Would a Radiology Career Benefit From My Psyc Degree?

I received my bachelors in psychology a year and a half ago, after the job market was heading down hill. 18 months later I'm still jobless. So I am looking to go back to school and I am wondering what area would be the smartest career move with my current education? I'm thinking long term, to open career advancement options down the line - or at least make more money because of my psyc degree. Right now, I am interested in sonography and x ray tech, but I'm not sure it would benefit me. I'm open to other areas. Nursing isn't for me tho, weak stomach.

Any opinions or suggestions on which areas to look into is appreciated!

(Before anyone asks, I don't have the money or interest to go to grad school for psychology. Still have $35K in student loans & I'm just not interested in doing that.)

as far as jobs go i would try residenial care for children and youth if you havent already done so....devereaux usually has openings....fulltime its a great job if you like kids....and you would use the pysch degree .....and they have locations all over the states...

I meant residential care,,,

@ annymus in marietta, Georgia - Thank you for that tip. I wish I lived closer to their locations, but I am in West Houston, and I can only find Victoria & League City on their website. I think a career change, something specific with training such as radiology or sonography, is where I am headed at the moment.

If you can't afford 35K for grad school then you definitely won't be able to afford radiology school. I had a BS in Biology and it has not helped me at all on the job. It was not a consideration when I was hired or passed over for management positions. The only time it ever helped me was in x ray school, which was a heck of a lot easier than getting my BS in Biology.

@ drones - Grad school costs upwards of $20K, but the associates degree in radiology at the local community college (accredited, highly recommended program, not a low-ranked or trade school program) is around $5K. Thanks though :-)

Does that 5K include the 2yr, or thereabouts, unpaid internship? You can work while in Grad School, and still earn a living never having to go neck deep in dept. Glad I could be of assistance :-)

@ drones - the program has 3 or 4 semesters of clinical, which is part of the required course work. I've never read anything about additional internships for any of the programs I've looked into. I was looking at CyFair and SanJac, because they have higher pass rates, but not HCC, their pass rate is around 50%, which I was told is a poor reflection on the program as a whole & can effect employability. None of those programs said anything about additional unpaid internships after graduating from the program. Can you send me a link to that info? I can't find anything about it. Thank you.

Clinical is the same thing as an unpaid intership. I never mentioned anything about after graduation. I believe you are misunderstanding what I'm saying.

Jobless_Psyc_Grad in Houston, Texas said: I received my bachelors in psychology a year and a half ago, after the job market was heading down hill. 18 months later I'm still jobless. So I am looking to go back to school and I am wondering what area would be the smartest career move with my current education? I'm thinking long term, to open career advancement options down the line - or at least make more money because of my psyc degree. Right now, I am interested in sonography and x ray tech, but I'm not sure it would benefit me. I'm open to other areas. Nursing isn't for me tho, weak stomach.

Any opinions or suggestions on which areas to look into is appreciated!

(Before anyone asks, I don't have the money or interest to go to grad school for psychology. Still have $35K in student loans & I'm just not interested in doing that.)

Hey if you really want to go for radiology you have to go for certification programs in radiation therapy, sonography, nuclear medicine or radiography. But be assured, these programs will be of minimal cost. And I think to get a stable and satisfactory job you should spend this much. If its difficult for you then you can continue in your sector and go for social worker or health psychologist kind of profile. Let me know if you need further help.

Jobless_Psyc_Grad in Houston, Texas said: I received my bachelors in psychology a year and a half ago, after the job market was heading down hill. 18 months later I'm still jobless. So I am looking to go back to school and I am wondering what area would be the smartest career move with my current education? I'm thinking long term, to open career advancement options down the line - or at least make more money because of my psyc degree. Right now, I am interested in sonography and x ray tech, but I'm not sure it would benefit me. I'm open to other areas. Nursing isn't for me tho, weak stomach.

Any opinions or suggestions on which areas to look into is appreciated!

(Before anyone asks, I don't have the money or interest to go to grad school for psychology. Still have $35K in student loans & I'm just not interested in doing that.)

Hey if you really want to go for radiology you have to go for certification programs in radiation therapy, sonography, nuclear medicine or radiography. But be assured, these programs will be of minimal cost. And I think to get a stable and satisfactory job you should spend this much. If its difficult for you then you can continue in your sector and go for social worker or health psychologist kind of profile. Let me know if you need further help.

Hi fellows i also have the same q . Actually i am foreign medical graduates. I have passed all the usmles required for ecfmg certification. i have been trying for residency position since last three years but instead of my best efforts result is nill. Now i am thinking of some alternate career. I spoke to Jeff college of Medicine about their Radiology progm the lady told me that i can attend classes for BS progm which is one yr for me and then get certification after that i can go for master. My q is, is it worth of doing Bachelor in radiology sciences? What are the job prospectus in the sense of job market and salary. Jefferson has many options like Radiation Therapy, Dosimetry, USG, PET and Ct scan. Which speciality has more demand in the market and what one can expects the salary.

aleese, a BS will not help you much, if at all, in getting a job. It could help you once you get a job in getting promotions. You will, however, need a BS to get into one of the specialties that you mentioned. The job market in the US is extremely tight for jobs in all modalities.

So what u suggest do it or dont do it. Suppose if I do it and after that I dont get a job then their would be another uphill of anxiety as i am facing now.

aleese in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania said: So what u suggest do it or dont do it. Suppose if I do it and after that I dont get a job then their would be another uphill of anxiety as i am facing now.

Hello friend,

I think you should go for a bachelors degree in radiology.We all are aware that the medical field , especially the imaging and diagnosis sector is growing rapidly and there are numerous job opportunities. After completing your bachelors degree you will get a job as a radiographer or X-ray technician .But if you want to excel in this sector and earn more then you have to go for a specialization on any of the fields of radiology.

My suggestion would be not to get your Bachelors in Radiology right now, unless you can't avoid it. The goal would be to go through the program and get your registry as quickly as possible, get a job and then assess whether you should get your Bachelors in Radiology or some other field.

If I want to do bach then what speciality shouldi take? They have given me many options like vascular sonogr, Radiography, CT scan and ultrasonography, lastly but not the least Pet scan. Guys I realy need some suggestions i am stuck on no where with medical degree and all usmles passed.

How about getting a Bachelors in something other than radiology? If you just got your ARRT then hold off going into a specialty until you've worked the medical field for a while.

A-How about gettin bachelor in some thing else? What speciality has more jobs and some better pay?

B- What do u mean by " If I just got my ARRT then hold off into a speciality untill I have worked the medical field for a while?

A - PT, OT, Resp Therapy, IT, BA etc

B - What I mean is that if you have never worked as a staff technologist, then you should work as a staff technologist first to get a better lay of the land. It allows you to get a clearer picture of the entire medical field to see what's out there. If you specialize and have not had a chance to work you could be missing out some other opportunites that you might like better.

Aleese, why not explore the option of going to Physician's Assistant school. With your medical school background and the demand for Physician's Assistants, you would have more luck finding a job and having a job that pays well. There are not many jobs around for xray techs or other imaging modalities. Look around these boards. We are trying to prevent you from making a costly mistake.

Hi Bonez I am much eager to go in PA assistant prgm but main hinderance is their pre-reqs. If any PA school is willing to get me in totally on the basis of my medical degree without any other pre-req, I would not not think even for a single second about other options....