Work in California for Australian trained NM Tech

Hi, I am from Sydney, Australia looking for work in California,preferably San Franscico. I have over 25 yrs experience on all levels including Chief Tech. I have a wealth of experience and knowledge, have PET and peadiatrics experience here and abroad,I am studying at Syd Uni towards a Masters degree. Have done a semseter at Uni on CT/SPECT and CT/PET so have the theory.Could I get sponsorship?
How do I become registered there in the States? Do I need to do exams?
Many Thanks

Karen in Sydney, Australia said: Hi, I am from Sydney, Australia looking for work in California,preferably San Franscico. I have over 25 yrs experience on all levels including Chief Tech. I have a wealth of experience and knowledge, have PET and peadiatrics experience here and abroad,I am studying at Syd Uni towards a Masters degree. Have done a semseter at Uni on CT/SPECT and CT/PET so have the theory.Could I get sponsorship?
How do I become registered there in the States? Do I need to do exams?
Many Thanks

There are hardly any openings for NMT's here in the USA. The job market is almost non existent. You can try to find a job, good luck. As far as getting sponsorship, that would be close to impossible. There are two certification boards that you can sit for to get registered, www.nmtbc.org & www.arrt.org, these are their web sites; there you will find more information on how to become registered. Yes, you will have to take exams. Hope this helps you.

Thanks for the information Charlotte.
Sounds like you guys are in the same situation as us here. Ours is ridiculous. We have an aging population and an affluent population that are medical savy and demand more and more diagnostic testing. So you'd think there would be more work opportunities. No. Meanwhile the Universities churn out more graduates each year, who are largely unemployed (what a waste) and the employed do the work of 2 or more others, to satisfy demand.
Hawaii sounds nice????

Karen Tok in Sydney, Australia said: Thanks for the information Charlotte.
Sounds like you guys are in the same situation as us here. Ours is ridiculous. We have an aging population and an affluent population that are medical savy and demand more and more diagnostic testing. So you'd think there would be more work opportunities. No. Meanwhile the Universities churn out more graduates each year, who are largely unemployed (what a waste) and the employed do the work of 2 or more others, to satisfy demand.
Hawaii sounds nice????

Yes, Hawaii sounds nice, but considering the cost of living and salary, it is not a place to sustain disent standard, at least for a NMT. How is the job market in NZ? Have you looked in GB?

Plenty of jobs for NMTs in the UK. Check out www.jobs.nhs.uk for vacancies within the national health service. Basic grade (newly qualified) NMT starts on approx 20,000 great british pounds

Hollie in United Kingdom said: Plenty of jobs for NMTs in the UK. Check out www.jobs.nhs.uk for vacancies within the national health service. Basic grade (newly qualified) NMT starts on approx 20,000 great british pounds

Hollie, isn't that a bit low considering the cost of living in the UK? Do you work as a NMT in the UK?

NMT in Charlotte, North Carolina said: Hollie, isn't that a bit low considering the cost of living in the UK? Do you work as a NMT in the UK?

Are they paying for relocation? I'm noticing most hospital do not want to pay for you to relocate. Why would they when there is a supply of Tech's....

Hi Karen,
I am in the same position as you are, experience and qualifications wise. I am busy trying to get certification with the NMCTB. It's a long process, and you have to write an entry level exam. When I look on the Internet, there are stacks of jobs in the US for NM techs. Especially in California. Have you looked?

Stacey Naidoo in Johannesburg, South Africa said: Hi Karen,
I am in the same position as you are, experience and qualifications wise. I am busy trying to get certification with the NMCTB. It's a long process, and you have to write an entry level exam. When I look on the Internet, there are stacks of jobs in the US for NM techs. Especially in California. Have you looked?

Yes, California has openings, but I would suggest that you consider the cost of living there. It sounds like NM as a profession alone is in some sort of world wide recession...

There is a job in Bryan college station, and it is pretty cheap to live there, if
anyone is interested. There are also some full time positions in New Mexico. I can't relocate at this time, so I will try to pass on anything I hear about...

Thanks for the info Marie. I would really appreciate hearing about new positions. Am inthe process of getting vertification.

stacey naidoo in Johannesburg, South Africa said: Thanks for the info Marie. I would really appreciate hearing about new positions. Am inthe process of getting vertification.

Where are you wanting to relocate to....

