Make More Money Using ASRT Career Tools

Welcome to A Couple of Rad Techs.

I'm Chandria and let me ask you something.

When was the last time you used a resource that directly helped you increase your salary as a medical imaging professional?

If you're like most of us, the answer is probably never.

That changes today because this episode is all about how to actually use the American Society of Radiology Technologists ASRT career tools to put more money in your pocket.

Not just in theory.

We're talking real tools, real strategies and real results that most technologists don't even know they have access to.

So if you're tired of feeling stuck, underpaid or overlooked, you're in the right place.

Let's talk about how the ASRT can help you level up your career and your income.

Welcome to A Couple of Rad Techs.

I'm Chandria.

Let me ask you something.

When was the last time you used a resource that directly helped you increase your salary as a medical imaging professional?

If you're like most of us, the answer is probably never.

That changes today because this episode is all about how to actually use the American Society of Radiologic Technologists, better known as the ASRT career tools to put more money in your pocket.

Not just in theory.

We're going to be talking about real tools, real strategies and real results that most technologists don't even know they have access to as members.

So if you're tired of feeling stuck, underpaid, or overlooked, you're in the right place.

Let's talk about how the ASRT can help you level up your career and your income.

We definitely need a mindset shift.

You're not just an employee.

You're not just a button pusher.

You are a professional with a marketable skill set at a high demand.

Our field is in demand, you guys.

Don't let people convince you otherwise.

And what does that mean?

It means you have the power to position yourself like a brand and make strategic moves that impact your income.

That's how I want you all to think about this topic today.

Because we are a unique medical profession, third largest.

We're in high demand and people don't know what we do.

So it creates this thing to where?

Oh my goodness, who are they?

Why do they make good money for a two year degree at a minimum?

I mean, these are the things people don't understand.

And I need you to really focus in and realize this is a great thing for you to really zone in and figure out, what is it that I do?

Why am I in such high demand?

So before we get into the tools, we got to talk about a mindset shift.

You are not just a radiologic technologist, a radiation therapist, a nuclear medicine tech, a MRI technologist, a CT technologist, a mammography technologist, a bone densitometry technologist.

You are not just a cath lab or interventional radiologic technologist.

You are more than that.

You are a professional with a marketable skill set that is in high demand.

I don't know if you guys have seen all of the jobs that are out there, the sign on bonuses, the everything that people are just in our profession, not in anybody else, just in medical imaging.

And we're not specifically just talking about radiology or mri.

We're talking about the whole medical imaging profession here.

So what does that mean?

It means you have the power to position yourself like a brand and make strategic moves that impact your income.

I mean, can we change our mindset to understand where we are?

I've got something I'm going to be creating later, but I just need us to get our mindset right that for a two year degree at a minimum entry into medical imaging, we make a great living.

There are people and professions in the medical profession out there that make what we make and sometimes less.

And they're required to get a master level degree to start out.

Let's, let's get that mindset shift here.

So I think I got you all understanding to understand where you are.

It is a wonderful profession and one that you can be strategic when it comes to impacting your income.

We don't always like to talk about the money, but we're talking about the money today.

But we're not talking about how to get more money, we're talking about how to be strategic, use the tools that are out there to help carve out a path for a long career that does impact your income.

Does that make sense?

And I guess, and I get asked all the time in my comments on social media, my Instagram, on my LinkedIn, on my TikTok, how much should I negotiate for a new grad, maybe going into radiologic technology, radiation therapy, if I want to move over into another modality.

I've been doing radiology for so long.

I've been doing nuclear medicine for so long I'm thinking about going into pet, I'm thinking about going into ct.

I mean so many different people in a profession are looking at moving across lines and cross training, but they've been in their other position so long they're not sure how much should they, should they ask for they're graduating from school.

Nobody's telling them how much they should ask for.

Well, I've got tools for you to know how to do that, so stay tuned.

Also, I get asked, how much should I expect to make after one year as a MRI technologist, as a nuclear med tech, as a CT tech?

Those are all great questions, but they come down to two things.

Information and confidence.

That's it.

The SRT gives you both of those in the tools we're going to talk about today.

It gives you the data.

And that is so important.

I know we don't like to look at data all the time.

I'm going to raise my hand.

That's me.

But when you look at the data and you choose the right data to look at, that's going to be key in this conversation.

I'm going to really talk about that as well later.

