US dataswitch to UK
Radiologic Technologists and Technicians
positioning imaging equipment and adjusting controls to set exposure time and distance, operating or overseeing operation of radiologic or magnetic imaging equipment to produce images of the body for diagnostic purposes and making exposures necessary for the requested procedures. If that's your week, this page is about your job.
The honest answer
AI changes the edges of this job, not the middle: positioning patient on examining table and setting up and adjusting equipment to obtain optimum view of specific body area is work software can't reach.
What shifts is operating digital picture archiving communications systems: the overhead at the edges, not the middle you trained for.
Your week, as this page understands it
Take x-rays and CAT scans or administer nonradioactive materials into patient's bloodstream for diagnostic or research purposes. Includes radiologic technologists and technicians who specialize in other scanning modalities. The job title says “radiologic technologists” or “technicians”: officially one job, two names. The real job is the part underneath: positioning patient on examining table and setting up and adjusting equipment to obtain optimum view of specific body area. That is the thing someone has to be right about.
The exposed part of this job is specific, and we won’t pretend it is coming back. But radiologic technologists and technicians is not one task. It is 30 scored ones, and they are nowhere near equally exposed. The most durable of them, on this evidence, is positioning patient on examining table and setting up and adjusting equipment to obtain optimum view of specific body area, and the ledger below shows exactly why.
Where the work sits, by task weight
- shifting to AI
- 13%
- changing shape
- 20%
- staying human
- 67%
These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.
Whole-job exposure score 22 out of 100 (18–27 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, across 30 scored tasks. The number is the support for the sentence above it, not a headline about anyone’s future.
How we know this
What is measured: Every published task statement for radiologic technologists and technicians is rated on five dimensions: can a model produce the output, does the work need a body in a room, does it need a legally accountable person, does it depend on a person being trusted in the moment, and how much data exists. A published formula turns those five ratings into the score; the model never writes the number.
How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.
Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-04. Read the full method.
Your job, task by task
These are the official task statements for this occupation, in plain English, sorted by what the evidence says is happening to each one. The official wording sits under every line so you can check the rewrite against it.
- 4 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
- Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.
Shifting to AI
4 tasksTasks today’s tools can already do most of. This is the part we will not soften: where these rows are the bulk of your week, the week changes.
Operating digital picture archiving communications systems
This is reading one thing and writing another: digital picture archiving communications systems in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Operate digital picture archiving communications systems.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 66 out of 100 (59–73 allowing for uncertainty): high exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Filing, routing and retrieving images in the archive system is computer work that software handles well.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Recording, processing and maintaining patient data or treatment records and preparing reports
This is reading one thing and writing another: patient data in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Record, process, and maintain patient data or treatment records and prepare reports.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 66 out of 100 (62–70 allowing for uncertainty): high exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Patient records and reports are structured documents software can draft and maintain from the exam data.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Maintaining a current file of examination protocols
This is reading one thing and writing another: a current file of examination protocols in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Maintain a current file of examination protocols.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 66 out of 100 (59–73 allowing for uncertainty): high exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Keeping a protocol library current is document management that software does reliably.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Performing supervisory duties, such as developing departmental operating budget
This is reading one thing and writing another: supervisory duties in, a record out. That is the shape today's tools are built for.
importance not publishedO*NET hasn't yet published importance ratings for this occupation's tasks, so the ordering here is ours, not theirs.
Source: “Perform supervisory duties, such as developing departmental operating budget, coordinating purchases of supplies or equipment, or preparing work schedules.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 64 out of 100 (57–71 allowing for uncertainty): high exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Budgets, purchase coordination and rotas are office tasks that software prepares from existing data.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Changing shape
6 tasksTasks where the machine takes the producing and a person keeps the checking, the deciding, or the answering-for-it. For most jobs this is the biggest group, and it is where "transformation, not termination" is literally visible.
