---
title: "Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologist"
description: "Operate Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners. Monitor patient safety and comfort, and view images of area being scanned to ensure quality of…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/magnetic-resonance-imaging-technologist"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologist

**Category:** Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · **SOC code:** 29-2035 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 29-2035.00

Operate Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners. Monitor patient safety and comfort, and view images of area being scanned to ensure quality of pictures. May administer gadolinium contrast dosage intravenously. May interview patient, explain MRI procedures, and position patient on examining table. May enter into the computer data such as patient history, anatomical area to be scanned, orientation specified, and position of entry.

Also advertised as: MRI Coordinator (Magnetic Resonance Imaging Coordinator); MRI QA Coordinator (Magnetic Resonance Imaging Quality Assurance Coordinator); MRI Radiographer (Magnetic Resonance Imaging Radiographer); MRI Specialist (Magnetic Resonance Imaging Specialist); MRI Tech (Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technician); MRI Technologist (Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologist); Research MRI Technologist (Research Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologist).

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $95,480 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $45.91/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $68,890 to $127,670, with the middle half between $81,040 and $106,340
- **Total US employment:** 43,390
- **Typical entry education:** Associate's
- **Preparation required:** Some preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +7.7% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 2,300 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 47/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 43,390 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $68,890 |
| 25th | $81,040 |
| 50th (median) | $95,480 |
| 75th | $106,340 |
| 90th | $127,670 |
| Mean (average) | $96,120 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DC | $128,710 | $117,114 | 150 |
| CA | $124,000 | $111,994 | 3,570 |
| WA | $122,750 | $114,706 | 960 |
| OR | $121,920 | $117,956 | 510 |
| AK | $120,610 | $117,830 | 100 |
| HI | $119,370 | $108,567 | 140 |
| NY | $113,270 | $104,956 | 3,240 |
| MA | $110,600 | $104,579 | 1,490 |
| CT | $106,330 | $102,625 | 450 |
| NH | $105,420 | $101,205 | 270 |
| CO | $105,380 | $102,259 | 670 |
| MD | $105,230 | $100,258 | 770 |
| RI | $105,060 | $102,718 | 140 |
| NJ | $103,930 | $95,520 | 1,250 |
| DE | $103,510 | $103,709 | 170 |

37 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 52 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/magnetic-resonance-imaging-technologist/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/magnetic-resonance-imaging-technologist.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 43,900 in the 2025–2035 base year to 47,300 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 3,400 jobs, or +7.7%. Much faster than average: 7.7% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 2,300 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** Associate's degree (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Some preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** Less than 5 years.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** None.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 65.2% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 13.0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 8.7% |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 4.4% |
| Some College Courses | 4.4% |
| Post-Baccalaureate Certificate | 4.4% |

## What the work involves

- Review physicians' orders to confirm prescribed exams.
- Conduct screening interviews of patients to identify contraindications, such as ferrous objects, pregnancy, prosthetic heart valves, cardiac pacemakers, or tattoos.
- Select appropriate imaging techniques or coils to produce required images.
- Operate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners.
- Provide headphones or earplugs to patients to improve comfort and reduce unpleasant noise.
- Take brief medical histories from patients.
- Test magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment to ensure proper functioning and performance in accordance with specifications.
- Create backup copies of images by transferring images from disk to storage media or workstation.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Science — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Service Orientation — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Instructing — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Customer and Personal Service — importance 4.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Physics — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Computers and Electronics — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Medicine and Dentistry — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Public Safety and Security — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Oral Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Expression — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C), Investigative (I).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 5.46 |
| C — Conventional | 4.93 |
| I — Investigative | 4.79 |
| S — Social | 3.51 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.27 |
| A — Artistic | 1.00 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 86.9 |
| ISFJ | 78.6 |
| ISTP | 72.4 |
| ESTJ | 68.4 |
| INTJ | 66.2 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Radiologic Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/radiologic-technologist-and-technician) — median $80,110
- [Cardiovascular Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cardiovascular-technologist-and-technician) — median $74,310
- [Diagnostic Medical Sonographer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/diagnostic-medical-sonographer) — median $96,590
- [Nuclear Medicine Technologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/nuclear-medicine-technologist) — median $101,370
- [Neurodiagnostic Technologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/neurodiagnostic-technologist) — median $50,290
- [Radiation Therapist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/radiation-therapist) — median $105,310
- [Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/medical-and-clinical-laboratory-technologist) — median $62,930
- [Ophthalmic Medical Technologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/ophthalmic-medical-technologist) — median $50,290
- [Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/medical-and-clinical-laboratory-technician) — median $62,930
- [Respiratory Therapist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/respiratory-therapist) — median $82,280

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/magnetic-resonance-imaging-technologist