But the data you choose to listen to and follow is going to be important.

The connections.

ASRT gives you connections.

Networking is powerful.

And the educational tools to make those moves.

So you need that combination.

The accurate data.

Your data source has to be right.

So some of you are going to the wrong data sources.

And that's why you're confused.

That's why you're maybe not making what you should be making or not getting that job that you felt you should get because you overpriced it because of the incorrect data that you had.

And the data could come from people that you trust.

Let me just say that.

How many times have people said, well, you should be making this on.

You know, we sit on social media all the time.

I'm going to show you my pay stubs.

This is what I make as a traveler.

We are all not going to make the same thing.

And you don't know that person's situation or where they're at.

They might have been at a critical hospital that needed them at that time, but that hospital's not paying anybody else that anytime soon.

It just, sometimes things work out that way.

But you have to approach your career with intention.

That's the biggest thing I could tell you.

This is all in mindset, you guys.

Your, your intention has your career.

You have to approach your career with intention.

You just can't graduate school and just go get a job.

Let's be intentional.

Let's be intentional.

You can no longer afford to just show up and do your job.

You need to start asking these really important questions.

So if you, you can come back and listen later to get these three questions to ask yourself, do that.

But if you can take note now.

I want you to do that.

Number one, what does the market pay for my skills?

Notice that's a personal question.

Sometimes we say, well, I have a bachelor's degree, I have a master's degree, I have an associate's degree.

I have been doing this for five years.

I've been doing this for 20 years.

But you don't know how to put in IVs.

You don't know how to do cardiac MRIs.

But yet this hospital that you want this job at, that's their bread and butter.

That's all they do.

This is an outpatient center.

And you, you'll be the main person doing IVs.

Nobody else there can do IVs.

But your skill set is not there.

So you gotta look at what does the market pay for my skills?

Your skills Important.

And the second question is, where can I grow to increase my value?

That is so huge, you guys.

Oh my goodness.

I'm going to talk about that.

That's powerful.

And third, who do I need to know to get access to better opportunities?

I said it.

Yep.

Who do I need to know?

That is the truth.

The truth is, if you're walking into a job interview or negotiation without knowing your value, you're already at a disadvantage.

Asrt helps you change that narrative.

And I'm going to break it all down for you in this episode.

So let's start with the SRT Career Center.

If you've never used it, it's a goldmind.

You can upload your resume, set alerts for high paying positions, assess resume building tools and templates.

I don't know about you, but I struggle with those resumes.

I always try to update mine and it's like I gotta sit down and do a whole big assignment when it comes to updating that resume.

Because things change.

Resumes are not the same as they used to be.

And maybe you haven't updated your resume in a while.

This is a tool you can use.

You can also apply for roles in advanced modalities, leadership education, and even non clinical imaging careers.

Some of you haven't thought about that.

These are all opportunities.

And then there's the SRT salary estimator.

This is huge.

An annual wage and workforce report.

So if you're walking into salary negotiation or interview without this data, you're leaving money on the table.

I'm just telling you.

How do you use it?

You use it.

These three ways to benchmark what others in your region and modality are making people all the time on my Instagram and TikTok say, well, how do people on the west coast make that much money versus I'm over here in Mississippi or Alabama or Louisiana, and I'm not making anywhere near that.

And then people in sunny South Florida, like, we don't get paid as much as people right next to us in Georgia.

There's something called living in Fort Lauderdale or Miami.

Some people are like, I would take the pay cut to be on beach, sun and sand all the time.

Like that is payment enough for some people.

You have to.

There are certain things that make certain areas pay more.

But you get all of this information that is accurate versus a social media post or somebody telling you, oh yeah, in California we make $110 an hour.

Well, they may, but the cost of living is a lot higher there too.

And they may not because not all California makes that amount of money.

And on that ASRT salary estimator, what you get to do is look at the region.

You can even break things down.

I mean, like, it can get really, really detailed.

And when we talk about data, data, it's so important to know your data because these are annual wage and workforce reports.

I'm going to go through the three, but I'm going to talk about that.

Number two, how do you use it?

You justify your raise request with real numbers.

Nothing like walking in.

And I've done this one time, walked in with data in a report and was like, this is what I should be making and this is why I'm requesting this.

And I got the money.

Shocked me, you guys.

It really shocked me.

But you know what it taught me?

Have the, your numbers right, know your numbers, have the facts right.

