NEED HELP PLEASE radiology tech

I Have a degree in finance and investment, currently work in a bank make ok pay $19/hr plus commission but i hate it sooo much. i wanted to do something in the medical field, very interested in radiology tech. i have no science classes, i dont know what schools in new york and i dont know where to start. i need some advice. email warilife@yahoo.com

There are NO jobs, none, nada. I have a B.S., and a rad tech, and a radiation theripist, and MRI all ARRT. How do you spell screwed?
B.S. RT (R), (T), (MR) (ARRT). RUN! Get away from health care b/4 your are sucked in the black hole of no return. Things will get better. Ha. Ha. If you think things are going to get better seek professional help. Fast! If you want to go from 19 to zero pay and spend a year or more on lot-o-classes just to apply for x-ray, then spend 2 years didatic and clinical then take your ARRT, add it up and this equals over 4 years. go to college or post/MASTERS/MBA. how much do you think x-ray techs make to start? less than what you are making now! Hope this helps.

Agree on all counts.

It's rough. I have 12 yrs as an x-ray tech. I'm stuck at gig. I've tried looking for other gigs, but unless I go to a job that totally sucks......you know the rest. If anyone new is looking at health care, look at nursing its still has opportunities, but even this field is getting tight....

it all sucks all healthcare lousy insurance lousy pay!!!! Look into pimping!!!

xray in Heath, Ohio said: it all sucks all healthcare lousy insurance lousy pay!!!! Look into pimping!!!

I thought pimpin' wasn't easy......The pay in California is great, but the jobs are few and far between. If you do mammos, you may have more opportunities.

I am looking for advise. I am studying to be a x-ray technician, the classes are getting more difficult. Is it worth the time and effort.

Which pays more in the medical field, but within the two years of college.

It's hard to go to school in a "sagging" economy. You sacrifice hours at your present job in order to go to school. When you finish your training there still may not be enough jobs for everyone in your class.....It's something you should think about.

Seeking Advise.
That is so true, it's like you are reading my mind. I have a family, a wife and three baby girls. I think that i am not going to make it in the rad tech class because my G.P.A. I am thinking about going to my second plain surgical technician. I have my Commercial Drivers License. What should i do? i am also tried of driving a truck. Working in the summer it is nice, but in the cold when it is below zero sucks big time. The truck might not turn on and their are more problems in winter.
Please Reply.

Scrub tech in a hospital isn't a bad gig. Most techs I know make more that rad techs....That's usually because of all the overtime & call money that they get....

x-ray tec. is a good career beter then nurese and other careers

Kim, how can a rad/xray tech. is a better career, when there are no jobs in the field(so as you wish, I will lie to you) and say: oh, Kim there are so many jobs and advancements, and you can go into specials, and so on and so forth. It would be a lie to tell you this. If you want to be lied to ok, if you do not; do not waste your education, money and time on a job (not a career) that has tanked and how can it be called a career if there is no jobs? Perhaps in a couple of years it will be even worse, imagine.

Its not what you know its who you know,if you been working in a hospital enviorment for awhile and your certafied to be a rad tech co workers will hire you.hospital is like a family we take care of eachother.

bigswoll said: Its not what you know its who you know,if you been working in a hospital enviorment for awhile and your certafied to be a rad tech co workers will hire you.hospital is like a family we take care of eachother.

Hate to be negative, but if you have co-workers then you have a job, and at the same place as you. Hospital work USED to be family, add teeth to any animal and cut the food supply and they start turning cannibal. X-ray techs are some of the most childish peeps in the hospital, most of that comes from being "in demand" for years then tons of students to boss around. Techs are very worried about their jobs atm and schools, in order to keep their fake stats, have old techs loosing jobs in order to hire students for much less cash. When I graduated in '05 my school promised job help and job fairs.... that turned into 4 jobs, all atleast 100 miles away, the farthest in TX. There are TONS of jobs IF you don't mind traveling/moving and for the pay/security its not worth it.

Hey, I am also from the Philadelphia area, I am looking to save and go back to xray school. I graduated with a degree in social work, but have heard so many good things about xray tech. I did hear the job market isnt so great. Are you currently working as one now? I pretty much have my mind set on doing it.

wctrain in Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania said: Hey, I am also from the Philadelphia area, I am looking to save and go back to xray school. I graduated with a degree in social work, but have heard so many good things about xray tech. I did hear the job market isnt so great. Are you currently working as one now? I pretty much have my mind set on doing it.

