Diagnostic Technologists Apply Specialized Skills to Care for Oregon’s Population

November 19, 2025

Medical diagnostic and imaging services are a key component of any well-functioning health care system. To accurately treat their patients’ illnesses and injuries, physicians need precise images of the body. However, there are only so many hours in a doctor’s day, so the health care system relies on a highly trained workforce to operate imaging equipment and administer medical tests to patients. This group of healthcare technical occupations, known as the Diagnostic Related Technologists and Technicians, is high-paying and fast-growing in Oregon.

Data indicates that abundant job opportunities exist for those who choose to pursue an associate or bachelor’s degree in medical diagnostic technology. Students and job seekers who are inclined towards working in the health care sector or who are seeking an altruistic, social job serving their fellow humans with their technical expertise, may wish to gain awareness of these occupations as a possible career path. 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Medical Science Meets Technology 

Technologists are experts in one specific area of diagnostic imaging, having learned the work procedures to operate a complex machine and obtain quality pictures or information for diagnosis by physicians. Daily job duties vary depending on which organ or section of the human body is to be evaluated. Some of the most common equipment they operate includes Computed Tomography (CT), X-Ray, Ultrasound, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Their workload of patients fluctuates day by day and could be either busy or slow, depending on the medical facility’s census and how many patients are referred over to them. Many positions require night, holiday, and on-call shifts. 

In addition to operating machines, diagnostic techs prepare patients both physically and mentally for the scheduled scan or test. They conduct screening interviews for medical history, then explain the process in layman’s terms to help calm patients’ nerves and gain their voluntary cooperation. On the physical side, a tech might assist patients into the correct position, attach monitoring systems, inject contrast dye, or set up immobilization devices. Diagnostic techs must monitor patient safety and comfort throughout the scan. 

For this group of occupations, on-the-job training is typically not available, so getting hired is a matter of the candidate proving to an employer they possess the required licensure, technical knowledge and patient relations skills. An ability to adapt to changing technologies also contributes to employee success over the course of a career.

The U.S. Department of Labor offers thorough descriptions for each occupation. Follow the links to O*NET Online to learn more.

• 29-2031 Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians
• 29-2032 Diagnostic Medical Sonographers 
• 29-2033 Nuclear Medicine Technologists
• 29-2034 Radiologic Technologists and Technicians
• 29-2035 Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists
• 29-2099.01 Neurodiagnostic Technologists
• 29-2099.05 Ophthalmic Medical Technologists

Entry-Level Education is Associate’s Degree, Higher Degrees Common  

Training requirements for diagnostic technologists have evolved over time. In the past it was more common for these positions to be trained on-the-job without a college degree, but this is no longer the case. Today’s employers seek out candidates who possess formal training and an associate or bachelor’s degree. Two exceptions are limited x-ray technicians and electrocardiogram (EKG) technicians, both positions where short-term certification training from a private career school would suffice.

The following graph reflects American Community Survey data on educational attainment for workers in these occupations nationwide.Some states require official licensure for diagnostic techs while others do not. In Oregon, the Board of Medical Imaging requires a license for nuclear medicine technologists, MRI technologists, radiation therapists, radiographers, sonographers, and limited permit x-ray machine operators. The Board states on its website: “Oregon Law Mandates that you MUST ALWAYS have an active Medical Imaging License or Limited Permit issued by the Oregon Board of Medical Imaging (OBMI) to legally perform any type of Medical Imaging in any modality.”  

Preparation for national certification exams is built into most degree programs, so upon successful completion of their coursework and exams a graduate would then be eligible for state licensure. Throughout their careers, diagnostic techs must be mindful of renewing their license every two years and keeping current on continuing education credits.

Several Oregon colleges offer relevant degree programs:

Oregon Institute of Technology - Klamath Falls

• Bachelor of science degrees in Medical Imaging Technology
• Students may specialize in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Echocardiography, Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Technology, Radiologic Science, or Vascular Technology. All five programs include an eleven-month clinical externship at a healthcare facility. 

Linn-Benton Community College - Albany

• Associate’s degree in Diagnostic Imaging 
• Offers a post-graduate pathway for earning a bachelor’s degree in Sonography, through a partnership with University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Portland Community College

• Associate’s degree in Radiography 
• Certificate in Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Concorde Career College - Portland

• Associate’s degrees in Cardiovascular Sonography and Diagnostic Medical Sonography

Seasoned Technologists Share their Perspectives

Three technologists at Willamette Valley Medical Center in McMinnville provided insights from their differing careers in diagnostic imaging. 

Isaac Wooten, RT(R)(CT)(ARRT), a CT technologist who has been in radiographic sciences since 2011, started with an associate’s as a radiographer and then trained into CT. He noted requirements have shifted since he entered the field, with “coursework now required for each additional modality” and “a continued quality test now required every 10 years” to maintain one’s licensing. Wooten observed that for CT and radiology techs, an “associate’s is most common, but bachelor’s is preferred for management potential.” When asked what advice he would give someone considering this career, Wooten said, “Job shadow and/or previous health related job experience is helpful in applying for college programs. Quite a few prerequisite courses are required, and it can be a competitive process to get into associate programs because training sites are limited.” For ongoing success on the job, he advised that interpersonal skills and empathy are important. 

A sonographer at the same hospital recommended ultrasound technologists “have a strong background in math, communication, hand/eye coordination, strong understanding of body pathology” and “a love for this job, because it is demanding on the body, mind and lack of sleep due to [on-call] nights.” They mentioned a bachelor’s degree in sonography can be advantageous because “individuals come into the workforce with better didactic understanding of pathology, stronger scanning abilities, and better communication with radiologist and patients.” Staff in their department do hold a mix of associate and bachelor’s degrees, which are both acceptable as long as the college is an accredited program.

