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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