Not currently working, wish I was. Go to CCP (Community College of Philadelphia) if your in Philly. The market is just awful, you either need to be employed and apply or be a student and get hired on in your hospital. TBH, many hospitals have signed on to schools for free labor, its part of the larger problem. More schools = more students + (more techs x hiring bias)/free labor x job freeze = current market. Social work degree, (depending on level) may open more doors. Its a great field, tho if you really enjoy helping people you may not reach full satisfaction, you are a middle man and don't usually see the help you give.

Echocardiography is a health profession that have just started around seven years ago in the medical field. They have many benefits and great pay to start out with. Not many school teach this field because its new. I am currently studying echo its a great career.

Echocardiography = ultra sound of the heart

I think xray is a great Field to go into. Especially if you can travel. You can get an associates in only 2 years most places after you get your basics. My program is 2 for associates and 3 for bachelors. You can specialize your 3rd year in mri, ct, angio, specials, just to name a few. You can always further your education and get a masters if you please.
The job market isnt great but right now it isn't great for any careers even nursing. Nursing takes a special person and I didn't think I would like it so I chose Xray. I love it!!

I will have my bachelor's in animal science this August but there aren't many jobs in that field so I was thinking a/b getting some certification in the medical field.. I was actually thinking xray but after reading all of this I'm kinda worried.. Any advice?

Taylor in Stephenville, Texas said: I will have my bachelor's in animal science this August but there aren't many jobs in that field so I was thinking a/b getting some certification in the medical field.. I was actually thinking xray but after reading all of this I'm kinda worried.. Any advice?

With your degree in animcal science I would check out MD Anderson in Houston.

Do they have jobs for animal science majors or something?

Finally, finally, finally...

I graduated in 2009 from my Rad tech school in D.C., after that, they hired me as a PRN. I'm not the best at studying or with academics but I fought through it. PRN work is great, ONLY if you get the hours to work. It was great at first then here comes the budget cuts. I come from a "Teaching" Hospital, what does that mean? It means free labor = students vs. real x-ray techs. Who do you think is going to win regarding the budget cut?
The hospital where I attended the program would rather use the students who need their clinical hours and check-offs to perform the xrays rather than the techs that are actual xray techs. Sure, I get a couple days here and there but this cannot support a living. After being very patient, and a year with practically no work, basically unemployed, I found a great job as an xray tech at a clinic. Thank GOD! It has been so long and its such a rough journey.
I love where I work now and at especially full-time hours, I so very much appreciate what I have. Is this a good career to get into? Goodness, that's such a loaded question. Do I like what I do? Yes. How likely is it that you'll find a job after you complete your program? Very slim...extremely slim. People who are considering a career in X-ray...I'm not entirely saying its a bad career, I'm just saying finding a job is a full-time job in itself. It's extremely rough out there. Once you find a job though, it can take care of you, the pay is good and if you like it, try to hold on to it...at least to the best of your abilities.

As I have stated before DO NOT choose diagnostic radiology as the career to persue-if anything choose MRI-as that is what seems to be replacing diagnostic x-ray,or ultrasound. The diagnostic field is dying,if not already almost dead.

Diagnostic Radiography is the first step in a career in radiology.
I completely agree with "James in Little Rock" that these days, do not end your education at the diagnostic radiographer level...stay in school and specialize.

It is not the fault of the ARRT or health care facilities that there are so few jobs available. In the 1980's and 90's there were more job openings in radiography than there were registered technologists. They (lol, I still and always wonder who "they" are) moved the center of education from teaching hospitals to community colleges and flooded the market, filling up the gap. Many schools, including nursing, are so backed up that students can finish the core requirements well before being accepted into a clinical program. A wait-list of over a year!

"xrayglogirl" from Chicago has it all wrong. Diagnostic radiography is the corner stone of all radiographic proceedures. There will always be an x-ray tech in the emergency room. There will always be an x-ray tech doing portable chest x-rays in ICU. There will always be an x-ray tech running the C-arm in the OR.

"screwed in Tinley Park" with the BA and multiple accreditation should perhaps look into Radiologic Physician Assistant. With a person who has so much education time versus the time spent working with people, Tinley seems remote.

A lot of posters seem down fallen on being a radiologic technologist or simply put it down, but they probably went through a college course and did not get the guidance that tells you that working in health care is not just a job, it's a skill and a vocation.

