Travel CT Technician Jobs in Missouri

The salary of Computed Tomography Technologists (CT Techs) can vary by the specific title as well as the location, facility, and assignment. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median salary for Radiologic Technologists and Technicians was $64,840 in 2020 with the majority earning between $50,670 and $76,520. Entry Level positions or those paying the lowest 10% of salaries earned around $42,180 while the highest 10% earned more than $92,660.

California pays the highest average salary to Radiologic Technologists and Technicians - which includes Computed Tomography Technologists (CT Techs) - according to the BLS with an average annual wage of $95,010 and an hourly wage of $45.68. California is followed by Hawaii ($82,990 per year, $39.90 per hour), the District of Columbia ($82,270 per year, $39.55 per hour), Alaska ($79,330 per year, $38.14 per hour), and Massachusetts ($78,830 per year, $37.90 per hour).

CT Techs - or Computed Tomography Technologists - are responsible for the efficient and accurate completion of all CT examinations, including both diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. This includes staying current with advances in technology, managing patient preparation, scanning patients, reading scans, interpreting scans, and communicating findings to the physician.

Outpatient Imaging Centers

Outpatient imaging centers can be free-standing, within a hospital or large clinic, privately-owned, or part of a hospital health system. Free-standing outpatient imaging centers generally offer a more convenient way for patients to complete physician-ordered scans. They are usually located away from large hospital campuses, allowing the patient to save time and easily access the facility. In addition, such locations can also offer lower-cost procedures because of lower overhead compared to imaging centers located in hospitals. Most free-standing imaging centers offer same-day and next-day appointments with extended evening and weekend hours.

Imaging centers within or attached to a hospital may do both inpatient and outpatient imaging. This allows both the inpatient and outpatient areas to share equipment, resources, and staff. However, this can also cause delays for outpatients who must then sometimes wait behind the more urgent inpatient cases, such as traumas. For this reason, most hospitals have separated their inpatient and outpatient services.

Women's Outpatient Imaging Centers

Many facilities now offer women-specific imaging centers. These are usually part of a hospital, but a few independent imaging centers do offer these services. The goal is to make women as comfortable as possible for routine screenings, mammography, and ultrasounds. Women's imaging centers generally offer extended hours as well.

Mobile Units

Hospitals choose mobile diagnostic imaging for a variety of reasons. Smaller hospitals may make arrangements with either larger hospital systems' mobile units or independent mobile imaging companies to provide these services. This is ideal if the hospital does not offer a particular imaging modality or if volumes are especially low. Low volumes in these smaller hospitals make owning the systems a financial challenge, and mobile imaging is an ideal way to meet patients' needs without making a significant investment. With provisional mobile imaging, the equipment is delivered to the hospital via trailer. The hospital will often provide its own staff, but the mobile provider can often offer to staff as well.

Physician Clinics

Some physician offices/clinics offer imaging services, usually basic X-ray and ultrasound. Having these services on-site, assist the physician in diagnosing or monitoring disease. Ultrasounds are included in most offices offering women's health services.

Education

Most computed tomography technologists will pursue an associate’s degree from a program accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JCERT), as that is the fastest path into the profession. Associates degree programs will understand biology, physiology, anatomy, patient care, and clinical skills through work in the classroom and clinical settings. CT techs can also pursue a bachelor's degree in radiologic science which provides more in-depth instruction and will often lead to greater opportunities to pursue a higher salary and leadership position.

Certifications and License

CT Techs will generally be required to take a national certifying exam, the most common of which is administered by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. A CT Tech would need to earn their ARRT (R) certification after graduation and it is strongly recommended to complete the ARRT (CT) exam which is the certification sought after by most companies for CT tech jobs. State licensure requirements for CT technologists vary by state and they are separate from certification.

While compensation offers can vary depending on the contract or agency offering, pay packages for travel radiologist jobs typically have four major components: hourly taxable wages, meals and incidentals, housing, and travel.

Hourly Pay

Full-time ct techs working at healthcare facilities receive a salary, but most travel allied health employers offer hourly wages. Every pay package must include a taxable hourly wage, and the amount can vary depending on the shift, location, and specialty required of the assignment.

Housing

Housing payments can be included in a payment from a staffing agency. This is typically offered in two ways. Either the company is providing housing, or the traveler is taking the housing stipend. It is more beneficial for the traveler to take the housing stipend for two primary reasons. First, they will have a choice in where they stay. Everyone’s definitions of comfort and acceptance are different. The second reason the housing stipend is more beneficial for them is that it can be given as a nontaxable amount.

Meals and Incidentals

Also known as per diems, meal and incidental stipends provide a daily budget for daily living expenses. These standards vary depending on the cost of living in cities and states across the country.

Travel Expenses

Travel is the last portion of the pay package. Many recruiters may not even offer travel and instead, put that money into the per diems or housing for their traveler, so they are receiving the benefits over the entire contract, not just at the very beginning or end of the contract. While a travel stipend can be used to cover the cost of a flight for the traveler, it is often used to subsidize the traveler’s expenses to and from an assignment. Travel expenses can be offered as a reimbursement rate per mile, though many agencies will opt to offer a flat rate to and from an assignment.

Many CT techs find work through allied health agencies and marketplaces, which means you have better access to job boards to choose your schedule, location, and salary. When you begin browsing for jobs, be sure to consider the housing options, the benefits, the guaranteed hours' policy, and the recruiting company’s overall reputation.