Healthcare practitioners
Surgical technologist
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
Growth to 2035
+5%
about as fast as average
Openings a year
7,100
Time to qualify*
12 months
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Surgical technologist
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- On-the-job training
- None
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Hazardous conditions
Exposure to disease
Surgical technologist: 20% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Maintain a proper sterile field during surgical procedures.
- 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.
- Wash and sterilize equipment, using germicides and sterilizers.
- Prepare patients for surgery, including positioning patients on the operating table and covering them with sterile surgical drapes to prevent exposure.
- Prepare, care for, and dispose of tissue specimens taken for laboratory analysis.
- Monitor and continually assess operating room conditions, including patient and surgical team needs.
Also called: Central Supply Technician (Central Supply Tech) · Certified Scrub Technician (Certified Scrub Tech) · CST (Certified Surgical Technologist) · OR Surgical Tech (Operating Room Surgical Technician) · OR Tech (Operating Room Technician) · OR Technologist (Operating Room Technologist) · Scrub Technician (Scrub Tech) · Scrub Technologist (Scrub Tech)
Outlook and AI
Surgical technologists held 118,400 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 124,300 by 2035 (+5%, about as fast as average; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
- Surgical technologist vs. Surgical assistant
- Surgical technologist vs. Cardiovascular technologists and technicians
- Surgical technologist vs. Healthcare support workers, all other
- Surgical technologist vs. Medical equipment preparer
- Surgical technologist vs. Radiologic technologist
- Surgical technologist vs. Diagnostic medical sonographer
- Surgical technologist vs. Ophthalmic medical technician
- Surgical technologist vs. Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians
- Surgical technologist vs. Radiation therapist