Main Content:
Career Opportunities
Surgical Technology is a growing field with excellent career opportunities. Hospitals are the primary employers of surgical technologists. Other areas that employ surgical technologists are clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, private physician's offices, central supply, cardiac catheterization laboratories, and other areas where invasive procedures are done.
Earning Potential
According to the Minnesota Department of Education; Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development and Career OneStop, the median hourly pay for Surgical Technologists was $23.22 / hr or roughly $48,000 / yr.
Job Market Outlook
A recent study on the job outlook for surgical technologists, published by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and reprinted in the May 2011 edition of The Surgical Technologist reported the following:
"Employment is expected to grow much faster than average. Employment of surgical technologists is expected to grow 25 percent between 2008 and 2018, much faster than the average for all occupations, as the volume of surgeries increases. The number of surgical procedures is expected to continue to rise as the population grows and ages. In addition, technological advances, such as fiber optics and laser technology, have permitted an increasing number of new surgical procedures to be performed and also have allowed surgical technologists to assist with a great number of procedures. Hospitals will continue to be the primary employer of surgical technologists, as they try to reduce costs by replacing nurses in the operating room."
Updated: February 1, 2012
