NO MORE JOBS !!

I'm currently doing my clincals right now. I'm in my 8th week in my clincal site. So far, all the RT's there have been cool. Only thing that bothers me right now is the job market. I hear from them that they are having trouble looking for a job. that there will be no more room for RT's. That the field will be saturated in at least 1 more year. Due to concorde and all those techinical schools which pump out at least 25 RT's every 3 months. So does any one have any input into that?????? let me know thanks!

The problem is a combination of oversaturation, two many schools in too small of an area and the slow down on hiring do to the economy. I suggest enhancing your credentials, obtain a BS or higher and use RT as a stepping stone into something more lucrative, or just move out of LA!

bigboi tan in Los Angeles, California said: I'm currently doing my clincals right now. I'm in my 8th week in my clincal site. So far, all the RT's there have been cool. Only thing that bothers me right now is the job market. I hear from them that they are having trouble looking for a job. that there will be no more room for RT's. That the field will be saturated in at least 1 more year. Due to concorde and all those techinical schools which pump out at least 25 RT's every 3 months. So does any one have any input into that?????? let me know thanks!

I have noticed on this board, over a year now, how students play up Concord Tech school and its greatness. How easy the school the school is to get through. I watched and bit my tonuge until now. I have been in the field for over thirteen years now and I have watched these tech schools crank out students and totally screw up the profession. California and Arizona are the two biggest culprits for RT tech schools. They are relentless in the students that they release and they do not care about the profession. Your instructor may tell you that they care about the profession but most RT instructors that I talk to are so out touch with reality that they are a joke. It is a shame with the cost of living in Los Angeles area that most hospitals only pay a few dollars more than other cities across the nation with considerably less cost of living. You have your glorious Concord college to thank for that one. Oh, how much are the charging for the fine outstanding Concord college edumacation.

Wow, KB, why don't you tell us how you really feel? I am in Albuquerque and I am graduating in six months and I am in the same boat. No jobs right now. I will probably have to move. I assume it is not like this in most cities.

K.B. in Phoenix, Arizona said: I have noticed on this board, over a year now, how students play up Concord Tech school and its greatness. How easy the school the school is to get through. I watched and bit my tonuge until now. I have been in the field for over thirteen years now and I have watched these tech schools crank out students and totally screw up the profession. California and Arizona are the two biggest culprits for RT tech schools. They are relentless in the students that they release and they do not care about the profession. Your instructor may tell you that they care about the profession but most RT instructors that I talk to are so out touch with reality that they are a joke. It is a shame with the cost of living in Los Angeles area that most hospitals only pay a few dollars more than other cities across the nation with considerably less cost of living. You have your glorious Concord college to thank for that one. Oh, how much are the charging for the fine outstanding Concord college edumacation.

Here in San Diego it is not just ConCorde (there are other colleges that are pumping out Rt's a whole lot faster) .......the jobs are saturated here as well

Schools are in business to make money. Got it.

which is why its not also what you know its who you know.. i think i got the hob at the hospital working in Henry mayo... working in the ICU and DOU whatching for dysrhythmia... its all about getting your foot in the door as i have seen in these fourms... i have heard of people whom have masters degrees which are applying for housekeeping jobs.. just to get in their foot in the door... guess the most aggressive ones eat... goes back to the dwarinism theory of survial of the fittest... but get in where you fit in i guess

Mary inTampa in Tampa, Florida said: Schools are in business to make money. Got it.

Mary thanks for the revelation because I do not think anyone here would have figured that one out. I understand about business and supply-demand economics. Yes, there was a supply-demand disparity for RTs in many states, and yes, I understand as a result that there would be incentive for some businesses to meet that disparity. However, the pathway that they went about doing business is what concerns me, and the AARC has set idle and let these tech schools get away with what they are doing. I will say this one more time, these tech schools set no academic standards what-so-ever, and they only crank out students. I will give you an idea of how dangerous are tech schools. Here in Phoenix they have opened up three tech schools for RNs among the other RN programs that already exist. As a result, potential students flocked these tech schools because it was the easy road to being an RN. The RN field in Arizona is supposedly now saturated. I keep running into new RN graduates everyday and they tell me that can’t find a job. I know of at least thirty new RN graduates that are sitting on the sidelines waiting for someone to hire them. What I find funny is just a couple years ago the RN field was considered economically bulletproof. Somebody in this forum remarked it is not what you know it is who you know. You might want to rethink that one my friend because there are a lot of people out there right now that are desperate for jobs and I do not think it has anything to do with “who they know.”