Oh please rexray..yes,there will always be some sort of diagnostic,but nothing like it was 10 or even 5 years ago. MRI,C.T. and US now do the majority of exams that R.T's did 30 years ago when I first started. Plus digital makes things soooo much easier. I am stunned when I see "seasoned" technologists no longer using collimation or adjusting techniques properly because they can now "fix-it" with a few key strokes. Trust me when I say diagnostic is dying if not already dead. Obviously you have no experience of what techs did a long time ago and consequently you aren't able to realize the huge change that has occured.

luis in Chicago, Illinois said: I am looking for advise. I am studying to be a x-ray technician, the classes are getting more difficult. Is it worth the time and effort.

NO! Dont do it, its not worth it. I currently work in radiology and wish every day I would have picked a different career. I did go back to school for a different career but the economy is horrible so it looks like I will have to stick it out a few more years. You work crappy hours, never get a lunch or break, work weekends and holidays, take call where you ALWAYS get called in at 2 or 3 am then come back that same day to work your normal shift, the pay raises are so mininal even when your evaluations are outstanding, you put up with rude patients, rude doctors, rude nurses and co workers (because all are under staffed and stressed) and your work hours can be changed at a drop of a dime because someone calls out sick or someone goes on vacation (believe me, this can be a HUGE inconvienience for you) you cant always get your requested days off ebcause lack of staff and management does not give a crap about you as more and more patients are squeezed in..its all about the dollars with management...I hope you decided to go another route...go into engineering or computer science...I would do ANYTHING I mean ANYTHING for a slow boring desk job over this crap

I can't agree with you more Lynn! Radiology used to be a great fiels-30 yrs ago!! Not only has the need for diagnostic techs decreased due to MRI and C.T.,but colleges are just churning out techs like mad!!! Nobody tells these students that x-ray is overcrowded.

Luis Estrada in Chicago, Illinois said: Echocardiography is a health profession that have just started around seven years ago in the medical field. They have many benefits and great pay to start out with. Not many school teach this field because its new. I am currently studying echo its a great career.

I have been an ECHO TECH/ Sonographer for ten years pay is great in the Chicago area around 60,000. There are many schools and it has been around for over twenty years. I hope your school is accredited because taht counts.

Im here in Chicago, Illinois said: I have been an ECHO TECH/ Sonographer for ten years pay is great in the Chicago area around 60,000. There are many schools and it has been around for over twenty years. I hope your school is accredited because taht counts.

Question, Im going to graduate May 2012. You think that there is a good chance of being hired soon or its going to be a while to get hired, because of the experience?

My father has had a private practice in NoCal, and I recently decided that I'd like to get into this field. After talking to many RT/CT/MRI techs, as well as Radiologists and people that have a REAL degree, I've found that this is a great path. You have to be into it (meaning you can name every bone, muscle etc. and LOVE it), as well as being able to tackle tougher courses. I've had a B.A. in design, so all I had to do was my prereqs and now I have a 30 month course (and the certification). You HAVE to have a legit certification! Not some generic 2-year certified tech" thing. It has to be ARRT!!! Don't go to some easy, fly by night school.

As for jobs, there are LOTS, and most start at 40-60k. Personally, I'll be doing my internship at the hospital my dad works at. I'll never match his schooling (organic chemistry WTF), but later in life (35), this is a legit field. MRI seems to be a great focus as well, as many 2-year programs will start you at a competitive salary, and many hospitals will train you for RT.

It's up to you. ROck your classes, be at the top of the class, and you'll be first pick. Personally I ordered physiology and anatomy flash cards, and used Apps on my iPhone and iPad to study. So I stopped hanging out at my sports bar, became a shut-in for 2+ years, and killed it. The only tough part was the prereqs. The first post is somebody that either finished last in grades, hates the medical field, or won't move away from his home town. You can move anywhere with this job.

OMG what planet are you from cuz it's obviously not this one.Yeppers,wish my Dad was an M.D. who could use his influence and get me a job!!! If you want to be a "real tech" in today's tough job market,try getting a job on your own instead of daddy getting you one. Just a thought,daddy's boy!!!

xrayglogirl in Hamlet, Indiana said: OMG what planet are you from cuz it's obviously not this one.Yeppers,wish my Dad was an M.D. who could use his influence and get me a job!!! If you want to be a "real tech" in today's tough job market,try getting a job on your own instead of daddy getting you one. Just a thought,daddy's boy!!!

By reading your grammar, spelling, and attempt to form a coherent sentence, I can see why you failed.

Incidentally, it's my family's background in medicine that has driven me to this path. He's a Dermatologist FYI, and has made it perfectly clear that there's no "benefits" that will come from this.

