Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between imaging assistants and imaging specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an imaging assistant, becoming an imaging specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an imaging specialist has an average salary of $34,003, which is higher than the $33,188 average annual salary of an imaging assistant.
The top three skills for an imaging assistant include patients, patient care and BLS. The most important skills for an imaging specialist are patients, patient care, and radiology.
| Imaging Assistant | Imaging Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $33,188 | $34,003 |
| Hourly rate | $15.96 | $16.35 |
| Growth rate | 6% | - |
| Number of jobs | 25,940 | 21,696 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Average age | 43 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
Imaging Assistants are responsible for providing operational and administrative support to the radiologist. Their duties include scheduling examination, organize work assignments, conduct imaging room set up, patient verification, explaining procedures to patient and family as well as help in the patient transfers from and to beds, wheelchairs, and carts. They are responsible for maintaining the supplies room, manage patient exam records, establish proper billing, and report equipment malfunction. Imaging Assistants ensures patient comfort, engage in ethical conduct, and make sure work adheres to regulatory requirements.
The duties of an imaging specialist depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities include meeting with clients to identify their needs, editing and scanning images, performing color corrections on photographs and other forms of image manipulation, and creating digital rendings of photos and videos. There are also instances where an imaging specialist may work together with photographers, artists, and graphic designers, all functioning in adherence to the goals and vision of a project.
Imaging assistants and imaging specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Imaging Assistant | Imaging Specialist | |
| Average salary | $33,188 | $34,003 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $50,000 | Between $15,000 And $75,000 |
| Highest paying City | Fairbanks, AK | Trumbull, CT |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Massachusetts General Hospital | FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | Finance |
There are a few differences between an imaging assistant and an imaging specialist in terms of educational background:
| Imaging Assistant | Imaging Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Medical Technician | Business |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between imaging assistants' and imaging specialists' demographics:
| Imaging Assistant | Imaging Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.0% Female, 62.0% | Male, 42.6% Female, 57.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 9.5% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 11% |