Radiography

Types of Degrees Radiography Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many radiologic technology graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Associate Degree	7,159
Bachelor’s Degree	1,561
Undergraduate Certificate	1,236
Basic Certificate	518
Master’s Degree	124

What Radiography Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to radiography and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Radiography Majors

Radiography majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

Skills for Radiography Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to radiography:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Abilities for Radiography Majors

Radiography majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Radiography Major?

People with a radiography degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Radiologic Technologists	12.3%	$59,520

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Radiography?

This major is dominated by women with about 81% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of radiography majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	73
Black or African American	97
Hispanic or Latino	253
White	1,005
International Students	16
Other Races/Ethnicities	117

Geographic Diversity

Radiography appeals to people across the globe. About 1.0% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Radiography

Some careers associated with radiography require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for radiography careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	23.5%
Some College Courses	4.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	63.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	3.1%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	6.2%

Online Radiography Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	38	3
Certificate (2-4 Years)	43	1
Associate’s Degree	414	5
Bachelor’s Degree	1	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	13	2
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Radiography

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to radiography.

Major	Number of Grads
Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)	27,986
Physician Assistant	12,477
Surgical Technology	7,433
Respiratory Care Therapy	6,800
Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer and Ultrasound Technician	6,280
Medical Radiologic Technology/Science - Radiation Therapy	3,991
Athletic Training	3,255
Other Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	1,970
Cardiovascular Technology/Technologist	1,420
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technology	921
Electrocardiograph Technology/Technician	611
Nuclear Medical Technology/Technologist	588
Electroneurodiagnostic/Electroencephalographic Technology/Technologist	384
Polysomnography	235
Perfusion Technology/Perfusionist	183
Mammography Technician/Technology	110
Radiation Protection/Health Physics Technician	71
Gene/Genetic Therapy	41
Cardiopulmonary Technology	39
Hearing Instrument Specialist	14
Orthopedic Technology	6

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.