Reviewing and evaluating developed x-rays
The software now makes the first pass at developed x-rays, but someone has to be answerable for the result, and it cannot be the software. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Review and evaluate developed x-rays, video tape, or computer-generated information to determine if images are satisfactory for diagnostic purposes.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 47 out of 100 (40–54 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Judging whether an image is clear enough is screen work software does well, but a licensed technologist signs it off.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Determining patients' x-ray needs by reading requests or instructions from physicians
The software now makes the first pass at patients' x-ray needs, but someone has to be answerable for the result, and it cannot be the software. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Determine patients' x-ray needs by reading requests or instructions from physicians.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 56 out of 100 (49–63 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Turning a written request into the right imaging protocol is reading and matching against documented standards.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 0/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Keying commands and data into computer to document and specify scan sequences
The software now makes the first pass at commands, but someone has to be answerable for the result, and it cannot be the software. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Key commands and data into computer to document and specify scan sequences, adjust transmitters and receivers, or photograph certain images.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 42 out of 100 (35–49 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Entering scan sequences and settings at the console is keyboard work built on documented protocols.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Staying human
20 tasksTasks that stay with a person, because they happen in the physical world, because the rules need someone accountable, or because the value is that a specific person does them.
Positioning patient on examining table and setting up and adjusting equipment to obtain optimum view of specific body area
This work happens in the physical world: patient, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Position patient on examining table and set up and adjust equipment to obtain optimum view of specific body area as requested by physician.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Positioning a patient on the table is hands-on care that has to happen in person.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Explaining procedures and observing patients to ensure safety and comfort during scan
This work happens in the physical world: procedures, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Explain procedures and observe patients to ensure safety and comfort during scan.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 7 out of 100 (0–14 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: The explanation can be scripted, but calming a nervous patient during a scan depends on a person being there.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 3/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Monitoring patients' conditions and reactions
This work happens in the physical world: patients' conditions, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Monitor patients' conditions and reactions, reporting abnormal signs to physician.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 4 out of 100 (0–8 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Noticing that a patient has gone pale or clammy means being in the room watching them.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Show the other 20 tasks
Processing exposed radiographs using film processors or computer generated methods
changing shapeThe software now makes the first pass at exposed radiographs, but the deciding part still needs a person. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Process exposed radiographs using film processors or computer generated methods.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 49 out of 100 (42–56 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Image processing is already largely automatic in modern digital departments.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Performing general administrative tasks, such as answering phones, scheduling patient appointments or pulling and filing films
changing shapeThe software now makes the first pass at general administrative tasks, but the deciding part still needs a person. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Perform general administrative tasks, such as answering phones, scheduling patient appointments, or pulling and filing films.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 48 out of 100 (41–55 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Phones, appointments and filing are routine office tasks that booking systems and AI assistants already cover.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Assigning duties to radiologic staff to maintain patient flows and achieve production goals
changing shapeThe software now makes the first pass at duties, but the deciding part still needs a person. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Assign duties to radiologic staff to maintain patient flows and achieve production goals.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 48 out of 100 (41–55 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Building duty rosters around patient flow is scheduling work that software does well.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Coordinating work with clerical personnel or other technologists and technicians
staying humanThe value here is that a specific person handles work and stands behind it. That is earned, not computed.
importance not publishedO*NET hasn't yet published importance ratings for this occupation's tasks, so the ordering here is ours, not theirs.
Source: “Coordinate work with clerical personnel or other technologists and technicians.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 26 out of 100 (19–33 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Day-to-day coordination is mostly quick conversations between colleagues about who does what next.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Completing quality control activities, monitor equipment operation and reporting malfunctioning equipment to supervisor
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: quality control activities, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Complete quality control activities, monitor equipment operation, and report malfunctioning equipment to supervisor.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 25 out of 100 (18–32 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Quality checks follow documented steps, but they involve handling and watching the actual equipment.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Assisting with on-the-job training of new employees or students or providing input to supervisors regarding training performance
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: on-the-job training of new employees, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Assist with on-the-job training of new employees or students or provide input to supervisors regarding training performance.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 18 out of 100 (11–25 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Training material is easy to produce, but showing a new starter how to work with real patients happens in person.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Taking thorough and accurate patient medical histories
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: thorough, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Take thorough and accurate patient medical histories.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 15 out of 100 (8–22 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Digital forms can collect much of a history, but useful detail often comes out talking to the patient at the machine.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Providing students or other technicians and technologists with suggestions of additional views
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: students, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance not publishedO*NET hasn't yet published importance ratings for this occupation's tasks, so the ordering here is ours, not theirs.