I agree with K.B. Here in Rockford, all the hospitals currently have a hiring freeze...not just with RT, but everyone, even the housekeepers. I am in the second semester of my first year at a local community college and I am scared that I got into it at just the wrong time. If I would have done it a couple years ago, I would have no problem finding a job, but now, when I graduate next year, it's gonna be tough! I work my butt off in the program to do well, but these tech schools will let you retake any test until you pass...That is just not right! Sorry but I wouldn't want you performing resp. care on my mother. I wonder what the first time pass rate on the boards is for these tech schools.

Con-corde is spreading like a bad cold now, I saw ads online the other day that they're looking for RT instructors in Tampa and Jacksonville. Looks like the already saturated Florida RT job market is their next target. My professor told us yesterday that Con-Corde is charging 39,000 for a degree in respiratory therapy?!?!?!?!

I know that at Pima in Albuquerque the pass rate on the boards is close to %100, while the local community college is lower.

travy in Albuquerque, New Mexico said: I know that at Pima in Albuquerque the pass rate on the boards is close to %100, while the local community college is lower.

That 100% pass rate is misleading because Pima Medical Institute, Concord, Apollo, Kaplan and similar tech schools focus their teaching to pass the NBRC exams and not actually understanding the reasoning behind the theory. An equivalent analogy would be a pharmacy and nursing school that only trained their students to pass the board exams and not teach the principals of their discipline. Very few of these students have ever impressed because they do not understand the “why” behind what they are doing. The approach that these tech schools take with their students is “Do it this way because that is what you need to know for the NBRC.”

K.B. in Phoenix, Arizona said: That 100% pass rate is misleading because Pima Medical Institute, Concord, Apollo, Kaplan and similar tech schools focus their teaching to pass the NBRC exams and not actually understanding the reasoning behind the theory. An equivalent analogy would be a pharmacy and nursing school that only trained their students to pass the board exams and not teach the principals of their discipline. Very few of these students have ever impressed because they do not understand the “why” behind what they are doing. The approach that these tech schools take with their students is “Do it this way because that is what you need to know for the NBRC.”

The way you broad-brush theses schools is offensive. To generalize like this is ridiculous. There are a lot of Pima Schools, just like there are a lot of tech schools. I know that locally the hospitals like to hire Pima students and like the education they received. So you can talk about your own personal experiences but you cannot generalize anymore than I can generalize about community colleges. A lot has to do with how much a student puts into the program and how well they can perform their job at clinical sites. So, my advice is to quit hating on these schools. If you are a good RT, you will find good jobs. If you have to make yourself feel superior to other students, then I guess you will just have to keep hating. It says alot more about you than it does the schools.

That 100% pass rate is misleading because Pima Medical Institute, Concord, Apollo, Kaplan and similar tech schools focus their teaching to pass the NBRC exams and not actually understanding the reasoning behind the theory

KB,
So, we can pass the boards better because we understand the material less?? That makes a lot of sense. Maybe we should just skip school all together and ace the boards.

K.B. in Phoenix, Arizona said: That 100% pass rate is misleading because Pima Medical Institute, Concord, Apollo, Kaplan and similar tech schools focus their teaching to pass the NBRC exams and not actually understanding the reasoning behind the theory. An equivalent analogy would be a pharmacy and nursing school that only trained their students to pass the board exams and not teach the principals of their discipline. Very few of these students have ever impressed because they do not understand the “why” behind what they are doing. The approach that these tech schools take with their students is “Do it this way because that is what you need to know for the NBRC.”

