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Alamo Colleges DistrictCareer Explorer

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists

Part of Health Science, in the Diagnostic Services pathway.

Bright outlookJob zone 3: medium preparationO*NET 29-2035.00

What the work is

Operate Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners. Monitor patient safety and comfort, and view images of area being scanned to ensure quality of pictures. May administer gadolinium contrast dosage intravenously. May interview patient, explain MRI procedures, and position patient on examining table. May enter into the computer data such as patient history, anatomical area to be scanned, orientation specified, and position of entry.

On a typical day

  • Attach physiological monitoring leads to patient's finger, chest, waist, or other body parts.
  • Calibrate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) console or peripheral hardware.
  • Conduct screening interviews of patients to identify contraindications, such as ferrous objects, pregnancy, prosthetic heart valves, cardiac pacemakers, or tattoos.
  • Connect physiological leads to physiological acquisition control (PAC) units.
  • Create backup copies of images by transferring images from disk to storage media or workstation.
  • Explain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedures to patients, patient representatives, or family members.

What it pays

$94,350
Median pay per year, San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX metro
New workers start near $76,920
Experienced workers reach $103,920
  1. $77k10th
  2. $82k25th
  3. $94kMedian
  4. $99k75th
  5. $104k90th
Wage percentiles: 10th $76,920, 25th $81,520, Median $94,350, 75th $98,900, 90th $103,920

About 190 people do this job in the San Antonio area.

Job outlook

Alamo region (Bexar and 12 surrounding counties), Texas Workforce Commission projection 2024 to 2034. U.S. figures from the BLS for comparison.

+17.9%

employment change in the Alamo region, 207 to 244 jobs · U.S. +7%

15

openings a year in the Alamo region, from growth and people leaving · U.S. 2,600

207

employed in the Alamo region in 2024 · U.S. 44,100

Typical entry education: Associate's degree · Experience: Less than 5 years

Skills this career uses

The skills O*NET rates most important for the job, with how much of each the work needs on a 1 to 7 scale.

  1. Reading Comprehension4.0
  2. Active Listening3.9
  3. Monitoring3.8
  4. Speaking3.9
  5. Operations Monitoring3.4
  6. Critical Thinking3.6
  7. Operation and Control3.1
  8. Writing3.1

Education people in this job have

Share of workers by highest education, from O*NET surveys. It shows what others did, not what you must do.

  1. High school or less4%
  2. Certificate13%
  3. Some college4%
  4. Associate degree65%
  5. Bachelor's degree13%

Job zone 3, medium preparation: Training, an associate degree, or a few years of related experience.

Alamo programs that lead here

No Alamo program is mapped to this career yet. Many careers start from a transfer pre-major or a related program.

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