Opportunities available to the sleep technologist today are not the same as it was several decades ago. It was much easier to gain entrance into a field that was growing extremely fast, and entry-level opportunities could be found almost anywhere. Even if you were not already working in an allied health field, there were sleep laboratories that were willing to train you through their own entry-level “in-house” training or orientation programs.

Education resources in those days were limited, costly, and usually required traveling hundreds or thousands of miles from home for weeks at a time to learn the basics needed to obtain a position in a sleep laboratory that did not have its own training program. After training and considerable time working in a local sleep laboratory, you would need to travel to sit for the board examination in the hopes of obtaining the Registered Polysomnographic Technologist credential. These boards were given in certain cities and on certain dates. If you did not pass the required testing, it could be months before you would have another opportunity to take the examination.

Although entry into the field was based more on personal initiative and the willingness to learn, career pathways were somewhat limited. Most sleep laboratories were managed under pulmonary or neurology services, often by the supervisors from those departments. Most sleep laboratories were hospital based, and even with the rapid growth of the service, hospitals were often not clear on just how to manage these sleep laboratories, even though they saw the medical need for the service.

The rapid growth of sleep laboratories created a shortage of trained and qualified staff that could safely and accurately perform sleep studies. Most of the studies at the time were done using paper polygraphs; however, the transition to digital technology began on a large scale in the 1990s. This transition created new opportunities for those who wanted to work in sleep, teach sleep technology, or travel. There were growing opportunities beyond clinical practice in both industry and education. We will explore several industry opportunities and look ahead to the future.

As the need for sleep technologists grew because of the expansion of the industry, the ability of individual sleep laboratories to employ those with little to no experience reduced. Laboratories found themselves needing staff that at minimum were knowledgeable in basic medical terminology, physiology, cardiology, neurology, pulmonary function, and the ability to work with computers because of the transition from paper (analog) to computer (digital) polysomnography.

Sleep training companies, colleges, and schools with accredited sleep technology programs grew and provided trained and educated personnel to meet the expansion in sleep diagnostics and therapy. This matrix
of education programs created opportunities for those trained and educated in sleep technology to train those who desired to enter the field.

Even though the number of sleep education programs and institutions has seen a recent decline, the role of the educator continues to be a solid path to advancement in the sleep field. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine-Accredited Sleep Technology Education Program, the Sleep Technology-Approved Resource programs supported by the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists, and other collegiate and sleep education programs ensure that there is a continuing role in the industry for the educator.

During the rapid expansion of the industry in the 1980s and the 1990s, an additional career path opened surrounding the need to develop and manage new diagnostic and therapeutic products: recorders, positive airway pressure devices and masks, and the hardware and software to support the conversion to digital media. New vendors developed advanced, improved equipment, and they needed staff who were not only skilled in specific industry needs but also familiar with sleep diagnostics and therapy. The combination of these skill sets presented opportunities for technologists to leave the clinical or education setting and join the engineering, manufacturing, and sales sectors.