That is TRUE!! My entire RT Curriculum is in the process of being oriented towards "passing the NBRC", and then the instructors say 'once you pass the CRT/RRT and get a job, the job will give you training-they won't just through you out there." Although this was NOT the focus of classes when I started, this is a sad turn of events. Also, 'memorize Kettering' is the other school mantra. Lack of 'hands on' with the equipment in the school setting (DURING the classes, not for 4 weeks AFTER taking 18 months of classes and not knowing why/how things apply to the concepts taught). I'm sure many RT Programs at allied health schools started out with good intentions... but good intentions will NOT be what saves patients: KNOWLEDGE and SKILL saves patients. (or so I'm told, I'm still just a student)

travy in Albuquerque, New Mexico said: The way you broad-brush theses schools is offensive. To generalize like this is ridiculous. There are a lot of Pima Schools, just like there are a lot of tech schools. I know that locally the hospitals like to hire Pima students and like the education they received. So you can talk about your own personal experiences but you cannot generalize anymore than I can generalize about community colleges. A lot has to do with how much a student puts into the program and how well they can perform their job at clinical sites. So, my advice is to quit hating on these schools. If you are a good RT, you will find good jobs. If you have to make yourself feel superior to other students, then I guess you will just have to keep hating. It says alot more about you than it does the schools.

Lighten up Kill Roy. You haven’t graduated yet and you are already getting offended. With all do respect you will need at least a couple of years in the field before you can form an opinion. I know more than you might think about tech schools. Arizona is respiratory tech school central, in where the tech schools out number the community colleges at a 4:1 ratio. A state that allows the tech schools to teach math, chemistry, physics, microbiology, anatomy and physiology, and communications by RTs to RT students with nothing more than a B.S. degree. They are not even qualified to teach these courses and they do anyway. It is a complete joke. I talk to countless RTs that realize that if they had to over again they would not have gone to these tech schools. In Arizona these schools flourish because the hospitals expect the RTs to be mindless SVN jockeys. At the hospital I work the five year turn over rate is over 80%, and the hospital does not care. Why? Because, they know there is fresh meat coming there way ever few months. I am not trying to hate these schools. All that I am saying is that they are a complete joke.

travy in Albuquerque, New Mexico said: The way you broad-brush theses schools is offensive. To generalize like this is ridiculous. There are a lot of Pima Schools, just like there are a lot of tech schools. I know that locally the hospitals like to hire Pima students and like the education they received. So you can talk about your own personal experiences but you cannot generalize anymore than I can generalize about community colleges. A lot has to do with how much a student puts into the program and how well they can perform their job at clinical sites. So, my advice is to quit hating on these schools. If you are a good RT, you will find good jobs. If you have to make yourself feel superior to other students, then I guess you will just have to keep hating. It says alot more about you than it does the schools.

...continuation. Do not get me wrong. Some of the RTs that come out of these tech schools are good. However, there is equally, if not more, that suck. When I here students from these tech schools brag about how a certain instructor was fired because he was too tough on the students, I am sorry how can someone respect a school like that. I thought the job of an instructor is to be tough on the students so that they can learn. In Arizona we used to get a lot of RT travelers from other states during the winter (not so much the case anymore). Most would tell me how they were dismayed at how little the RTs in Arizona knew. Why do you this is the case?

The school that needs top be shut dn is California College, I use to get pamplets from them all the time, and how disgusted , I was to get them. There the ones,who put the bad name in RT education. Its simply paying for a degree,and how over priced. And then to have to find a clinical site. But as far as over-saturation, I know that to well. Going to school in New Mexico,and having to deal with another school in El Paso. And then, when I graduated,in'99, no jobs , and or the seasonal thing. So I moved, to Austin,in 01, found a job right away. So sometimes you have to make sacrifices,and move for the better.

in school where i go sometimes only 8-graduates in a two year program.

Hey going back to what KB said about tech schools only teach on how to pass the exam, Its BS. I went to Concorde and they teach you nothing on how to pass the exam. If anything, they teach you how to fail the damn thing. Kettering on the other hand, that teaches you how to pass the exam. I'm also in San Diego, I'm an RT and yes I have NO job. LOL, I wish I did my research prior to spending all this money. The good thing is, I now have a degree from Concorde that I can hang up on my wall, along with my RT license, credentials, and the hefty bill. Oh and current students attending these school, just quit now. Take whats left of your money, head on over to an indian reservation. Your chances of being rewarder are greater there, than at Concorde... Today I just got a post card from California College. They claim that RT's are in Demand and make 62k right out of college, I'm going to go give them a call right now, wish me luck!

