MRI technicians are paid to take diagnostic images used by doctors.
An associate's degree in the imaging field can lead to a career in the medical field. Imaging degrees go by various names, but are generally geared toward teaching the student the art and science of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or other forms of digital imaging technology like those used by radiologic technicians and technologists. Salaries for those with an associate's degree in this field generally compare well with the pay of registered nurses with the same level of education.
Pay Scale
Radiologic technicians and technologists earned an average salary of $55,730 per year as of May 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This salary figure also included the pay made by MRI technicians. These medical imaging professionals typically earned between $36,510 and $76,850 per year, with a reported median salary of $54,340. Those in the middle 50 percent of the pay scale earned salaries ranging from $44,200 to $65,590 on an annual basis.
Employers
Salaries for medical imaging professionals vary by employer. For example, those who were employed by hospitals made an average salary of $55,880 per year in 2010, while those who worked in medical and diagnostic laboratories made $58,240 per year on average. Some also worked in the offices of physicians, bringing home an average of $54,000, while others worked for the federal government and earned $57,540. The highest-paid technicians worked in the scientific research and development field and made $66,910 per year.
Location
Location also factors into the equation when trying to determine the salary for MRI technicians and radiologic technicians. The BLS points out that the highest-paid in this field worked in Massachusetts, California, Maryland, Nevada and the District of Columbia, earning average salaries of more than $65,000 per year. Those who worked in Texas made $53,610, while those employed in New York brought home $62,500.
Job Outlook
The job forecast for those working in the medical imaging field appears to be positive, based on projections made by the BLS for the number of new jobs in this field that will be available from 2008 to 2018. According to the bureau, the number of jobs in this field will grow by 17 percent. This should result in approximately 37,000 new jobs during this time frame.
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