Am ideally looking to relocate to California, as I believe it is beautiful and sunny, as it is in South Africa. I also know some people there, who can help me settle in. However, someone on the forum said that the cost of living is very high there. Is that true? There seem to be lots of PET/CT jobs on the net in California. Any sugggestions of another place to settle, with affordable cost of living? Our currency is really low at the moment, and economy bad.

Stacey

Right now our economy is really low too. California seems to have quite a few jobs, however, the cost of living is high. I really don't know what to tell you, I'm looking for work in Houston and not having much luck. Good Luck if I think of anything I'll let you know.

I just started school to become a nuclear med technologist... some of the information above i have to say are abit scary to me LOL. However I have been told that here in CA I will not have hard time finding jobs after I graduate so I was wondering if you guys could give some information in this regard...am I going to be JOBLESS after im done with school? Thank you

Do you guys know anybody that just graduated from the program IN CA? BTW I really like this forum very informative....

azbah in Irvine, California said: Do you guys know anybody that just graduated from the program IN CA? BTW I really like this forum very informative....

For now CA has more job openings than any other state (real FT job openings. Make sure you present yourself very well in the clinical sites and get as many connections there as you can. That will help you to perhaps get a job prior to graduation. Good Luck with school.

Hi that was so nice of you to get back to me this soon....yea I think conection plays a big role, I did finish my observation hours at a hospital and my director told me that he would consider me as tech for his department after I graduate no one know what happens after that but I guess you are right I do have a chance if I present myself very well...im just gonna be worried about school and studying for NOW....Thakns

NMT in Gastonia, North Carolina said: For now CA has more job openings than any other state (real FT job openings. Make sure you present yourself very well in the clinical sites and get as many connections there as you can. That will help you to perhaps get a job prior to graduation. Good Luck with school.

I agree for now CA is fair on FT jobs. But who knows what it will be like in two years. I live close to the Texas Medical Ctr and there are NO jobs here. I wish more potential students would find this site and re-think a career as a NMT. When you graduate if don't practice your skills your going to be less skilled than a new graduate. Even the PRN jobs here are asking for experience, not to mention you MUST live within 30 minutes of the hospital to take call, and call you will be expected to take. I wish the SNM would address the over saturation of NMT's. Students have a right to know they are entering into a field where there may or may NOT be jobs!!

good thing i didn't go through with the program. I'm now the tech guy for a whole compnay

I am sorry when you say Tech guy you mean NUCLEAR TECH or something else? Thank you

john said: good thing i didn't go through with the program. I'm now the tech guy for a whole compnay

Congradulations on your promotion. You're doing the right thing. I pray for those who listen to the hype the schools put out. The future of Nuclear Medicine is NOT looking good.

Marie Dunn in Houston, Texas said: I agree for now CA is fair on FT jobs. But who knows what it will be like in two years. I live close to the Texas Medical Ctr and there are NO jobs here. I wish more potential students would find this site and re-think a career as a NMT. When you graduate if don't practice your skills your going to be less skilled than a new graduate. Even the PRN jobs here are asking for experience, not to mention you MUST live within 30 minutes of the hospital to take call, and call you will be expected to take. I wish the SNM would address the over saturation of NMT's. Students have a right to know they are entering into a field where there may or may NOT be jobs!!

SNM could care less of whether there are jobs for us. I know for sure that some of their members are very corrupted. What can you expect from the mob? The only thing that SNM cares is their membership fee, the more the better. So the more techs graduate, the higher the chance that most of them will become SNM members cause that is what their teachers recommend. But becoming a SNM member gives you not a thing. You only pay your membership and if you need credits you get them online. Many of their CE VOICE articles are so boring and long outdated. However, there are other ways to get your credits, many of them are for free. SNM has been useful just for one thing, the negotiation for the NMT's to get their clinical comps in CT or MRI and sit for the ARRT certification board. From here on, they've done nothing to help out the NMT's across the country, only the physicians. What a shame...

Hello: I am really really confused right now and to be honest with you a little scared because I am starting the program in couple months!! Yesterday I talked to my supervisor at the hospital where I did my observation hours and he told me not to worry about jobs he even told me if I had my certification he would hire me right now and said even other places are OK to find a job he says if you are good at what you do then you should not be worried at all so I don’t know who to believe any more and here in CA all I here is good thing about NUC MED`s future I went to a NUC MED seminar a month ago and they were talking about the new machines and future of nuclear medicine which was very promising…........any idea or comment?

azbah in Irvine, California said: Hello: I am really really confused right now and to be honest with you a little scared because I am starting the program in couple months!! Yesterday I talked to my supervisor at the hospital where I did my observation hours and he told me not to worry about jobs he even told me if I had my certification he would hire me right now and said even other places are OK to find a job he says if you are good at what you do then you should not be worried at all so I don’t know who to believe any more and here in CA all I here is good thing about NUC MED`s future I went to a NUC MED seminar a month ago and they were talking about the new machines and future of nuclear medicine which was very promising…........any idea or comment?

