 10th percentile are based on a wide variety of factors, namely professional experience as well as educational experience. Something worth considering when researching nuclear medicine programs in your area.

Outlook of Employment

Before you even consider delving into a nuclear medicine career, you will probably want to know what the future holds for this profession and if it carries any reasonable amount of job security. Well, you don’t need to worry about nuclear medicine disappearing anytime soon, but rather, if anything, it will continue to expound upon its already existing crucial, integral role in the field of medicine.

With the aging population in the United States and the intense technological growth, nuclear medicine is expected to play an increasingly stronger role in the future. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics estimates that there will be a 16% increase in future employment opportunities from 2008 to 2018. However, it is important to keep in mind that the demand for specialized and well trained nuclear medicine technologists will hold the most security in this field.

Steps to Becoming a Nuclear Medicine Technologist

Determine your level of comfort with physics and chemistry. Both of these aspects are the foundation on which nuclear medicine is built, and it is imperative that you be that you both enjoy and comprehend the science behind them both.
Now that you are certain that nuclear medicine is the career for you, you will need to spend some time thinking about what your goals are in this field. Are you, in the future, aiming to work as a nuclear cardiologist or PET scanning specialist? If so, you will need to plan your educational path so that those goals can be accomplished. It is always best to try to look into the future and get all of your schooling done from the beginning.
Research nuclear medicine schools. Review the programs that each college has to offer you and choose the one that best suits your individual goals and your career goals.
After you have completed your nuclear medicine program, you are now ready to be tested by one of the national certification agencies. You can elect to test with either the NMTCB or the ARRT. Both certifications are valid and highly respected. Remember that national certification can sometimes be a stipulation of employment.
Apply for a state license if it is required in your state. Once you have your license and your certification in hand, you will be ready to go to work!

References:

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics,
www.bls.gov

Salary Wizard,
www.swz.salary.com