Surgical Technologists

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Overview

Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons, registered nurses, or other surgical personnel. May help set up operating room, prepare and transport patients for surgery, adjust lights and equipment, pass instruments and other supplies to surgeons and surgeons' assistants, hold retractors, cut sutures, and help count sponges, needles, supplies, and instruments.

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Titles for this career often contain these words

SOURCES:

2018 SOC codes

2020 CareerOneStop

25.2 O*NET

Fewer details

Responsibilities and activities

Surgical technologists typically do the following:

Prepare operating rooms for surgery
Sterilize equipment and make sure that there are adequate supplies for surgery
Ready patients for surgery, such as by washing and disinfecting incision sites
Help surgeons during surgery by passing them instruments and other sterile supplies
Count supplies, such as surgical instruments, to ensure that no foreign objects are retained in patients
Maintain a sterile environment to prevent patient infection

Surgical technologists work as members of a healthcare team alongside physicians and surgeons, registered nurses, and other healthcare workers.

Before an operation, surgical technologists prepare the operating room by setting up surgical instruments and equipment. They prepare sterile solutions and medications used in surgery and check that all surgical equipment is working properly. Surgical technologists also bring patients to the operating room and get them ready for surgery by positioning them on the table, covering them with sterile drapes, and washing and disinfecting incision sites. And they help the surgical team put on sterile gowns.

During an operation, surgical technologists pass the sterile instruments and supplies to surgeons and first assistants. They might hold retractors, hold internal organs in place during the procedure, or set up robotic surgical equipment. Technologists also may handle specimens taken for laboratory analysis.

After the operation is complete, surgical technologists may apply bandages and other dressings to the incision site. They may also transfer patients to recovery rooms and restock operating rooms after a procedure.

Surgical first assistants have a hands-on role, directly assisting surgeons during a procedure. For example, they may help to suction the incision site or suture a wound.

SOURCES:

2020 Occupational Outlook Handbook

Salary

Median salary: $49,710 annually

Half of those employed in this career earn between $41,010 and $60,980.

SOURCES:

2019 BLS Occupational Employment

Context: Median Salary

How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?

SOURCES:

2019 BLS Occupational Employment

Fewer details

Salary growth for surgical technologists

Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.

Experience quotient percentile

Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?

Salary distribution

Number employed

SOURCES:

2019 ACS microdata

About Surgical Technologists

How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.

Employee has health insurance

Employer is providing health insurance

Employer-provided pension plan is available

SOURCES:

2018-2020 CPS

2019 ACS microdata

Worker concerns

Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of surgical technologists who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.

Responsible for Others' Health (84%)
Consequence of Error (83%)
Exposed to Contaminants (79%)
Exposed to Disease or Infections (73%)
Time Pressure (68%)
Hazardous Conditions (55%)
Hazardous Equipment (49%)
Minor Burns, Cuts, Bites (47%)
Radiation Exposure (41%)
High Conflict Frequency (40%)
Unpleasant or Angry People (35%)

SOURCES:

25.2 O*NET

Fewer details

Personality and skills

Can you see yourself in the ranks of Surgical Technologists? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.

Communication

To prevent infections or other complications, surgical technologists must relay any issues that arise during surgery to the other members of the healthcare team.

Detail oriented

Surgical technologists must pay close attention to their work. For example, they need to provide the correct sterile equipment for surgeons during an operation.

Dexterity

Surgical technologists should be comfortable working with their hands. They must provide needed equipment quickly.

Integrity

Because they are trusted to provide sterile supplies and care for patients during surgical procedures, surgical technologists must be ethical and honest.

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.

SOURCES:

2020 Occupational Outlook Handbook

Injury and Illness

About 205 surgical technologists become injured or ill for every 10,000 workers, making this job more dangerous than 93% of other careers. The most common specific illnesses or injuries are detailed following.

Bruises and contusions

All multiple traumatic injuries

Heat (thermal) burns

SOURCES:

2019 BLS Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities

Education pathways to this career

Education attained by surgical technologists

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), surgical technologists typically hold a postsecondary nondegree award.

Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as surgical technologists as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.

Details: Education and training recommended for surgical technologists

Surgical technologists typically need a diploma, certificate, or associate’s degree from an accredited surgical technology program. Many community colleges and vocational schools, as well as some universities and hospitals, offer accredited programs that range in length from several months to 2 years.