Right now there are plenty of jobs in CA. However, not in other areas of the US. It has nothing to do with whether or not you're good. There are NO hospitals hiring. I've had 1 interview in 3 months and the place I interviewed with has not made a decsion to hire yet. You can only hope out of work Tech's do not flock to CA, if they do jobs will disappear there as well. In most areas of the country there are too many schools graduating too many students. If the Houston schools graduate another class they will be headed to CA I'm sure. What is saving you is the cost of living in CA is high and a NMT's pay is low. Good Luck!
I'm sure you will do well.

i'm the techsupport/helpdesk/network administrator at a company...glad i went through with this rather than nuc med.

Good for you John keep up the good work and good luck to you.

Marie Dunn in Houston, Texas said: Right now there are plenty of jobs in CA. However, not in other areas of the US. It has nothing to do with whether or not you're good. There are NO hospitals hiring. I've had 1 interview in 3 months and the place I interviewed with has not made a decsion to hire yet. You can only hope out of work Tech's do not flock to CA, if they do jobs will disappear there as well. In most areas of the country there are too many schools graduating too many students. If the Houston schools graduate another class they will be headed to CA I'm sure. What is saving you is the cost of living in CA is high and a NMT's pay is low. Good Luck!
I'm sure you will do well.

you are right CA is EXPENSIVE and with the economy situation these days I dont know what is gonna happen. But thank you for the information...

azbah in Irvine, California said: Hello: I am really really confused right now and to be honest with you a little scared because I am starting the program in couple months!! Yesterday I talked to my supervisor at the hospital where I did my observation hours and he told me not to worry about jobs he even told me if I had my certification he would hire me right now and said even other places are OK to find a job he says if you are good at what you do then you should not be worried at all so I don’t know who to believe any more and here in CA all I here is good thing about NUC MED`s future I went to a NUC MED seminar a month ago and they were talking about the new machines and future of nuclear medicine which was very promising…........any idea or comment?

I've got 4 years of experience, great recommendations, and have been looking for a job for 9 months now, in a state where the cost of living is not as high as in CA, NY or IL, and there is nothing out there that is REAL. There are tons of PRN, Pool or PT jobs, but no REAL FT jobs. CA, however, has more openings and they turn out to be real when you check with the HR departments. I am not sure why. There are schools, but what I think is happening there is that as soon as the techs graduate they to move to other states where the cost of living is more reasonable and they can afford to live with NMT's salary. In 2 years, who knows, CA might just be the same as everywhere else in the country, considering what is happening with NM nationwide, we are loosing procedures to other modalities and there is nothing on the horizon that can help us right now to get busier. For myself right now, if I had to make a decision to go to NM school I WOULD NOT. I would probably go to nursing school. But for everyone the story is different. Good luck to you.

I really really appretiate your information and concern .this is really helping me to make a wise decision.

azbah in Irvine, California said: I really really appretiate your information and concern .this is really helping me to make a wise decision.

I failed to ask, are you in a 4 year program? If not you really need to be. Hospitals are starting to ask for a B.S. or a B.A.

asbah...i got accepted into the nuc med program too but denied it. the whole time you are in school, you are going to have this issue on the back of your mind. i stuck with i.t. and it seems to be plentiful with jobs right now. i had 4 interviews in a week and got a job immediately after.

I already have my B.S in biology and this program is for a year and they would not accept me without a B.S..

john said: asbah...i got accepted into the nuc med program too but denied it. the whole time you are in school, you are going to have this issue on the back of your mind. i stuck with i.t. and it seems to be plentiful with jobs right now. i had 4 interviews in a week and got a job immediately after.

can I ask where you live? and Im still not clear !!did you stay in the program or not? did you finish it and got a job? Thanks

azbah in Irvine, California said: Hi that was so nice of you to get back to me this soon....yea I think conection plays a big role, I did finish my observation hours at a hospital and my director told me that he would consider me as tech for his department after I graduate no one know what happens after that but I guess you are right I do have a chance if I present myself very well...im just gonna be worried about school and studying for NOW....Thakns

Hi Azbah-
iam also in Orange County, CA. i am very interested to get in a NM school. what school did you attend? please let me know. Is it accredited? I also have a BS degree in Biology from UCI. Thanks! i hope to hear from you soon or anyone that know a program in CA.

