Job Search

An informal search on Craigslist today yielded no surgical tech job listings in Tucson, and only three in Phoenix: "Oral Surgery Assistant", "Surgical Scrub Tech", and "Surgical Assistant--Oral Surgery"

On CareerBuilder, there were no surgical technologist jobs in Tucson, only openings for operating room nurses.

At Monster, there were no jobs for either surgical techs or OR RNs.

This was looking pretty grim for a prospective surgical tech who wants to stay in Tucson. So, I contacted Pima Community College's Center for Training and Development. I was told that the CTD is just meeting the need for surgical techs in Tucson and that hospitals recruit directly from the them. I was even told that some students from previous classes have not yet been employed as surgical techs.

This reality in Tucson was sobering, and in direct contrast to the optimistic outlook from the Bureau of Labor Statistics's Occupational Outlook Handbook. It states, "Employment of surgical technologists is expected to grow 24 percent between 2006 and 2016, much faster than the average for all occupations, as the volume of surgeries increases". Of course, we are in a recession, but I had thought that health care job cuts would mean a greater emphasis on lesser trained personnel such as LPNs and surgical techs. In any case, job opportunities for surgical techs are somthing prospecting students should keep in mind.