Report: RT jobs 'disappeared' in 2008

Mar 23, 2009

A glut of radiology schools has created such a surplus of radiologic technologists that RT jobs seemed to "disappear" in 2008, according to a new report issued by allied health recruiting firm RadSciences Group of McKinney, TX.

The job market in 2008 was one of the most volatile in history, according to the company. Open positions "seemed to disappear" for radiologic technologists, nuclear medicine technologists, mammographers, and other imaging-related positions, while demand remained strong for nonradiology jobs such as physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech language pathologists.

RadSciences attributes the glut to the addition of new radiology schools and "skyrocketing" enrollment over the past five years. There are more than 735 accredited or regionally accredited radiology programs in the U.S., compared with 620 accredited programs in 2003.

"We expect to see enrollment decrease in these programs over the next 12-24 months as it becomes more apparent that it is difficult to find work as a radiographer," the report stated.

The only exception has been in ultrasound and vascular sonography, where there are still some job vacancies. However, most of the demand is for skilled sonographers who have multiple registries; new graduates and nonregistered sonographers are struggling to find employment.

The report goes on to state that many hospitals are implementing job cuts to improve cash flow in the face of the ongoing recession. Job losses in the broader economy mean that fewer people have the money or health coverage to see a physician, the report said.

Based on job offers from the firm's clients, RadSciences reported an average wage of $27.20 an hour for radiologic technologists in specialties accredited by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (including CT, MRI, mammography, nuclear medicine, and other modalities). The low wage was $20.50/hour and the high wage was $31.50/hour.