RARadiologist
RA
Career

Radiologist

By the numbers
Typical pay
$420,860 / yr
Education to start
Doctoral or professional degree
Future demand
+2.7% by 2034
People in this job
27K
Figures shown for ·1 O*NET occupation
The work
A day, hour by hour
07:00
Overnight review

Scan the queue for urgent cases flagged since yesterday evening.

07:20
Morning huddle

Radiologists and techs align on the day's scan load and tricky cases.

07:45
Read & report

Work through 50–100 scans back-to-back — X-rays, CTs, MRIs — dictating findings.

10:30
Urgent call

A CT shows a pulmonary embolism — phone the referring doctor immediately.

11:00
Image-guided biopsy

Navigate a needle into a lung nodule in real time using live CT imaging.

13:00
Afternoon reads

Clear the afternoon queue; flag one shadow — artifact or real finding? Look twice.

15:30
Tumor board

Present imaging findings to oncologists and surgeons shaping a patient's treatment plan.

16:30
Resident teaching

Walk a radiology resident through a tricky MRI — spot the subtle disc herniation.

17:15
Dose & QA check

Review radiation dose logs; confirm no patient exceeded safe exposure thresholds today.

Things you do
  • Study medical scans and spot what's wrong inside the body.
  • Write detailed reports telling doctors exactly what the images show.
  • Guide a needle into a tumor using live imaging for a biopsy.
  • Call a doctor immediately when a scan reveals something life-threatening.
  • Present imaging findings at team meetings to shape treatment plans.
Decisions you’ll make
  • Is that shadow on the scan a real finding, or just an artifact?
  • Does this look worrying enough to call the doctor right now, or can it wait for the report?
  • Am I seeing something subtle here, or am I pattern-matching my way into a false alarm?
  • Should I recommend more imaging, or would that just expose the patient to unnecessary risk?
  • Is this finding outside my expertise — do I need to loop in a subspecialist?
Education Pathways · how you get there
97 in 100 went the college route · 3 in 100 found another way in None, typically
Education mapped from O*NET:Radiologists · 98% related
If you like this, also look at