Nuclear Medicine Technologist Job Outlook

The job outlook for nuclear medicine technologists is fair. Employment of nuclear medicine technologists is expected to increase by 19 percent from 2010 to 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations. This is a small occupation, so the growth will result in only about 4,100 new jobs over the 10-year period.

Nuclear medicine technologists work mostly with adult patients, although some procedures may be performed on children. As the baby boomer generation ages the elderly population will expand, which should lead to greater need to diagnose and treat medical conditions that require nuclear medical imaging, such as heart disease. Nuclear medicine technologists will be needed to administer radioactive drugs and maintain the imaging equipment required for diagnosis.

Overall employment growth is expected to be driven by rapidly growing industries, including physicians' offices and diagnostic laboratories, which employed about 31 percent of nuclear medicine technologists in 2010.

Nuclear medicine technologists can improve their job opportunities by getting a specialty certification. A technologist can earn a certification in positron emission tomography (PET), nuclear cardiology (NCT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or computed tomography (CT). The Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board (NMTCB) offers NCT and PET certification exams. The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) offers the CT and MRI certification exams.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor