Career
Nuclear medicine technologists
Use radioactive drugs to image and treat disease.
$101,370
Median pay
+4.4%
Job growth, 2025–35
800
Openings a year
Associate's degree
Typical education
2 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Administer radiopharmaceuticals or radiation intravenously to detect or treat diseases, using radioisotope equipment, under direction of a physician.
- Detect and map radiopharmaceuticals in patients' bodies, using a camera to produce photographic or computer images.
- Process cardiac function studies, using computer.
- Calculate, measure, and record radiation dosage or radiopharmaceuticals received, used, and disposed, using computer and following physician's prescription.
- Record and process results of procedures.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then ideas & analysis?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Administer radiopharmaceuticals or radiation intravenously to detect or treat diseases, using radioisotope equipment, under direction of a physician.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Critical Thinking, Speaking, Active Listening, Writing.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
2 years of education after high school (associate's degree), for a median of $101,370 a year and 800 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Allied Health ProfessionsSee the degree →
- Nuclear Medical Technology/TechnologistCIP 51.0905
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians$74,310 · +3.7%
- Radiologic Technologists and Technicians$80,110 · +5.0%
- Radiation Therapists$105,310 · +2.8%
- Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists
- Radiologists$420,860 · +3.4%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.