Radiology Technician Classes Near Me in Atlanta
Radiology technicians in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro have a median wage of $80,710 a year, or $38.80 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. Most entry-level radiography programs run about two years once prerequisites are met, though the full timeline can be longer.
Rather than issuing an individual license for the role, Georgia regulates the equipment and the people operating it. That means machine registration plus a training rule tied to your hire date, and no state application waiting after the ARRT Radiography exam.
Key Points
- Radiology technicians across the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro have a median wage of $80,710 a year, or $38.80 an hour, in May 2025 BLS data.
- Rather than licensing radiologic technologists individually, Georgia regulates the X-ray equipment and the people operating it, so there is no state application, exam, or renewal attached to the role.
- X-ray machines must be registered with the Department of Community Health, and operators need at least six hours of required instruction, beginning within 30 days of hire and finishing within 90 days unless they have written proof of prior training.
- ARRT's primary pathway calls for an associate degree or higher in any subject, an ARRT-approved radiography program, ARRT's ethics requirements, and a passing exam score.
- Metro Atlanta training splits between college-based associate degree programs and hospital-based certificate programs, and both include in-person clinical hours.
Radiology Technician Salary in Atlanta
Radiology technicians in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro have a median wage of $80,710 a year, which works out to $38.80 an hour, according to May 2025 BLS data. That is the midpoint, so half the metro's technicians sit above it and half below.
What moves an individual number within that range is mostly experience, the employer, and the shift worked. A hospital imaging department running around the clock prices nights and weekends differently than a daytime outpatient clinic does.
Nationally, BLS projects 4% growth for radiologic technologists and technicians from 2024 to 2034, slightly ahead of the 3% projected across all occupations. For the broader radiologic and MRI technologist group, BLS notes that many projected openings come from workforce turnover. That means workers transferring to other occupations or leaving the labor force, including retirement.
What Georgia Requires of X-Ray Operators
Georgia does not license radiologic technologists as individual professionals. It regulates the machines and the people using them instead.
Every user of radiation machines has to register with the Department of Community Health before operating X-ray equipment in the state. That comes from the Radiation Control Act at O.C.G.A. Chapter 31-13, and the Healthcare Facility Regulation Division handles it.
Georgia's X-ray rule for medical settings, Rule 111-8-90-.04, puts the obligation on the registered facility. It has to ensure machines are operated only by people instructed in safe procedures, and require at least six hours of instruction across four areas:
- Protection against radiation
- Dark room techniques
- Patient protection
- Machine safety
The clock is tied to the job, not the program. Instruction has to begin within 30 days of employment and finish no later than 90 days after the hire date.
The facility keeps a training record for each operator and makes it available for Departmental inspection. Written proof that you already received the instruction satisfies the rule.
None of that replaces a credential. With no individual license in the picture, employers set the bar, and ARRT Radiography certification is what Georgia programs prepare graduates to sit for.
ARRT's primary pathway has three parts:
- An associate degree or higher from an accredited institution, in any subject
- Completion of an ARRT-approved radiography program
- Satisfaction of ARRT's ethics requirements, followed by a passing score on the Radiography exam
A single associate radiography program can satisfy both the degree and the program requirement.
Radiology Technician Schools in Atlanta
Radiography programs around metro Atlanta fall into two categories:
- College-based associate degree programs, at public technical colleges and private colleges
- Hospital-based certificate programs, run inside health systems
Many run about two years once prerequisites are complete. Some hospital-based programs expect applicants to already hold a degree, which changes the sequence.
Either way, the program has to be ARRT-approved for you to sit for the exam. JRCERT is the most common accreditation route, and standing can change, so check a program's current status in JRCERT's accreditation decisions.
Neither category offers a fully remote path. Coursework may be partly online, but supervised clinical education has to be completed in person.
Dreambound gathers radiography programs from providers around the country into one place, and radiology technician drew 1,126 saves there in 2025, fourth among all program categories, according to Dreambound's 2025 Student Choice and Interest Report. Saving a program and committing to one are different decisions, and the two-year clinical schedule is usually what sits between them.
Browse radiology technician programs on Dreambound to see which ones run near you.
Where Radiology Technicians Work in Atlanta
Imaging work in metro Atlanta is spread across several large systems rather than concentrated in one. Major employers include:
- Emory Healthcare, Piedmont Healthcare, Northside Hospital, and Wellstar Health System
- Grady Memorial Hospital, the metro's public hospital and a Level I trauma center
- Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, which runs pediatric imaging at Arthur M. Blank Hospital, a Level 1 pediatric trauma center
- Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta VA Medical Center in Decatur, serving veterans across the Atlanta area
Beyond the hospitals, metro Atlanta carries a dense layer of outpatient imaging centers, orthopedic practices, and urgent care clinics running their own X-ray equipment. Each is a registrant under Georgia's rules, so the six-hour instruction requirement follows you into a small clinic exactly as it does into a hospital.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to become a radiology technician in Georgia?
Most entry-level radiography programs run about two years once prerequisites and admission requirements are met, plus the time to apply for and sit the ARRT Radiography exam afterward. Georgia adds no state licensing step to that clock, unlike states that require their own application and processing time. Some programs are structured differently, so check the specific one before planning around it.
Can you work as a radiology technician in Georgia without ARRT certification?
Georgia's own rules do not require ARRT certification for general radiologic technologists. What the state requires is the six hours of operator instruction under its medical X-ray rule, along with the facility's machine registration. In practice the credential expectation comes from employers, and ARRT Radiography is what Georgia programs prepare graduates to sit for.
Does Georgia require continuing education for radiology technicians?
Because Georgia regulates the equipment rather than the individual, there is no state continuing education requirement attached to the role and no state renewal cycle to track. ARRT sets its own continuing education requirements for keeping a credential active, and employers may add expectations of their own.
Does an ARRT credential earned in another state work in Atlanta?
ARRT certification is national, so there is no credential to transfer or convert when you move to Georgia. Your new facility still has to comply with Georgia's operator-training rules, and the employer may require an active ARRT credential. Dreambound can show which radiography programs are running now and how long each one takes.
Where the Credential Bar Actually Sits in Georgia
Georgia is one of the states that regulates the equipment rather than the individual, and that changes what you should be checking. No state board signs off on your training here. What decides whether it counts is ARRT approval, because that is what makes you eligible for the exam.
So the first question is a narrow one. Compare radiography programs on Dreambound and check ARRT approval and current accreditation standing before anything else, because that is the piece Georgia leaves entirely to you.
