Medical Imaging Professionals

ANZSCO ID 2512

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
29,900
Future Growth
14.7%
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
63%
Female Share
71%
Average age
37

Summary

Medical Imaging Professionals operate X-ray and other radiation producing and imaging equipment for diagnostic, monitoring and treatment purposes under the direction of Radiologists and other Medical Practitioners.

Tasks

  • receiving referrals from Medical Practitioners to perform medical imaging and radiation treatment of patients

  • determining the appropriate equipment to use, such as X-ray equipment, radiation scanners, fluoroscopes, ultrasound equipment, nuclear instrumentation, angiography equipment and computed tomography (CT) equipment, and selecting the appropriate equipment settings to provide the diagnostic information requested by Medical Practitioners

  • calculating details of procedures such as length and intensity of exposure to radiation, size and strength of dosage of isotopes, and settings of recording equipment

  • explaining procedures to patients and answering patients' inquiries about processes

  • ensuring patients' welfare during procedures

  • positioning patients, screens and equipment preparatory to procedures

  • viewing the screen and deciding if images are satisfactory for diagnostic purposes, and selecting images to show Medical Practitioners

  • conveying findings of procedures to Medical Practitioners

Characteristics

Job Type
Professionals
Skill Level
Very high skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
Unemployment Rate
Below average
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • University
Interests
  • Practical
  • Helping
Physical Demand
  • Sedentary
  • Light
  • Medium

Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. The latest data are for the five years from November 2021 to November 2026. Over this period, the number of workers:

  • is expected to grow strongly
  • is likely to reach 18,200 by 2026.
  • Source: Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.

    Notes: The number employed includes people who work in this occupation as their main job. People who work in more than one job are counted against the occupation they work the most hours in.

    Employment projections figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Calculations based on these rounded figures may result in differences to the numbers that are displayed on this page. Employment projections data (including occupations) can be downloaded from the Employment Projections page.

Projected Change
14.7%
(or 2,300 jobs)
From
15,900
in 2021
To
18,200
in 2026

Number of Workers

Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2021 and Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.
Year Employment
2011 21,100
2012 13,300
2013 15,500
2014 16,900
2015 18,300
2016 18,700
2017 15,600
2018 20,500
2019 16,800
2020 19,800
2021 15,900
2026 18,200

Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2021 and Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.


Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 67% of people employed as Medical Imaging Professionals work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is similar to the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 41 hours per week in their main job. This is similar to the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    More than a third of workers regularly work overtime or extra hours (either paid or unpaid).

    Median hourly earnings are $53, this is more than the all jobs median ($41 per hour).

    Sources: Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average. Overtime hours: ABS, Characteristics of Employment, 2021. Full-time median earnings and median hourly earnings: ABS, Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021. Compared to all jobs median.


Industries

Main industries

1
Health Care and Social Assistance
98.7%
2
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
1.3%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

33.5% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

23.1% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

21.9% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

7.9% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

9.3% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

2.0% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.7% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

1.7% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Medical Imaging Professionals All Jobs Average
NSW 33.5 31.6
VIC 23.1 25.6
QLD 21.9 20.0
SA 7.9 7.0
WA 9.3 10.8
TAS 2.0 2.0
NT 0.7 1.0
ACT 1.7 1.9


  • Around 65% of Medical Imaging Professionals live in capital cities, compared with the all jobs average of 62%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian states, territories and regions, in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
37
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
71%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Medical Imaging Professionals is 37 years. This is similar to the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 25 to 34 years.

    Females make up 71% of the workforce. This is 23 percentage points above the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Medical Imaging Professionals All Jobs Average
15-19 0.1 5.0
20-24 8.4 9.3
25-34 35.7 22.9
35-44 25.0 22.0
45-54 17.0 21.6
55-59 7.3 9.0
60-64 4.6 6.0
65 and Over 1.9 4.2
Median Age 37 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

A formal qualification in the relevant medical imaging field is needed to work as a Medical Imaging Professional. Many workers have a postgraduate qualification.