Don't go off just because somebody got hired.

That is a new tech and you guys are paying them more then I should be paid more.

It might work.

But what works even better and could probably get you even more money is coming with the real numbers.

And this ASRT salary estimator helps you do that.

Third way is you identify which states or modalities are paying the highest.

There are people that sometimes they want to move here, move there.

Well, you might want to look at this first to say, well, wait a second.

The state I live in pays a lot more and if I move to that state, this is what my income is going to drop to or my income could go up.

Now this data is power, power and the SRT gives you access to it.

They run annual surveys.

If you are a member of the srt, you probably get this all the time.

But surveys and they request if people would volunteer?

How much they make?

Where do they live?

What type of facility do they work in?

Are they in education, administration?

Do they work full time?

Part time, PRN contract?

So this data is real life you guys.

So use the tools that are available to you.

Let me know in the comments if you have used the ASRT salary estimator.

I would love to know.

So next up we're going to talk about education and credentials.

Look, we all know CE credits are a requirement, but the truth is they're also a shortcut to more money.

We get stressed out all the time about the CE credits, right?

But look at it this way, again we're going to talk that mindset shift.

It's a shortcut to more money.

Let me tell you the difference with the ASRT on this topic when it comes to education and credentials.

Other sites that have salary data from job ads across multiple fields and locations, the ASRT collects their data that's specific to our profession.

Would you want me to say that again?

Yes.

Their data is collected specifically for our profession.

Their salary reports are created by imaging professionals.

For imaging professionals, that is huge.

That means you're getting numbers based on actual responses from working technologists in your modality, not broad averages or incomplete listings.

These other sites, they're just grabbing whatever numbers they get.

I'm.

I'm telling you it's not accurate.

But you get real numbers from the ASRT because this is how they gather it.

When you use ASRT's data to make decisions like what modality to add to your thing, where to, where to relocate, how to negotiate your salary, you're making them from a place of credibility and accuracy.

That is a difference and it makes a difference when it comes to education and credentialing.

The ASRT offers prep courses for art post primary certifications, say if you wanted to go into CT, Mr.

Mammo, Dexa, etc.

They also have directed reading programs.

Excellent if you have not done them.

Also exclusive member webinars and courses to help you cross train or specialize.

The more you specialize, the more you can charge.

Just telling you, travel companies, outpatient centers and even hospitals will pay more for a CT MRI dual certified technologist than one with only MRI or only CT or only X ray or only radiation therapy or only nuclear medicine or only bone dexa.

There is much power in and pivoting, but much power in having multiple certifications.

And guess who gives you those tools to get there.

Yep, the asrt.

Now we talked about connections and opportunities.

That's one that is an underrated benefit.

Networking.

It's underrated and it's hard.

I get it.

It is hard to do.

Sometimes I don't feel like networking and talking to people.

But it's necessary and you don't have to do it in a way where you're in a big crowd of people all the time.

The SRT connects you with job boards with exclusive openings, leadership and mentorship programs, fellow professionals across the country you get to network with and you never know when a DM or email or a conversation at conference could lead to your next big opportunity.

If you want to make more money, you need to be seen by decision makers, department leaders and recruiters.

And the people who are active in the asrt.

They're often the same people making hiring decisions.

I don't know if you guys think about that part, but this is part of networking and connecting with people.

And that's so important because connections.

You want to create connections for long term benefits, not for what's in it for me now.

And you get to do that through job boards, leadership and mentorship programs because you get to know people on a different level and they get to see your strengths and can maybe pull certain things out of you.

And again, the people who are active in the ASRT are often people that make hiring decisions.

So let me bring it all together.

If you want to make more money in your career, you need three things.

Again, hope you're taking notes.

If not, just circle back and listen to this episode again.

Tell your friends.

Number one, it is Solid Data Imaging professionals giving you the data.

Number two, advanced credentials and number three, strong professional connections.

ASRT gives you all three, but it only works if you use the tools.

So here's your next step.

Visit asrt.org besene to learn how the ASRT is elevating our profession and how you can elevate your career.

That's it for today my friends.

If this episode gave you a strategy or even just a spark of hope, share it with another technologist in imaging.

Don't gatekeep your growth.

I'll see you on the next episode.

Until then, stay focused, stay connected.

And remember, you are not just a tech or a button pusher.

You are a professional worth investing in.