Traci in Los Angeles, California said: Hi Azbah-
iam also in Orange County, CA. i am very interested to get in a NM school. what school did you attend? please let me know. Is it accredited? I also have a BS degree in Biology from UCI. Thanks! i hope to hear from you soon or anyone that know a program in CA.

Why do you want to get into Nuc. Med. Do you have any idea what you're getting into? The field is saturated, there are NO jobs. Really research the job before you get into it.

hey. i am a first year student in NMT in cape town, south africa. I would like to work in california,canada or europe when im done studying. any idea if it will be hard for me to get a j0b abr0ad? south africa's economy is very low. nice to meet u guys. :-) mynhardt

Mynhardt in Oslo, Norway said: hey. i am a first year student in NMT in cape town, south africa. I would like to work in california,canada or europe when im done studying. any idea if it will be hard for me to get a j0b abr0ad? south africa's economy is very low. nice to meet u guys. :-) mynhardt

I'm not sure about Canada or Europe. There are a few in California. Forget the rest of the US, NO one is hiring!!!

Then LA it is. thanx. what is the starting salary in LA? how much is rent,food,gas,a car in a relative g00d area? will i be able to save up s0me m0ney?

Mynhardt in Oslo, Norway said: Then LA it is. thanx. what is the starting salary in LA? how much is rent,food,gas,a car in a relative g00d area? will i be able to save up s0me m0ney?

The cost of living is ridiculous in Ca. I'm not even sure you can live on a NMT salary. There are only a few jobs anyway. You might be better off staying where you are. Who knows what it will be like in a year. Everyone here wants experience. Good Luck

Mynhardt in Oslo, Norway said: Then LA it is. thanx. what is the starting salary in LA? how much is rent,food,gas,a car in a relative g00d area? will i be able to save up s0me m0ney?

Starting salary in LA is around $29.00/hr. If you are lucky you can find a rental in LA studio or 1BR for $1200.00 and up in a not so bad place, studio starts from 200 sqft. Food for one person would come around $400-$500/mo, and we are not talking eating out every day or having dine out. You have to add other expenses such as car (depends if you buy a new or old), car insurance - from $250/mo up, gas, utilities, and other household goods. In other words, you will have a hard time making it with just one salary, even if it is a NMT's salary. The cost of living there is outrageous. The hourly wage is not the money you are taking home, you will have tax and other deductions to consider. Another thing to consider is the crime... One of the highest in the US... And if all of that is not enough, you will have a hard time finding an employer to agree to help you out with a visa or relocation expenses... If LA was such a great, livable place do you think that we, the local US NMT's would remiss to go there, especially considering the NM job market right now here in the US? It is tough here right now for NMT's, and it looks like it will continue to be that way for some time... UK is a different story, easy to find a job, but do not know about how you are going to make it just on one NMT salary there...

Thanx for the info. how is da rest of the US? will it be posible to live anywhere with a NMT salary? hows it finding a job with PET experience? a NMT gets $1200 here in South Africa. it is impossible to get by with that here. i just wana get out this country. hope u have some recommendations? u can email me at mynhardterasmus@yahoo.com. its always nice to meet new NMT's. have a great day.

Mynhardt in Oslo, Norway said: Thanx for the info. how is da rest of the US? will it be posible to live anywhere with a NMT salary? hows it finding a job with PET experience? a NMT gets $1200 here in South Africa. it is impossible to get by with that here. i just wana get out this country. hope u have some recommendations? u can email me at mynhardterasmus@yahoo.com. its always nice to meet new NMT's. have a great day.

Yes, you can make it here on a NMT salary, but the trick is finding that place where you can work. A lot of low living cost states such as the south east and mountain region are paying well and the cost of living is not that bad, but there are no good opprotunities at those locations cause the local techs want to go there as well. Atlanta, GA is very livable and the cost of living is not bad, there are some openings that come up once in a while, but you have to deal with things such as traffic, pollution, high crime and other such, but it depends on what you compare it to... Yes, I can say you can definitely go by and have a good life with just a NMT salary in Atlanta.