Radiologic Technologists and Technicians vs Surgical Technologists
Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index
A factual, source-backed comparison of Radiologic Technologists and Technicians and Surgical Technologists on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”
At a glance
| Dimension | Radiologic Technologists and Technicians | Surgical Technologists |
|---|---|---|
| Median pay | $77,660 | $62,830 |
| Employment | 223,460 | 113,890 |
| Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection | About average (+4.3%) | About average (+4.5%) |
| Annual openings · BLS projection | 12,900 | 7,000 |
| Typical education · O*NET | Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. | Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. |
| AI exposure · published exposure studies | Low · 31st pct | Low · 5th pct |
| Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk | 40th pct · 22% of tasks | — |
| Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index | — | — |
| Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman | No | No |
Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.
Skills
Shared: Medicine and Dentistry, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Oral Comprehension, Problem Sensitivity, Near Vision, Oral Expression, Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness, Written Comprehension, Deductive Reasoning, Information Ordering, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Service Orientation, Inductive Reasoning, Speech Recognition, Speech Clarity, Education and Training, Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Operation and Control, Coordination, Operations Monitoring, Flexibility of Closure, Perceptual Speed, Selective Attention, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Judgment and Decision Making.
Specific to Radiologic Technologists and Technicians
- Computers and Electronics
- Administrative
- Public Safety and Security
- Psychology
- Physics
- Category Flexibility
- Visualization
- Control Precision
Specific to Surgical Technologists
- Manual Dexterity
- Time Management
- Number Facility
- Visual Color Discrimination
- Active Learning
- Learning Strategies
- Instructing
- Complex Problem Solving
Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).
Tools & technology
Shared: Medical software , Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Electronic mail software , Word processing software , Data base user interface and query software .
Specific to Radiologic Technologists and Technicians
Specific to Surgical Technologists
Full profiles
This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Radiologic Technologists and Technicians or Surgical Technologists — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.
More comparisons
Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.
- Radiologic Technologists and Technicians vs Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians
- Radiologic Technologists and Technicians vs Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
- Radiologic Technologists and Technicians vs Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists
- Radiologic Technologists and Technicians vs Radiation Therapists
- Radiologic Technologists and Technicians vs Neurodiagnostic Technologists
- Radiologic Technologists and Technicians vs Nuclear Medicine Technologists
- Radiologic Technologists and Technicians vs Ophthalmic Medical Technologists
- Radiologic Technologists and Technicians vs Endoscopy Technicians
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Singulariki. "Radiologic Technologists and Technicians vs Surgical Technologists." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/radiologic-technologists-and-technicians-vs-surgical-technologists
Singulariki. (2026). Radiologic Technologists and Technicians vs Surgical Technologists. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/radiologic-technologists-and-technicians-vs-surgical-technologists
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title = {Radiologic Technologists and Technicians vs Surgical Technologists},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/compare/radiologic-technologists-and-technicians-vs-surgical-technologists}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.