A new job survey released this week shows higher demand for sonographer jobs, although radiologic technologists in other modalities may not be as fortunate.
Healthcare recruiting firm RadSciences Group of Dallas said its 2008 Radiology Compensation Review survey showed higher demand for sonographers, vascular sonographers, and cardiac sonographers. The company said that the number of job searches for these positions increased to 59% in 2007, compared to 48% in 2006.
The firm noted that the U.S. Department of Labor projects the need for an additional 23,000 ultrasound technologists by 2014, with demand being driven by an aging population and advances in imaging technology.
On the other hand, the job market is more stagnant for technologists in other modalities, with some RTs unable to find jobs in saturated markets in some areas. The firm said that the number of radiology programs has increased significantly over the past four years, with enrollment "skyrocketing."
"Some new graduates who were not in the top of their class or who were not picked up by a facility during rotations are faced with the shocking reality of unemployment or, in some cases, possibly having to relocate to find suitable employment," the company noted.
In sonography, the company has found that many healthcare facilities it has worked with won't consider applicants with less than one or two years of hands-on experience, and in many cases they require candidates to be proficient in both general ultrasound and vascular studies.
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