Source: “Provide students or other technicians and technologists with suggestions of additional views, alternate positioning, or improved techniques to ensure the images produced are of the highest quality.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 15 out of 100 (8–22 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Suggesting a better view or position happens at the machine, looking at the patient and the image together.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Using radiation safety measures and protection devices to comply with government regulations and to ensure safety of patients and staff
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: radiation safety measures, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Use radiation safety measures and protection devices to comply with government regulations and to ensure safety of patients and staff.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 6 out of 100 (2–10 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Radiation rules are written down, but placing shields and keeping the room safe is done on site by qualified staff.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Operating or overseeing operation of radiologic or magnetic imaging equipment to produce images of the body for diagnostic purposes
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: operation of radiologic, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Operate or oversee operation of radiologic or magnetic imaging equipment to produce images of the body for diagnostic purposes.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Running scanning equipment on a real patient needs a qualified operator present.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Positioning imaging equipment and adjusting controls to set exposure time and distance
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: equipment, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Position imaging equipment and adjust controls to set exposure time and distance, according to specification of examination.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Lining up the tube and the patient happens in the room, and the law requires a qualified operator.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Making exposures necessary for the requested procedures
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: this work, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Make exposures necessary for the requested procedures, rejecting and repeating work that does not meet established standards.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Making the exposure means being at the machine with the patient, and only qualified staff may do it.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Setting up examination rooms, ensuring that all necessary equipment is ready
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: examination rooms, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Set up examination rooms, ensuring that all necessary equipment is ready.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Setting up the exam room means moving real equipment into place.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Transporting patients to or from exam rooms
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: patients, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Transport patients to or from exam rooms.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Moving patients between rooms is physical work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Providing assistance to physicians or other technologists in the performance of more complex procedures
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: assistance, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Provide assistance to physicians or other technologists in the performance of more complex procedures.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Assisting during a complex procedure means extra hands in the room.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Operating mobile x-ray equipment in operating room
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: mobile x-ray equipment, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Operate mobile x-ray equipment in operating room, emergency room, or at patient's bedside.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Wheeling a mobile x-ray unit to a bedside and using it is physical work in the room.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Performing procedures, such as linear tomography, mammography, sonograms, joint and cyst aspirations
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: procedures, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Perform procedures, such as linear tomography, mammography, sonograms, joint and cyst aspirations, routine contrast studies, routine fluoroscopy, or examinations of the head, trunk, or extremities under supervision of physician.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: These procedures are performed on patients by hand under a doctor's supervision.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Providing assistance in dressing or changing seriously ill or injured patients or patients with disabilities
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: assistance, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Provide assistance in dressing or changing seriously ill or injured patients or patients with disabilities.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Helping an unwell patient dress or change is hands-on personal care.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 3/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Preparing contrast material, radiopharmaceuticals or anesthetic or antispasmodic drugs under the direction of a radiologist
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: contrast material, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Prepare contrast material, radiopharmaceuticals, or anesthetic or antispasmodic drugs under the direction of a radiologist.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Drawing up contrast and drugs is hands-on preparation that a qualified person must do.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Operating fluoroscope to aid physician to view and guiding wire or catheter through blood vessels to area of interest
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: fluoroscope, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Operate fluoroscope to aid physician to view and guide wire or catheter through blood vessels to area of interest.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Operating the fluoroscope during a live procedure needs a trained person at the machine.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 3/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
What this job pays, and how many people do it
- Median pay
- $80,110a year, the middle of the range, so half earn more and half earn less.bls-oews, 2025 · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
How we know this
Source: bls-oews
Reference period: May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
Rounding: Shown as published.
- People doing this job
- 230,490in the US, 2025.bls-oews · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
What is deliberately not here: a forecast of how many of these jobs exist in ten years. Where an official projection exists for a market we publish it with its vintage; where it does not, we leave the space empty rather than borrow the other country’s number.
Why this is shifting
The reason is boringly specific. Most of what is shifting here is reading one thing and writing another: digital picture archiving communications systems in, a record out. The rows above are exactly that shape: operating digital picture archiving communications systems and recording, processing. What it cannot do is be answerable: patient needs a named person the rules will accept, and software cannot be that person. Which is why this page talks about your tasks changing, not your job ending.
Your move
Over a pint: what I’d tell you if you were my friend
Start with what does not change: positioning patient on examining table and setting up and adjusting equipment to obtain optimum view of specific body area is the middle of this job, and the evidence on this page says it stays with a person.
So, given all that: 13% of this job's task weight sits in rows the software is already learning, 20% in rows that change shape rather than disappear, and 67% in rows it is nowhere near. That is the position, measured across 30 scored tasks. It is not a forecast about you.
So the thing worth your attention is not the job going away. It is the layer around it. Operating digital picture archiving communications systems is the part turning into software, and being the person who understands that layer is worth money.
This week: one thing
Ask the one question. Find whoever is bringing new software into your workplace (the manager, the office, whoever runs the system) and ask them what it is meant to do to digital picture archiving communications systems, and what it is not meant to touch. Ten minutes, this week, before anyone decides it for you.
- What you end up holding
- a straight answer about what is actually being rolled out, and when
- How long it takes
- ten minutes
If there’s nobody obvious to ask, or you’d rather not ask your manager: Put the same question to your union rep, your shift lead or the person who has been there longest, in person, over a break. Same ten minutes, same answer, and you will usually get a straighter one. Write down what they say. The note is the artifact, and it tells you whether patient is in scope or not. Nothing to log into, no license needed.
Over the next 90 days
Get inside the tool rollout rather than waiting for it. Over the next ninety days, ask to be in the group that tests, checks or signs off whatever new system arrives near reviewing and evaluating developed x-rays. It is usually an unglamorous seat that nobody fights for, and it is the one that decides how the software is used on your job rather than to it.
Over the next 12 months
On this evidence I would not retrain out of this job, and I will say that plainly rather than hedge it. The task list here is dominated by work that stays with a person. What I would do with a year is get formally recognised for the layer around it (the systems, the compliance, the planning), so you are the one who understands the software instead of the one it is done to. Before you pay for anything, use CareerOneStop - Find local training. It is free, it is the Labor Department's own service, and it is listed below with the rest of the free routes.
The roads out of here, and why I am not sending you down them
I looked at the obvious moves out of this job, and here is what I found.
I checked the 12 nearest US occupations to radiologic technologists and technicians (nearest by the work that AI is not taking, not by job title), and none of them survived. The closest was diagnostic medical sonographers: only about 5% of its durable work is work you already do. And on the numbers you do not need one. This job scores 22/100 here, with only 13% of the task list in the top band, and “position patient on examining table and set up and adjust equipment to…” is not work that hands over cleanly. None of them beats deepening what you already have.
How that was checked: this job was compared against all 830 US occupations in this release on their official task statements, and the 12 nearest were examined one by one. A move that turns on an industry, an employer or a qualification rather than on the work itself will not show up in a check like that. And this release carries no licence register, so anything you are weighing needs that looked up separately.
3 moves I checked and rejected
These are the obvious-looking jumps. They are here with their reasons rather than quietly dropped, because the ones that fail are worth knowing about. It is one less thing to turn over at night.
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already explain procedures and observe patients to ensure safety and comfort during scan, and their equivalent is to observe and care for patients throughout examinations to ensure their safety and comfort. Across both published task lists that is about 5% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 5% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step.
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already set up examination rooms, ensuring that all necessary equipment is ready, and their equivalent is to set up equipment and prepare medical treatment rooms. Across both published task lists that is about 4% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 4% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step. It is a pay cut, in those words: $64,400 against your $80,110, 19.6% less (OEWS May 2025 (both)). Retraining to earn less is a decision, not advice.
Medical Assistants
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already set up examination rooms, ensuring that all necessary equipment is ready, and their equivalent is to show patients to examination rooms and prepare them for the physician. Across both published task lists that is about 4% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 4% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step. It is a pay cut, in those words: $45,690 against your $80,110, 43.0% less (OEWS May 2025 (both)). Retraining to earn less is a decision, not advice.
What I’d stop worrying about
A friend tells you what not to spend fear on. This is that list.
The headline number you read somewhere
The big “X% of jobs” figures are about the whole economy, not about you. The number that describes your job is on this page: 13% of its task weight, across 30 scored tasks. Every row behind it is printed above with the source. Check ours; ignore theirs.
The headlines about your trade disappearing
They are usually about the technology, not the timetable. Changes to work like positioning patient on examining table and setting up and adjusting equipment to obtain optimum view of specific body area arrive through rules, insurance and money, slowly and visibly. This page tracks the task evidence and will move when it moves.
Retraining out of a job that is holding up
On this evidence I would not spend money leaving. Spend it on the layer around the job instead: the tools, the paperwork, the planning. That is where the change actually is.
The “obvious” next job everyone suggests
I checked the obvious moves and most of them did not survive. The reasons are printed with the routes above, including the pay and the gate. A move that fails on the numbers is worth knowing about so you can stop turning it over at night.
You are reading the United States figures
The United Kingdom splits this work across more than one official group, of which Medical radiographers is the closest. The pay and employment figures are not directly comparable, and we do not average them together.
Switch to the United Kingdom page →partial match
In UK official statistics this job is counted as Medical radiographers. Pay and employment stay on this page’s own group; the task list and the scores do not cross over.
Your route through this
Where to go next, and what it costs
Free, and complete
The moves above cost nothing. These are the real services that go with them: public, government-funded, and free at the point of use. Nothing on this page is behind an email address or a payment.
Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop - Find local training
Search what's running near you, from the Labor Department's own database, before anyone sells you a course.
Free to search; individual programs vary, and some are funded
Anywhere in the US:
An American Job Center will sit down with you for free. Find yours by ZIP code.
Free
Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop - Licensed occupations finder
Check what your state actually requires before you pay for anything.
Free
Anywhere in the US:
Free
No Space for this job, but one for what is happening to it
Nothing Collab365 runs is built for radiologic technologists / technicians, and we are not going to point you at the nearest one and call it a fit.
There is one that is not about a job title at all. The AI Authority is about being the person who directs these tools at work rather than the person they get compared to. That is worth saying here, because 13% of the work on this page is already inside what they can do.
7 days free, no card needed. Explore up to 2 Spaces before you choose a plan: you pick a plan later, not now.
The AI Authority is a general community about working with AI, not a course for radiologic technologists / technicians. You do not need it to act on anything here: the moves above cost nothing and stand on their own. The data on this page is the same either way.
Noted, and thank you. We’ll email you if a Space for radiologic technologists / technicians launches. Nothing else.
That did not look like an email address, so nothing was saved. Have another go below.
We could not save that. The fault is ours, not yours, and your address was not stored. Please try again later.
No deadline on any of this. The page will still be here, and the data is refreshed on a published schedule rather than when someone wants a headline.
Questions people ask about this job
- Will AI replace Radiologic Technologists and Technicians?
- Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 30 official task statements scored for Radiologic Technologists and Technicians (United States, SOC 29-2034), 13% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 22 out of 100 (range 18–27, band: low). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.
- Which tasks in “Radiologic Technologists and Technicians” can AI already do?
- The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Operate digital picture archiving communications systems” (66/100, high); “Record, process, and maintain patient data or treatment records and prepare reports” (66/100, high); “Maintain a current file of examination protocols” (66/100, high). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.
- Which tasks in “Radiologic Technologists and Technicians” stay human?
- About 67% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Operate fluoroscope to aid physician to view and guide wire or catheter through blood vessels to area of interest” (0/100, minimal); “Prepare contrast material, radiopharmaceuticals, or anesthetic or antispasmodic drugs under the direction of a radiologist” (0/100, minimal); “Provide assistance in dressing or changing seriously ill or injured patients or patients with disabilities” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.
- What should someone working in “Radiologic Technologists and Technicians” do about AI?
- Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 13% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 67% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.
- How is the AI exposure score for Radiologic Technologists and Technicians calculated?
- Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 30 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.
Where these numbers come from
Worth knowing about these figures
- The match between this job and its counterpart in the other country is partial, so the two pages count slightly different groups of people.
- 4 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
- Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.
- Task statements
- onet-dbProcessing: catalogue-bridge → onet-im-rt-weighting → task-scoring → score-aggregation
- Task weights
- onet-db (im-rt-with-imputed)
- Scores
- Rubric task_scoring_v1.0, model claude-opus-5, computed 2026-08-04.
- Pay and employment
- bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))
Figures on this page come from release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Every release keeps its own permanent address, so a figure you cite in March is still there, unchanged, in November.
The plain-English wording on this page is assembled directly from the task statements and the published ratings, not written by hand for this occupation. That is why it is specific, and it is also why we say so.
The routes and free resources further up are today’s, not the release’s (last reviewed 2026-08-05). A route is an offer, not a historical fact, so it moves on its own clock.
Using these figures?
Cite this
Everything on this site is published under CC BY 4.0. Quote it, chart it, sell something built on it. Just say where it came from, and cite the dated release rather than the site, so the figure you quote stays checkable.
Plain text
Collab365 (2026). Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1 (methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0). https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Built with O*NET data (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); ONS data (Open Government Licence v3.0); GAISI task framework (arXiv:2507.22748, MIT); BLS data (public domain).
BibTeX
@misc{collab365futureproof2026q41,
title = {Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1},
author = {{Collab365}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1},
note = {Release 2026-q4.1, methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0, CC BY 4.0}
}Data as of release 2026-q4.1, published . Releases never change after publication; when the figures move, a new dated release is published beside this one and this one stays exactly where it is.