What is the job market like for new Radiology Technicians?

How strong is the job market for CMT accredited technicians?

• I know the overall finance market right now is weak and flooded with recent grads and experienced looking for work. Also the fact that CFA's probably enjoy higher hiring percentages, not to mention most think technical analysis is a joke, just trying to get a gauge on how strong the field is institutionally.

• Answer:

  I am currently studying for the CMT level 2, so although I haven't yet earned the CMT designation, I currently work with several CMT charter holders. From my experience, it greatly depends on which direction you are trying to go career wise. Most of the CMT's I know work on the trading floors at boutique investment banks/hedge funds. Many of the larger I-banks have been scaling back their staff on the technical side especially after the recent downturn, which has left many of these larger firms scrambling to cut costs in order to patch their losses. Personally, it really depends on what your passion is. If it's solely trading, then I would recommend knocking on the doors of some hedge funds/ CTA's, or possibly finding some trading opportunities at a bank. Also several multinational corporations, such as Coke (KO), have been expanding their corporate finance groups in order to hedge their growing FX exposure, since a majority of these companies are getting over 50% of their revenues from overseas. If you are looking for a role other than trading, then I would recommend earning another designation which focuses on fundamental analysis (you already mentioned the CFA in your question, also the CIMA is a good designation). Paring the CMT with a CFA would be very strong in the eyes of many potential employers. Very few people I run across have a solid understanding of both fundamental analysis and technical analysis in terms of the intricacies between the two schools of thought. Provided you are insane enough to spend roughly 5-6 years of your life, post college, earning these designations; you should be handsomely rewarded in terms of salary. In short, it really depends on what you want to do. A lot of the CMT folks I know personally work on a trading desk with the ambition of saving enough money to trade for themselves one day. If this is something that sounds good to you, then the CMT will definitely help prepare you to achieve it. Hope this helps!