Hiring guideRead at source, 30 September 2026

How to Recruit Radiology Technicians: Where to Find Them and What to Say

Most radiology technicians you could hire already work in another imaging department, usually within driving distance, and few of them read job boards. Reach them on Facebook and Instagram with an ad that names the modality, the shift, the call terms and the rate, ask four questions, and call the same day. In the Allied health / imaging family of Boostpoint's 2026 benchmark, the median campaign cost $54.37 per applicant; radiology technicians are not reported separately.

Where to find radiology technicians, channel by channel

BLS counts radiology technicians in radiologic technologists and technicians (SOC 29-2034): about 234,200 people, with around 13,000 openings a year projected through 2035. The typical entry route is an associate's degree. That is a small, credentialed, mostly employed audience, so recruiting it is mostly about reaching people who are not looking.

• Technologists at other hospitals and imaging centers. Your main pool. They are on Facebook and Instagram between exams and after shifts, not on job boards, and they move for a better shift, less call or cross-training.
• Students in your clinical rotations. Radiography students who rotate through your department already know your equipment and your techs. Make the offer before graduation, not after.
• Technologists who want a second modality. Rad techs who want CT or MRI training will move to the department that pays for it. Say so in the ad.
• Techs leaving travel and agency work. Some want a staff job with a fixed schedule. Lead with the schedule and the benefits.
• Referrals from your own team. Technologists know who is good in the department across town. Pay the bonus after 90 days.

What radiology technicians earn, and what they compare you on

Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35; BLS, May 2025 median annual wage. Employment and openings rounded to the nearest hundred.

The MRI and sonography medians sit above the rad tech median, which is why a funded route into a second modality is a strong recruiting offer. Technologists compare you on the modality, the shift pattern, how much call there is and what it pays, exam volume per shift, staffing on nights, whether portables, OR and the emergency department are in scope, and whether you pay for additional registries. Our radiology technologist job description covers each of those in the template.

The radiology technician job ad that works

A technologist reads the ad on a phone between exams. Put four facts in the first two lines, in this order:

• Modality and setting. "X-ray, Level II trauma center" or "CT, outpatient imaging." "Radiology tech" alone reaches everyone and convinces no one.
• Shift. Days, evenings or nights, and 3x12s, 4x10s or 5x8s.
• Call. How many call shifts a month, what standby pays and what call-ins pay. If there is no call, say so; it is a selling point.
• Rate. An hourly range, the differentials and any sign-on bonus, with how it is paid out.
• Cross-training. Whether you fund CT or MRI training and the registry exam.

Screening: knockout questions for a one-minute apply

• Are you registered with ARRT in radiography, or registry-eligible and scheduled to test? (A real requirement for many roles; allow "eligible" if you hire new graduates.)
• Do you hold, or can you obtain, a license to practice in our state? (Knockout where your state licenses the role.)
• Which shifts can you work, and can you take call? (Knockout only if the shift or call is fixed.)
• When could you start?

Leave license numbers, registry IDs, work history and resumes for the phone call; you will verify credentials before an offer anyway. In Boostpoint's benchmark the Allied health / imaging family already had a 10% apply rate, and every extra field lowers it. See pre-screening questions for the call, and our radiology technologist interview questions for the interview.

ARRT registration, state licensure and the imaging shortage

ARRT certification and registration

The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) awards the radiography credential through its primary eligibility pathway, which combines education in an approved program, an ethics requirement and an exam. To stay registered, technologists renew every year, report continuing education every two years, and, if they earned their credential on or after 1 January 2011, complete ARRT's Continuing Qualifications Requirements every 10 years. Verify a candidate's status with ARRT directly before an offer. CT, MRI and mammography are additional ARRT credentials, which is why funding one is a recruiting offer.

State licensure

ARRT registration is not a state license. ARRT's state licensing page says more than 75% of states have licensing laws covering radiologic technology, that some but not all require ARRT certification before a state license, and that licenses are applied for directly with each state. New York is one example read at source: Public Health Law § 3502 says only persons licensed under that article may practice radiography or use the title "radiologic technologist." Use ASRT's individual state licensure page as a pointer, then confirm the rule with your state's licensing agency. If you recruit across a state line, say in the ad whether you pay for the new state's license.

The shortage

Imaging departments compete for the same small pool as the rest of healthcare. For the wider picture, see our page on the healthcare workforce shortage. For recruiting, the practical point is that you cannot out-wait it: you have to reach the technologists who are already employed.

What it costs to recruit radiology technicians

In the Allied health / imaging family in Boostpoint's 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark, the median campaign cost $54.37 per applicant, with a middle half of $10.27 to $106.51 and a 10% apply rate. That is a family, not the role: Boostpoint does not report radiology technicians separately. The wide band says the offer and the form decide where you land. Across all roles in Boostpoint's benchmark, campaigns with a 20-35% apply rate paid $4.41 per applicant against $53.77 for those under 5%. Full data is on the benchmarks page. Cost per applicant is not cost per hire.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 (SOC 29-2034, 29-2035, 29-2032, 29-2031); BLS, May 2025 median annual wage; ARRT radiography, ongoing requirements and state licensing pages; ASRT individual state licensure page; New York Public Health Law § 3502; Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark. Read at source 30 September 2026.