Registration with the Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia or the Australasian Sonographer Accreditation Registry is required.

Visit

  • Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
  • ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Medical Imaging Professionals All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 30.2 10.1
Bachelor degree 53.5 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 14.4 11.6
Certificate III/IV 0.4 21.1
Year 12 1.4 18.1
Year 11 0.0 4.8
Year 10 and below 0.2 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.


Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Medical Imaging Professionals who are caring and empathetic and can work well in a team, with the ability to communicate with a diverse range of people.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 55%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 55%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 55%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 52%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 50%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 48%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 48%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 46%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 45%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 43%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 43%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 43%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 43%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 43%

    Operation and control

    Controlling equipment or systems.

  • 43%

    Operation monitoring

    Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

  • 41%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 39%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 37%

    Management of personnel resources

    Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.

  • 37%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 32%

    Quality control analysis

    Doing tests and checking products, services, or processes to make sure they are working properly.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 83%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 61%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 59%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 58%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 55%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 54%

    Medicine and dentistry

    Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.

  • 51%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 51%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 49%

    Biology

    Plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, how they rely on and work with each other and the environment.

  • 47%

    Physics

    The physical laws of matter, motion and energy, and how they interact through space and time.

  • 43%

    Mechanical

    Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

  • 41%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 40%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 34%

    Communications and media

    Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.

  • 33%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 32%

    Therapy and counselling

    Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.

  • 32%

    Production and processing

    Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.

  • 32%

    Engineering and technology

    Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.

  • 28%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 23%

    Telecommunications

    Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 57%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 57%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 57%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 57%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 55%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 52%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 50%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 48%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 46%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 45%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 45%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 45%

    Arm-hand steadiness

    Keep your hand or arm steady.

  • 45%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 45%

    Control precision

    Quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

  • 45%

    Finger dexterity

    Put together small parts with your fingers.

  • 45%

    Perceptual speed

    Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • 45%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 43%

    Trunk strength

    Use your abdominal and lower back muscles a number of times without 'giving out' or fatiguing.

  • 41%

    Colour discrimination

    Notice differences between colours, including shades of colour and brightness.

  • 41%

    Manual dexterity

    Quickly move your hand to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.


Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 85%

    Helping and caring for others

    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.

  • 81%

    Handling and moving objects

    Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, moving and manipulating objects.

  • 80%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 74%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

    Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.

  • 74%

    Working with the public

    Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.

  • 72%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 69%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 67%

    Controlling equipment or machines

    Operating machines or processes either directly or using controls (not including computers or vehicles).

  • 67%

    Collecting and organising information

    Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.

  • 63%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 61%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 60%

    Thinking creatively

    Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.

  • 60%

    Doing physically active work

    Use your arms, legs and whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling objects.

  • 59%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

  • 59%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 52%

    Checking compliance with standards

    Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

  • 52%

    Checking for errors or defects

    Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.

  • 52%

    Making sense of information and ideas

    Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.

  • 51%

    Working with computers

    Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

  • 43%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.


Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 95%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

  • 71%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 52%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.

  • 43%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 43%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 19%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.


Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
  • 86%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 81%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.

  • 71%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 71%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 57%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 48%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.


Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:
  • 99%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 97%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 94%

    Disease or infection

    Be exposed to disease or infections.

  • 93%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 93%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 93%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 93%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 91%

    Physically close to people

    Work physically close to other people.

  • 89%

    Using your hands to handle, control, or feel

    Spend time using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls.

  • 87%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 83%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 82%

    Radiation

    Be exposed to radiation.

  • 81%

    Spend time standing

    Spend time standing at work.

  • 81%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 80%

    Wear specialized protective or safety equipment

    Wear equipment like breathing apparatus, safety harness, full protection suits, or radiation protection.

  • 79%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 79%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

  • 79%

    Angry or unpleasant people

    Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.

  • 78%

    Health and safety of others

    Take responsibility for the health and safety of others.

  • 77%

    Repeating same tasks

    Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 29-2034.00 - Radiologic Technologists.


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