Katie Allen, RT(R)(N)(CT), works as a full-time multimodality technologist. She splits her time between CT and nuclear medicine while helping radiology as well. Allen described her educational pathway: “I started in a hospital-based program for radiology in 2012 and followed up with nuclear medicine in 2014 at Weber State University. I cross-trained into CT in 2017. Radiology was an associate’s while nuclear medicine was a bachelor’s program… Most programs are moving to bachelor’s degrees for nuclear medicine.” She would like prospective students to know “radiology is a great field to start in. Many doors open with opportunities in cross training into CT, MR, Cath Lab, IR (Interventional Radiology) or Mammogram.”

Allen commented, “It can be the most rewarding career and also the hardest. You deal with patients in all levels of the grieving process. Completing an exam with a patient is only a fraction of the influence you make on their time in the hospital.”

Competitive Wages Across the State

Wages for diagnostic technologists vary state by state and can differ for those working in an urban versus rural labor market. Check out the OEWS map for a visualization of these differences (select “Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations” as the major occupational group, then a detailed occupation and a measure). These occupations are all designated High-Wage, High-Skill Occupations, with diagnostic medical sonographers and radiologic technologists also designated as High-Demand based on sheer number of job openings. Entry-level wages in Oregon generally start above $32 per hour for imaging technologists who hold an associate’s degree.

There is potential for a six-figure salary once a tech gains some years of experience or learns more complex equipment. Median hourly wage rates range from $47.68 to $54.63, according to the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates. These medians are $21 to $28 higher per hour than the median for all Oregon occupations. This contrast goes to show that a career as a diagnostic tech is likely to be a Living Wage Job, sufficient for supporting a family on one full-time worker’s income.  

For labor market entrants and experienced technologists seeking their next position in Oregon, the Employment Department’s job vacancy survey data reveals characteristics of job openings. Keep in mind the job vacancy survey only surveys private-sector businesses, so public healthcare employers are missing from the dataset. One notable trend shows vacancies for diagnostic medical sonographers and MRI technologists skewing towards part-time positions, while radiologic and cardiovascular vacancies were mostly for full-time work. It is common for employers to offer a higher hourly wage premium to attract a candidate willing to work on a part-time or on-call basis. 

Positive Job Outlook in the Hospital and Ambulatory Health Care Industries

Approximately 5,290 Oregonians currently work as diagnostic technologists and technicians. The majority work in private-sector hospitals or in ambulatory health care services, which includes physicians’ offices and diagnostic laboratories. Some additional employment opportunities can be found in the federal, state and local government hospitals as well as temporary staffing agencies.Total employment for diagnostic technologists and technicians in Oregon is projected to increase 13.5% from 2023 to 2033. By 2033, there are expected to be 6,002 employed in this set of five occupations. Job openings will come from a combination of replacement and fast-paced industry growth, at the rate of around 362 per year. In addition to 712 new positions being created during the decade, there are expected to be 2,912 replacement openings that will need to be filled. Replacement openings are not newly created jobs but are positions that currently exist and will need to be filled because the current employees leave due to retirement, career change, or geographic mobility.

Sector Growth Spurs Demand for Diagnostic Imaging Professionals

Multiple industries are experiencing a decline or very slow growth in employment opportunities in Oregon’s current economic climate. Health care, on the other hand, tends to be insulated from recessionary trends since demand for medical services is less subject to the ups and downs of the economic cycle. Major factors contributing to the expansion of health care jobs include an uptick in the elderly population who require more care (specifically the large baby boom generation born from 1945 to 1964) and growth in the number of people living with chronic health conditions. 

Oregon’s long-term industry projections expect that the private health care and social assistance sector will grow 13% between 2023 and 2033, adding 37,200 new jobs – faster than the 8% growth rate for all industries. State and local government hospitals will add 3,700 jobs in the same period. Just looking at recent year-over-year changes, private ambulatory health care services grew 4.6% between 2023 and 2024 to a total of 103,348 workers. Private hospital employment grew 5.1% year over year, ticking up to an estimated 62,312 workers by 2024. 

This ongoing expansion of the health care sector buzzes with opportunity for recent graduates who are looking to build a career in any medical occupation. Simultaneously, advances in diagnostic technology have led to higher-resolution images, increasing their usefulness to physicians for the purpose of diagnosing illnesses and injuries. This increased usefulness has sparked growth in employment of medical imaging occupations specifically. In the future, artificial intelligence could displace some technology-related health care jobs, but it will have a much more difficult time displacing functions like medical imaging which involve extensive hands-on patient contact.  

Conclusion

Job seekers and students are wise to prepare for the high-demand jobs of the future. One of the clearest pathways to workforce success is to pick a college degree or training program that aligns with one’s interests and abilities, while also indicating a high degree of confidence there will be employment opportunities. Many fast-growing occupations can be found within the healthcare sector as new technologies emerge and demand for services swells.

Medium-preparation, technical careers such as the Diagnostic Related Technologists and Technicians may be just the ticket to labor market security for those willing to take on an associate or bachelor’s degree program. These occupations offer a stable income and job outlook for motivated individuals as they contribute daily to the wellbeing of our communities. 

Further Reading

Oregon Board of Medical Imaging
The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT)
American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) 
Oregon’s Licensed Health Care Workforce Supply, 2024
Future Ready Oregon Healthcare Industry Consortium: High-Skill, High-Wage, High-Demand Healthcare Occupation Profiles