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Radiologists: Career Profile

Diagnose and treat diseases and injuries using medical imaging techniques, such as x rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine, and ultrasounds. May perform minimally invasive medical procedures and tests.

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The Daily Work of Radiologists Do?

Typical responsibilities of radiologists cover:

Prepare comprehensive interpretive reports of findings.
Perform or interpret the outcomes of diagnostic imaging procedures including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computer tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), nuclear cardiology treadmill studies, mammography, or ultrasound.
Document the performance, interpretation, or outcomes of all procedures performed.
Communicate examination results or diagnostic information to referring physicians, patients, or families.
Obtain patients' histories from electronic records, patient interviews, dictated reports, or by communicating with referring clinicians.
Review or transmit images and information using picture archiving or communications systems.
Confer with medical professionals regarding image-based diagnoses.
Recognize or treat complications during and after procedures, including blood pressure problems, pain, oversedation, or bleeding.

Key Skills and Knowledge

Successful radiologists draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Key Skills

These are the skills most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Reading Comprehension 4.2 / 5

Active Listening 4.2 / 5

Speaking 4.2 / 5

Critical Thinking 4.1 / 5

Writing 4.1 / 5

Judgment and Decision Making 4.1 / 5

Knowledge Areas

Medicine and Dentistry 4.7 / 5

Biology 4.5 / 5

English Language 4.3 / 5

Computers and Electronics 3.9 / 5

Education and Training 3.7 / 5

Customer and Personal Service 3.6 / 5

This career also goes by job titles like:

Attending Physician
Attending Radiologist
Breast Imaging Radiologist
Diagnostic Radiologist
General Radiologist
IR Technician (Interventional Radiology Technician)
IR Travel Technician (Interventional Radiology Travel Technician)
Interventional Neuroradiologist

How Many Radiologists Are There?

The U.S. employs around 505,890 radiologists working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to grow by +4.2% over the projection horizon.

Forecasted number of jobs for Radiologists

How Much Do Radiologists Make?

Statistic	Value
Annual median	$97,090
Hourly median	$46.68
10th percentile	$55,075
25th percentile	$76,082
75th percentile	$118,098
90th percentile	$139,106

Pay can vary substantially based on experience, location, and industry.

How Much Do Radiologists Make in Different U.S. States?

State	Annual median salary
New York	$216,420
Maryland	$97,120

Pay by U.S. Region

Pay for radiologists vary by region. Top regions by median wage:

Region	Median annual wage	Share of U.S. jobs	Location quotient
Middle Atlantic	$106,287	28.4%	1.40

Top Metro Areas

Metro area	State	Median annual wage	Employment
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	NY	$219,900	1,870
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC	GA	$172,680	50
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	MD	$95,890	330
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	NY	$75,990	50

Industry Breakdown

The bulk of radiologists are concentrated in the following sectors:

Industry	Employment	Median annual wage
Health Care and Social Assistance	24,870	n/a
Educational Services	610	$106,260
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	410	$161,850
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	210	$135,970
Management of Companies and Enterprises	80	n/a

Radiologists work in the following industries:

Software Radiologists Use

Medical software: eClinicalWorks EHR software (hot technology)
Medical software: Epic Systems (hot technology)
Medical software: MEDITECH software (hot technology)
Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)

Work Environment

The work environment for radiologists reflects the following characteristics:

Telephone Conversations
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
Frequency of Decision Making
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled

How to Become Radiologists

This occupation sits in Extensive Preparation Needed (Job Zone 5), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.

Similar Occupations

Anesthesiologist Assistants (Supplemental)
Radiation Therapists (Primary-Long)
Anesthesiologists (Supplemental)
Cardiologists (Primary-Short)
Emergency Medicine Physicians (Primary-Long)
General Internal Medicine Physicians (Primary-Long)
Neurologists (Primary-Long)
Obstetricians and Gynecologists (Supplemental)

Degree Programs

Aspiring radiologists often complete programs in:

18 programs across 4 majors

2 programs across 1 majors

Medicine

References

Statistics shown above are sourced from the following authoritative sources:

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 29-1224.00 (Radiologists).

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