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Radiologic technician vs staff technologist

The differences between radiologic technicians and staff technologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a radiologic technician and a staff technologist. Additionally, a staff technologist has an average salary of $57,587, which is higher than the $50,622 average annual salary of a radiologic technician.

The top three skills for a radiologic technician include patients, ARRT and radiologic technologist. The most important skills for a staff technologist are C++, diagnostic radiology, and patient care.

Radiologic technician vs staff technologist overview

Radiologic TechnicianStaff Technologist
Yearly salary$50,622$57,587
Hourly rate$24.34$27.69
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs58,797123,142
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age4343
Years of experience22

What does a radiologic technician do?

A radiologic technician is responsible for testing and treating patients with radiology machines under the assistance of a radiologist. Duties of a radiologic technician include performing radiology procedures, monitoring the equipment's safety and stability, assisting the patients with the guidelines, detecting and resolving possible system malfunctions, and preventing excessive radiation exposure. A radiologic technician must have excellent technical skills and excellent knowledge of the medical industry to support the patients and provide additional assistance.

What does a staff technologist do?

A staff technologist conducts laboratory requests issued by doctors to determine, diagnose, and treat various diseases. The staff technologist is also under the radiologist technician's umbrella and assists the lead technician in managing the laboratory. Included in a staff technologist's tasks are preparing the specimen for analysis and ensuring that all laboratory equipment is well-calibrated and in working order. Added to the responsibilities are protecting patient information and all confidential data the laboratory received.

Radiologic technician vs staff technologist salary

Radiologic technicians and staff technologists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Radiologic TechnicianStaff Technologist
Average salary$50,622$57,587
Salary rangeBetween $32,000 And $79,000Between $33,000 And $99,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAMenlo Park, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyTALENT Software ServicesVMware
Best paying industryHealth CareTechnology

Differences between radiologic technician and staff technologist education

There are a few differences between a radiologic technician and a staff technologist in terms of educational background:

Radiologic TechnicianStaff Technologist
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common majorMedical TechnicianMedical Technician
Most common collegeTexas A&M UniversityTexas A&M University

Radiologic technician vs staff technologist demographics

Here are the differences between radiologic technicians' and staff technologists' demographics:

Radiologic TechnicianStaff Technologist
Average age4343
Gender ratioMale, 33.9% Female, 66.1%Male, 54.1% Female, 45.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 9.9% White, 58.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 5.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 10.2% Asian, 6.0% White, 73.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage10%8%

Differences between radiologic technician and staff technologist duties and responsibilities

Radiologic technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage imaging databases and relate processes including image file compression and EMR implementations.
  • Accomplish surgical studies utilizing a portable c-arm digital fluoroscopic machine under the direction of a physician.
  • Perform general radiography, fluoroscopy, compute tomography and work in the operating room.
  • Handle both inpatients and outpatients of all ages.
  • Have worked with traditional x-ray systems as well as DR and CR.
  • Attend yearly CPR re-certification classes in addition to maintaining continuing education points for ARRT and IEMA.
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Staff technologist example responsibilities.

  • Open and close department independently and also assist surgical staff by managing QC and providing radiopharmaceuticals as needed for procedures.
  • Assist in RF design and development.
  • Used Jmeter to test API and their functionality.
  • Train in MRI procedures and perform exams under the direction of a physician.
  • Perform electrical and environmental test on analog, digital and RF devices per program requirements.
  • Focus on the principles of ALARA, delivering excellent patient care, and performing high quality examinations
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Radiologic technician vs staff technologist skills

Common radiologic technician skills
  • Patients, 24%
  • ARRT, 11%
  • Radiologic Technologist, 7%
  • CPR, 5%
  • Pacs, 4%
  • ALARA, 2%
Common staff technologist skills
  • C++, 10%
  • Diagnostic Radiology, 6%
  • Patient Care, 6%
  • Windows, 5%
  • R, 5%
  • MRI, 4%

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