Healthcare

How to become a Nuclear Medicine Technologist

From no experience: every step, how long it takes, and the credential it earns.

Time to get there

2 years

Typical pay

$78k–$100k

Starting from

No experience

Pay is an estimate of typical US entry-level pay for this role and varies by state, employer and shift. The timeline assumes you are starting from no experience and includes any licence or programme legally required, not just course length.

The route

1. 1

   2 years

   Enrol in a JRCNMT-accredited program

   Two-year associate, or a one-year certificate if you already hold a radiography credential.

2. 2

   during program

   Learn radiopharmaceutical handling

   You will be dosing and injecting radioactive tracers. The safety training is the course.

3. 3

   Certify with NMTCB or ARRT

   Either board is accepted by most employers; some states also licence separately.

   ◆ CNMT (NMTCB) or ARRT (N)

4. 4

   1–2 years

   Start in a hospital imaging department

   PET/CT experience is the thing that raises your pay from here.

5. ✓

   Destination

   Nuclear Medicine Technologist

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