San Diego sucks in Los Angeles, California said: Hey going back to what KB said about tech schools only teach on how to pass the exam, Its BS. I went to Concorde and they teach you nothing on how to pass the exam. If anything, they teach you how to fail the damn thing. Kettering on the other hand, that teaches you how to pass the exam. I'm also in San Diego, I'm an RT and yes I have NO job. LOL, I wish I did my research prior to spending all this money. The good thing is, I now have a degree from Concorde that I can hang up on my wall, along with my RT license, credentials, and the hefty bill. Oh and current students attending these school, just quit now. Take whats left of your money, head on over to an indian reservation. Your chances of being rewarder are greater there, than at Concorde... Today I just got a post card from California College. They claim that RT's are in Demand and make 62k right out of college, I'm going to go give them a call right now, wish me luck!

Thank you soo very much for the information!!

K.B. in Phoenix, Arizona said: I have noticed on this board, over a year now, how students play up Concord Tech school and its greatness. How easy the school the school is to get through. I watched and bit my tonuge until now. I have been in the field for over thirteen years now and I have watched these tech schools crank out students and totally screw up the profession. California and Arizona are the two biggest culprits for RT tech schools. They are relentless in the students that they release and they do not care about the profession. Your instructor may tell you that they care about the profession but most RT instructors that I talk to are so out touch with reality that they are a joke. It is a shame with the cost of living in Los Angeles area that most hospitals only pay a few dollars more than other cities across the nation with considerably less cost of living. You have your glorious Concord college to thank for that one. Oh, how much are the charging for the fine outstanding Concord college edumacation.

Concorde was going to charge me 24k for 14 months then told me I'd have to get a job and then have my company of whom ever I worked for pay for the advanced part. Since I have a part time business and work full time I would have to come up with 6k+ to be able to do the 14 months. I work soo much to pay off medical bills and I'd rather work ALOT then to ask anyone for help. It die fort. get me to look around more and find what I think I'd really love being which is a COTA

I am supposed to start a tech school in May for RT in the Philly area. I have thought about the saturation situation because of the all schools in this area, although when I have done job searches for RTs in this region they still seem quite readily available. Although I do worry how will they be in two years once Im done school and have license. Everybody has insiteful things to sayvand thinking, but I wonder amd I making a mistake? Also all the freezes that are going on because of the economy. I guess I am at a bit of a loss of what to do?

RESPIRATORY IS VERY VERY SATUPURATED . SIMPLY NO JOBS , AND TECH SCHOOOLS ARE GRADUATING AT LEAST 200 STUDENTS A YEAR IN MY AREA , ONTARIO, CA

Here in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex we have six schools that offer respiratory. Four are regular community colleges that graduate maybe at the most 15 students a year each and then we have two for profit schools like ATI which I went to and now concorde has opened up a campus recently. I graduated in June, passed my crt on first try and cannot even get an interview with a hospital. I've applied for EVERY RT position in every hospital in Texas and had only one interview. Didn't get the job because I had no experience except clinical experience. If I had known it was going to be like this I would have never went for respiratory but nursing instead. It's ironic because I chose respiratory because I didn't like nursing and I love respiratory but love doesn't pay the the bills! At least with nursing you can advance but with respiratory it's a dead end. I'm still hoping and praying something will come up since part of the reason is the economy sucks but its hard to keep your head up.

Rich in Mckinney, Texas said: Here in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex we have six schools that offer respiratory. Four are regular community colleges that graduate maybe at the most 15 students a year each and then we have two for profit schools like ATI which I went to and now concorde has opened up a campus recently. I graduated in June, passed my crt on first try and cannot even get an interview with a hospital. I've applied for EVERY RT position in every hospital in Texas and had only one interview. Didn't get the job because I had no experience except clinical experience. If I had known it was going to be like this I would have never went for respiratory but nursing instead. It's ironic because I chose respiratory because I didn't like nursing and I love respiratory but love doesn't pay the the bills! At least with nursing you can advance but with respiratory it's a dead end. I'm still hoping and praying something will come up since part of the reason is the economy sucks but its hard to keep your head up.

If it makes you feel any better, nurses are facing the same issue. New grads struggle to find that initial job due to lack of experience and because quite a few hospitals are only hiring BSNs, rather than ADNs. Its a recession, every field is hard to get into, not just RT.