What do surgical techs make

Listening skills. Responding to requests from surgeons and others on the surgical team requires the ability to listen to and understand spoken directions. Physical stamina. Surgical technologists should be comfortable standing for extended periods.

Stress-management skills. Working in an operating room can be stressful. Surgical technologists should work well under pressure. Certification may be beneficial for finding a job. Surgical technologists may earn certification through credentialing organizations. All require documenting critical skills and passing an exam.

Both certifications require surgical technologists to complete continuing education to maintain their certification. A small number of states have regulations governing the work of surgical technologists or surgical first assistants, or both. Surgical technologists may choose to advance to other healthcare occupations, such as registered nurse. A technologist may also choose to become a postsecondary teacher of health specialties.

Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U. Source: U. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. In May , the median annual wages for surgical technologists in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program. Advances in medical technology have made surgery safer, and more operations are being done to treat a variety of illnesses and injuries. In addition, the aging of the large baby-boom generation is expected to increase the need for surgical technologists because older people usually require more operations. Moreover, as these individuals age, they may be more willing than those in previous generations to seek medical treatment to improve their quality of life.

For example, an individual may decide to have a knee replacement operation in order to maintain an active lifestyle or to have cataracts removed to improve vision.

These estimates are available for the nation as a whole, for individual states, and for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The link s below go to OEWS data maps for employment and wages by state and area. All state projections data are available at www.

Information on this site allows projected employment growth for an occupation to be compared among states or to be compared within one state. CareerOneStop includes hundreds of occupational profiles with data available by state and metro area.

There are links in the left-hand side menu to compare occupational employment by state and occupational wages by local area or metro area. There is also a salary info tool to search for wages by zip code.

This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of surgical technologists. Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians collect samples and perform tests to analyze body fluids, tissue, and other substances.

Medical assistants complete administrative and clinical tasks in hospitals, offices of physicians, and other healthcare facilities. Registered nurses RNs provide and coordinate patient care and educate patients and the public about various health conditions.

Association of Surgical Technologists. National Center for Competency Testing. National Commission for the Certification of Surgical Assistants. American Board of Surgical Assistants. Surgical Technologists.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. Last Modified Date: Wednesday, September 8, The What They Do tab describes the typical duties and responsibilities of workers in the occupation, including what tools and equipment they use and how closely they are supervised. This tab also covers different types of occupational specialties.

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An associate degree in surgical technology is required for entry-level surgical tech positions. Herzing University offers an accredited surgical technologist degree program that prepares you for entry-level positions in the operating room.

You will also be eligible to take the CST examination after graduation. Entry-level job titles for surgical technologist graduates include:. With experience and additional education or training, STs can advance by specializing in a particular area, such as neurosurgery or open-heart surgery. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook Multiple factors, including prior experience, age, geography market in which you want to work and degree field, will affect career outcomes and earnings.

Herzing neither represents that its graduates will earn the average salaries calculated by BLS for a particular job nor guarantees that graduation from its program will result in a job, promotion, salary increase or other career growth.

Hi, how can I assist you? Chat Now. Program Availability Your Zip Code: What is the average salary for a surgical technologist? What is the job outlook for surgical technologists? What do surgical technologists do? During a typical day, an ST will : Set up the operating room. STs are in charge of preparing all the needed supplies and instruments for an operation. They must memorize each surgical procedure so that they know what tools are needed and in what order the surgeon will need them.

Sterilize surgical equipment. If you have ever fainted or thrown up at gruesome sights, you may not be an ideal candidate for working in the operating room. A high school education is usually required to enter into most programs although some require applicants to take and pass prerequisite courses before they will consider accepting them into the program.

Individuals must also be 18 years old. Some programs require a minimum of a 2. An individual pursuing a career as a surgical technologist should seek training from a program offered by community colleges, universities, junior colleges, hospitals, vocational schools and the military. Although certification is not a requirement when it comes to being hired as a surgical technologist, many employers look for certified candidates.

Surgical technology is becoming increasingly competitive so certification is recommended. The national surgical technology certification exam is one certification program recommended to be taken by individuals wishing to work as surgical technicians.

To be eligible to take this exam, a candidate must have graduated from one of the following:. Another certification exam is option offered by the National Center for Competency Testing. This exam is nationally recognized. Surgical technicians typically work in the operating room. The operating room can be warm under surgical lights when covered in a sterile gown, mask and surgical gloves.