Xray tech~ more $$$ than RN???

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Nov 4, 2004

just my. $ .02
my sister is a dental hygeinist. she started out at $30/hr in Boulder CO . eight years ago
whats the worst she can do to a patient
Make their gums bleed ????

I agree! I have looked into dental hygiene as a career change from RN, but the market really is saturated around here.

Also, I have never seen an overweight, unattractive or older woman working in a dentist's office. I think it's because dentists are mostly men, and they want hot young babes working for them. That cancels me out right there.

Tom Coles Eclipse · Nov 4, 2004

With all due respect to all Rad. Tech's, I sincerely believe that RN's deserve a higher pay than them for the following reasons:

1. The nature of the job of nursing where urgent decision making-process is involved right in front of the patient.

2. Nurses are more in the forefront of nursing care while rad. tech's assist as far as diagnostic procedures are concerned.

3. Nurses are always there 24 hours a day doing direct patient care whereas rad. tech's stays in their offices unless called by a unit or by a nurse.:rotfl:

been there · Nov 5, 2004

Hi everyone. I'm a little confused about something. I know this girl, let's call her Miss Braggart. Anyhow, she's a friend of a friend of a friend and after speaking to her a few times i've come to the conclusion that I don't like her and I like just about everybody and anybody. She and her husband are those obnoxious type people who brag about EVERYTHING. Example- My son wears this brand, what does your kid wear? We have a boat, do you? Etc... Anyway, to my point...she is an x-ray tech (for 3 years, oh and don't let me forget to mention she has a best-friend relationship with all the doc's at the hospital, they all love her and say she's the best ...EVER! ) and when I told her I was going to school to be an RN (I'm taking my pre-req's now) she laughed in my face and said "I'm in x-ray and I make more money then most nurses that work there, besides nurses get no respect" Of course I just smiled because I was so shocked by her blunt comment I didn't know what else to say. This can't be true can it? A big part of me thought she is one of those "try too hards" , you know those people who try so hard to impress they leave the opposite impression? If I remember correctly she said she made $18 an hr. Well, of course I'm not following my dreams for money....BUT...I do have 4 children and a husband who is the breadwinner and I want to know that if something ever happened where I'd have to support my boys I could. I'm sure most of you can relate. My question is....will I go to school and bust my rump for 3 and a half years in nursing school to make less income than someone who finishes school in a lot less time? (Not that an x-ray tech is a bad thing, please don't get me wrong, but money does come into play when you're poor and eating beans and cornbread so you can pay for college.) I live in KY and I'm not sure what the starting salary is for new nurses here. Can anyone shed some light on the average pay for new nurses in your state/area please?
Thanks,
Christy

Seems to me I've run across a lot of these people before. You will learn as you age that they feel insecure for some reason and need to feel important to someone so they try to impress others with their posessions, etc. Don't worry about her. She does not affect the food you eat, the condition of your home, your kids or your life. Just smile and say "That's nice. I hope you enjoy it" and go on with what you were doing. As far as money goes, she has probably topped out in her pay. As long as you make enough to support you and your family don't pay too much attention to her pay. Besides, a study of pay a few years ago surprised me when I learned garbage men in New York make a WHOLE LOT MORE than nurses across the country. All of my grown and married sons make more than I do but they keep running to mom when they get sick!

scott511 · Nov 5, 2004

I think your friend was referring to LPNs. I am in Baltimore and most hospitals that I have talked to quoted about $22/hr to start for new BSN grads.

khtnurse · