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Kraena Pre-Health
Career Library

Technical & Diagnostic

Mammography Technologist

Breast imaging with unusually good hours — and unusually heavy patient emotion.

Years after high school

2-3

Degree

Associate's degree plus mammography certification

Entrance exam

Program entrance testing varies

Median pay

$80,110 is the national median for radiologic technologists and technicians (BLS, May 2025). BLS does not publish a mammography-technologist-specific median; Mammography is an ARRT postprimary credential.

What the job is actually like

Screening appointments back to back, plus diagnostic workups where a patient already knows something was found. You position, image, reassure, and stay composed while someone is frightened and physically uncomfortable.

The path

  1. 012 year associate's degree in radiologic technology
  2. 02ARRT certification in radiography
  3. 03Mammography-specific training meeting federal MQSA requirements
  4. 04ARRT post-primary certification in mammography

Good fit if

  • You want imaging work with real patient relationships
  • Preventive medicine motivates you
  • You want weekday hours rather than hospital shift rotations

Think twice if

  • Sustained patient anxiety would drain you
  • You want a broad scope rather than one modality
  • You would find strict federal quality regulation tedious

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All salary figures here are median annual wages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 — the most recent full national dataset. 'Median' means half of workers earn more and half earn less. Three things to keep in mind: (1) pay varies enormously by state, city, setting, and experience — a nurse in California and a nurse in rural Alabama earn very different salaries; (2) training lengths are typical, not guaranteed, and programs differ; (3) these numbers change every year. Always verify current figures at bls.gov/ooh before making a decision. For context, the BLS median wage for all U.S. occupations was $50,980, while healthcare practitioner and technical occupations had a median of $86,530 — one of the reasons health care is such a stable field.