Surgical Technologists
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.
- Median pay
- $64,650
- Doing it now
- 118,400
- By 2035
- Up 5%
- Usually needs
- Postsecondary nondegree award
a year
across the country
7,100 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Count sponges, needles, and instruments before and after operation.
- Hand instruments and supplies to surgeons and surgeons' assistants, hold retractors and cut sutures, and perform other tasks as directed by surgeon during operation.
- Scrub arms and hands and assist the surgical team to scrub and put on gloves, masks, and surgical clothing.
- Provide technical assistance to surgeons, surgical nurses, or anesthesiologists.
- Wash and sterilize equipment, using germicides and sterilizers.
- Prepare, care for, and dispose of tissue specimens taken for laboratory analysis.
- Prepare dressings or bandages and apply or assist with their application following surgery.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsSee 589 colleges that teach it
- Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied ProfessionsSee 335 colleges that teach it
- Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesSee 57 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Hands-on and practical
Organised and precise
Helping and teaching
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $64,650 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.