I'm 35, and until now I've been a graphic designer. Just to put it into perspective, my folks can barely use phone, much less a computer. I started from shooting rivets into airplanes to an emmy-nominated (snubbed dammit) news designer, working for NBC, FOX, and CBS affiliates in San DIego. I went from $20/hr shooting rivets to $10 starting with Photoshop crap. There's no union here, and while it's nice to work in a creative field, I want more.

Everything I've earned I've done on my own.

I should also add that my father, who served in Vietnam and went on to finish at UCLA, worked his ASS OFF. And if you think he has it easy, wait until you have insurance/staff/more insurance to deal with.

Sorry, I'd love to let your negative attitude and life failures bring everyone else down with you, but I have an externship to go to in a few hours. No father influence, although working at his hospital (he's retired in a year anyways) would be a dream come true.

Again, please consider moving out of... wherever, Indiana. It's a great field.

xrayglogirl in Hamlet, Indiana said: OMG what planet are you from cuz it's obviously not this one.Yeppers,wish my Dad was an M.D. who could use his influence and get me a job!!! If you want to be a "real tech" in today's tough job market,try getting a job on your own instead of daddy getting you one. Just a thought,daddy's boy!!!

Oh, and I should add that yes, it's tough for ANYONE to get a job in ANY field right now. At the hospital I'm starting at, there's 1400+ employees. The father that you so venemously assume has any sway in my fighting off other applicants in fact has no say. You should have seen that when I mentioned "private practice" vs. "hospital". Basic medical terminology, I think you took that course. Clues. Believe it or not, some sons still want to honor their fathers and in some way follow in their footsteps, even if it will take me another 4 freaking years to kill my Masters.

But since the OP of this thread asked honest advice, I thought it was worth my time to offer an educated answer, based not just on personal experience, but from Radiologists, techs, and other Physicians as well that I talk to and spend way too much time with. For anyone starting out, YES, it can be a great career. But you have to kill your courses. I jumped over a year waiting list for my course here in SD, and no "xrayglogrl", my dad (who again is 71 and retiring) had nothing to do with it. It's cut-throat like many careers (you should have seen live TV/news), and in the end, they will pick you based on grades and attitude.

Good luck, everyone. Don't bring this negative drama these other internet warriors have through the door, I guarantee you won't last a week.

What is it with you and dad issues? And since you don't know mine, what is your problem? I can see being out of work might frustrate you, but you're acting like you're 12.

Again, apparently, I have to repeat it for you. He's a Dermatoligist with a private practice. He does not work in a hospital. There is no MRI machine or Radiology equipment in his office. Therefore, I cannot work with him, for him, and he has no sway in me getting a job. He has done work at C.H.O.M.P. in Monterey as a reconstructive surgeon, so working there (where family and friends are) would be amazing. Do people know him? Sure, but if I don't ace my grades, there's no chance.

Now that your entire infantile case has been shattered, what are you left with? Aside from an obviously failed career and a near psychotic sense of resentment (dad/men issues)?

You can't avoid Ad Hominem, you make blanket assumptions about people you've never met, and you're so transparently bitter/upset, that I am not shocked one bit that you're out of work.

The internship, FYI, is at Sharp in La Jolla, in San Diego. Yes, an internship is required, as well as shadowing for a minimum of 50 hours. Not to mention the AART, which is soon. Once that's done, they start me part time. I'm close to my Masters as well, so we'll see if I want to continue past Tech. SD starts around $64k I believe. Try Googling for those jobs in San Diego.

If you don't believe any of that, who cares. By the immature tone of your "writings", I can see that you're destined for failure, "xrayglogirl". And if I can't start FT right away, I guess the last 14 years of emmy-nominated graphic design and photography will keep me going.

You still angry? Perhaps you should re-focus your anger towards something more productive.

You mad I get along great with my dad? What happened to you? If you really want to get personal, I bet I can guess. Amazing you're not in the "adult entertainment" industry.

Oh, you can bet that I'll keep this bookmarked. I'll tell you about my new job in a few weeks!

Oh, you can bet that I'll keep this bookmarked. I'll tell you about my new job in a few weeks!

Me,angry? Ha ha!! As for your "emmy nomination" prove it daddy's boy!! Now stop stomping your feet-daddy might not like it-and when you get a job without daddy's help prove that too.