Surgical technology education includes courses such as anatomy, microbiology, and physiology. They also learn about the care and safety of patients, sterilization techniques, how to set up technical or robotic equipment, and preventing and controlling infections. In addition to classroom study, students gain hands-on experience in supervised clinical settings.

Surgical first assistants may complete a formal education program in surgical assisting. Others may work as surgical technologists and receive additional on-the-job training to become first assistants.

There are about 500 surgical technologist programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).

Details: Licensing and certification recommended for surgical technologists

Certification may be beneficial for finding a job. Surgical technologists may earn certification through credentialing organizations.

Certification through the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting allows the use of the title “Certified Surgical Technologist (CST).” Certification typically requires completing an accredited formal education program or military training program and passing an exam.

Certification through the National Center for Competency Testing allows the use of the title “Tech in Surgery – Certified or TS-C (NCCT).” Applicants may qualify through formal education, military training, or work experience. All require documenting critical skills and passing an exam.

Both certifications require surgical technologists to complete continuing education to maintain their certification.

In addition, many jobs require technologists to become certified in CPR or basic life support (BLS), or both.

A small number of states have regulations governing the work of surgical technologists or surgical first assistants, or both.

The National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting, the National Commission for the Certification of Surgical Assistants, and the American Board of Surgical Assistants offer certification for surgical first assistants.

SOURCES:

2019 ACS microdata

Education level of Surgical Technologists

Only 21% of surgical technologists have a bachelor's degree or higher.

Education attained by surgical technologists

None

High School

Some College

Associate's Degree

Bachelor's Degree

Master's Degree

Professional Degree

Doctorate

SOURCES:

2021 Ididio: Award levels

2019 ACS microdata

Fewer details

Programs recommended by the Department of Education

The Department of Education recommends the following college degree programs as preparation for this career. You can click a program row to learn more about the program and explore a list of schools that offer the program.

Pathology/Pathologist Assistant

Sterile Processing Technology/Technician

Surgical Technology/Technologist

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Where are the jobs

State-by-state employment numbers

Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.

Select a state to see local area details

Number of Surgical Technologists per 1,000 workers (ACS)

SOURCES:

2019 ACS microdata

Fewer details

Job density versus job count

Which states hire the most surgical technologists? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as surgical technologists. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.

Salaries by state

Let's get a feel for where surgical technologists earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...

Median salary versus state ratio

We use two methods to compare salaries across states:

In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for surgical technologists compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for surgical technologists.

We hope the ratio allows perspective about how salaries may compare to the regional cost-of-living.

The darkest shading corresponds to states in which surgical technologists earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.

Select a state to see local area details

Location-adjusted median salary for Surgical Technologists (ACS)

SOURCES:

2019 BLS Occupational Employment

2019 BEA Regional Price Parities

Employment

22% of Surgical technologists are working part time.

We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 22% part-time workers, this occupation has a higher percentage of part-time workers than 71% of careers.

SOURCES:

2019 ACS microdata

Employer types

This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.

Employers of undefined (ACS)

Private for-profit

Private not-for-profit

Local government

State government

Federal government

Self-employed incorporated

Self-employed not incorporated

Working without pay

SOURCES:

2021 Ididio: Comparing employment

2019 ACS microdata

Fewer details

Distribution: Salaries of surgical technologists by type of employer

Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.

SOURCES:

2021 Ididio: Comparing employment

2019 ACS microdata

Gender

Surgical technologists and gender

With 71% women, this occupation has a higher percentage of women than 81% of careers.

Gender of Surgical technologists

Men (29%)

Women (71%)

SOURCES:

2019 ACS microdata

Distribution: salaries by gender

Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.

We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.

SOURCES:

2019 ACS microdata

Fewer details

Context: Women in the workforce

How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.

SOURCES:

2019 ACS microdata

Context: Salary inequity

The median salary for all full-time male workers in the US exceeds the full-time median salary for women by 19%. The situation is a little better for surgical technologists, with the median salary for men 14% higher than the median salary for women.

SOURCES:

2019 ACS microdata

Race/Origin

Race and origin of Surgical technologists

This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Surgical technologists.

Race/origin of surgical technologists

White (70% )

Black (15% )

Asian (6% )

Other (3% )

Multiracial (3% )

American Indian (1% )

Hispanic (1% )

Pacific Islander (0% )

SOURCES:

2019 ACS microdata

Distribution: salaries by race/origin

Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.

We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.

SOURCES:

2019 ACS microdata