When it comes to your salary as a surgical technician, you should be compensated for the high quality of work you do.
When attempting to place a value on surgical tech pay, it is necessary to take into consideration a number of different factors. It might depend on the kind of profession that the person decides to get into as well as the location where they work. As an illustration, I work as an assistant to a plastic surgeon in California, where I make around $20 per hour. I consider myself very lucky that this position pays at a level that is closer to the higher end of the pay spectrum. According to data provided by Salary.com, the anticipated median annual income for surgical technicians is now $35,122. In addition, the national average salary for surgical technologists ranges from $12.72 to $18 per hour, according to the Association of Surgical Technologists (AST). When doing research on the possible salary that an OR Tech might earn, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind and make sense of in your thoughts.
When it comes to the amount of money you make as a surgical technician, your location is a very significant factor. In the majority of cases, the amount of money corresponds appropriately with the cost of living in each state. In southern California, a technician with little to no experience can expect to make $16–20 per hour or significantly more than that. This is the same regardless of where they work. This is not the norm, and technicians in the south or the midwest can often depend on earning anywhere between $13 and $16 an hour.
The type of employment that a surgical tech is responsible for filling will also play a role in determining the amount of money that they may anticipate being paid. Because there is such a large variety in the positions that a surgical tech may find themselves doing after school, this is an important consideration to keep in mind as you make your decision. The more experienced experts who are members of a prominent group, such as a cardiac team or those who do operations for an organ transplant surgeon, will be eligible for more remuneration than their less-qualified counterparts. It has come to my attention that the salaries of technicians who work in major hospitals are frequently on the lower end of the range.
Although it is a lot less of a factor than location and the requirements of the work, your level of competence may also determine how much money you make. Obviously, this is dependent on the location of the institution. If you have no prior experience and are just starting out as an operating room technician, you should expect to receive a little lower salary until you have some practise operating on patients and maybe some additional responsibilities, such as supply work.
Obtaining your qualification might also lead to a raise in compensation for surgical technicians. There are certain places of employment that will pay a current certification holder an additional dollar or two per week. Even if, in my opinion, an uncertified technician is just as effective as an unlicensed one, it is still a good idea to get certified in order to make a good impression on paper and earn a bit more money.
In my opinion, the wide range of possible salaries for surgical technologists is quite appropriate. As is the case with any other type of medical position, the better your qualifications and level of expertise, the more money you ought to make. You should take advantage of every professional opportunity that comes your way, whether it’s a chance to learn more, get a new certification, or try something new. This will help make sure that you are paid fairly for the skills you bring into an operating room.