Here you go.

i645.photobucket.com/albums/uu175/Defenseman13/work/BITTER_1.jpg

i645.photobucket.com/albums/uu175/Defenseman13/work/BITTER_1.jpg

Any other requests? Any more name-calling? All you've done is act like a child. You must be proud.

i645.photobucket.com/albums/uu175/Defenseman13/work/BITTER_2.jpg

Is the situation the same in NYC? Does anyone know of the computer IT jobs, are they still fruitfull?

YES! My sister has an IT job and they are needed. Look up jobs in monster.com, indeed.com etc and you will see...If I could afford to go back to school I would do something with computers. The pay is really really good, flexible hours, no weekends or holidays, no call, no crazy patients all day, no picking up extra shifts when someone calls off...You need to be really good in math though. I can not WAIT to get out of radiology...I wish someone would have warned me about how crappy it is to work in radiology,,,so please please please do something with computers instead..you will not regret it

MUMMY55 in new york, New York said: I Have a degree in finance and investment , currently work in a bank make ok pay $19/ hr plus commission but i hate it sooo much. i wanted to do something in the medical field, very interested in radiology tech. i have no science classes, i dont know what schools in new york and i dont know where to start. i need some advice. email warilife@yahoo.com

I hope you did not go into the medical field...or at least not radiology. The market is saturated and if you are lucky enough to even land a job you will be stuck working second shift, NEVER EVER EVER get out on time because hospitals are to cheap to hire third shift. I cant tell you how many times when I am suppose to go home at 11 pm, the ER puts in an hour and half exam at 10 minitues before I am suppose to leave. You will have to carry a beeper and be woken up in the the m

middle of the night for stupid things like diabetic feet or back pain for 5 months...I even got called in at 2 am for a biceps tendon tear! Do not think for one second you will have your holidays off, you will have to cover shifts when someone calls out and let me tell you, you will NOT be a happy camper when you get the surprise call to come in on Sat that were suppose to have off and work 12 hours, the pay raises you get will be so tiny that you will be lucky if you can afford a piece of gum with it. The nurses are over worked so they are so grouchy, doctors are grouchy, patients are so grouchy! My mom cant beleive some of the stories I tell her of the the rude and unappreciate patients you will come across. getting a lunch is like pulling teeth, you may get a lunch once a month and that is stretching it, forget about breaks because they do not exist in radiology. I have been miserable ever since starting this. I have been an MRI tech for 7 years, x ray for 2 and I went back to school for human resources but the

the job market is so bad right now that I have not been able to even land an interview as I always get, impressive resume, just not qualified enough. I cant even find an internship as so many students are applying and companies are dropping the internships. This has been a long jouney with radiology and all I know is the population is getting bigger and bigger and pushing and pulling 300-400 pound patients all day is not fun either. Can you imagine being in your 50 or 60s and pushing and pulling large patients all day...cause you will be if you go into radiology..and the pager call is ridiculous. No way am I doing this crap when it is close to retirement time...heck, I dont plan on doing this full time in the next few years...

screwed in Tinley Park, Illinois said: There are NO jobs, none, nada. I have a B.S., and a rad tech, and a radiation theripist, and MRI all ARRT. How do you spell screwed?
B.S. RT (R), (T), (MR) (ARRT). RUN! Get away from health care b/4 your are sucked in the black hole of no return. Things will get better. Ha. Ha. If you think things are going to get better seek professional help. Fast! If you want to go from 19 to zero pay and spend a year or more on lot-o-classes just to apply for x-ray, then spend 2 years didatic and clinical then take your ARRT, add it up and this equals over 4 years. go to college or post/MASTERS/MBA. how much do you think x-ray techs make to start? less than what you are making now! Hope this helps.

That

That is not true....x ray techs starting out make 18 or 19 an hour. I made 18.00 at an out patient facility in Cleveland Ohio with no experience...I know some areas pay less or more...but the wage for x ray tech right out of school, depending where you live will range from 17-19.00. You will get a lot of over time to and some call, although hospitals are staffed 24/7 with x ray techs, and CT techs, so for them I dont think call would be that bad like it is for MRI. I dont know why hospitals have not caught on to have MRI techs staffed 24/7 because we sure are treated like a trauma modality as we get called in for every stroke and cord compression that CT just completed

luis in Chicago, Illinois said: I am looking for advise. I am studying to be a x-ray technician, the classes are getting more difficult. Is it worth the time and effort.

NO..NOT worth it...do somethng else...you will be miserable working in radiology

Can u describe a typical day in radiology? From what Im reading it sounds miserable -_- Healthcare sounds like a slave driver -_-So what would u guys recommend to a new generation who are interested in radiology?