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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.

The Daily Work of Radiologists Perform?

The day-to-day responsibilities of radiologists span:

• 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 combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Most Important Skills

The abilities that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Knowledge Areas

Other Radiologists Job Titles

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

Employment and Demand

There are roughly 505,890 radiologists working in the United States today. Employment is projected to grow by +4.2% over the projection horizon.

Salary for Radiologists

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

Wages vary widely 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

Compensation 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

Where the Jobs Cluster

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

Which Industries Hire Radiologists

The bulk of radiologists are found across these industries:

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

Below are examples of industries where radiologists work:

Tools and Technology

• 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)

What the Workplace Is Like

The work environment for radiologists tends to involve 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

Education and Training

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

Other Careers to Consider

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)

Where to Study

Future radiologists commonly pursue programs in:

18 programs across 4 majors

• Combined Medical Residency/Fellowship Programs
• Nuclear Medicine Residency/Fellowship Programs
• Radiation Oncology Residency/Fellowship Programs
• Radiology Residency/Fellowship Programs

Health Professions and Related Programs

2 programs across 1 majors

• Medicine

Sources

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).