Tampa runs an unusually varied case mix for a metro its size: an academic trauma center, a dedicated cancer hospital, a VA hospital, and a dense outpatient surgery market, all inside one commute. Florida requires no state licensure, but the systems below hire on the CST. Browse live scrub tech and OR technician openings in Tampa below.
Written by Matthew Sorensen, 15+ years in executive recruiting with 500+ skilled trades and healthcare placements including OR and perioperative roles. Author of four books on hiring and interviewing; host of the Hired podcast.
Who Hires In Tampa
Tampa General HospitalAcademic / Trauma
The region's academic anchor and trauma center. High acuity means broad case exposure, and teaching hospitals are generally better set up to onboard new grads straight out of clinicals than a specialty facility screening for one case type.
Moffitt Cancer CenterOncology
A dedicated cancer hospital, which means a narrow, deep case mix rather than a broad one. Facilities like this screen for specialty fit; they hire the tech who has already run those cases, not the generalist.
AdventHealth Tampa & HCA Florida South TampaMulti-facility
Two large systems staffing ORs across the metro. Competing networks in one market is the condition under which a counteroffer actually gets approved.
St. Joseph's Hospital (BayCare)Community System
Part of the BayCare network, with facilities across the Tampa Bay region.
James A. Haley Veterans' HospitalFederal / VA
Federal hiring runs on its own timeline and its own application system. Slower to close, but the benefits structure is different from anything on the private side, and military-trained techs should look here first.
Beyond the hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and specialty clinics across the metro hire steadily. Pay and pace differ meaningfully between the two settings; see ASC vs hospital OR work before you decide which to target.
What Tampa Pays
01
Florida median: $54,080Mean runs slightly higher at $55,840. The gap tells you the top of the market pulls the average up rather than the floor dragging it down.
02
10th percentile: $41,180The floor, and where most new grads land. Outpatient centers and lower-acuity facilities cluster here.
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90th percentile: $72,170A $31,000 spread from floor to ceiling. That gap is specialty, call pay, and shift, not years served. Specialty moves the number faster than tenure does.
These are Florida statewide figures, not Tampa-specific. A metro with a trauma center, a cancer hospital, and a VA does not pay like the state average, and no aggregate number will tell you what a given service line at a given facility pays. Run your setting and specialty through the surgical tech salary estimator.
Certification In Florida
Florida requires no statewide licensure for surgical technologists, but the absence of a law is not the absence of a requirement. It means the requirement moved from the state to the employer, and Tampa's major systems hire on the CST. Graduating from a CAAHEP or ABHES accredited program is what qualifies you to sit for that exam; programs run 12 to 24 months through community colleges and technical schools. Confirm current rules on the state requirements page, and see the full pathway in the CST certification guide.
Tampa Surgical Tech FAQ
Do I need certification to work as a surgical tech in Tampa?
Not by state law. Florida requires no statewide licensure for surgical technologists. But Tampa's major hospital systems hire on the CST credential, so in practice it is the entry ticket to the employers worth working for.
Which Tampa employer is best for a new grad?
Tampa General. Teaching hospitals are generally better set up to onboard new grads straight out of clinicals, while a specialty facility like Moffitt screens for candidates who have already run its case type.
What do surgical techs earn in Tampa?
Florida's median annual wage is $54,080, with a 10th percentile of $41,180 and a 90th percentile of $72,170. Tampa-specific figures will differ from the state aggregate, and the biggest driver of where you land in that range is your specialty and shift, not your years of experience.
Should I target a hospital OR or an outpatient surgery center?
They are different jobs. Hospital ORs run higher acuity, call, and off-shifts, which is where the upper end of the pay range lives. Ambulatory surgery centers run predictable daytime schedules with a narrower case mix. Tampa has a dense market for both.
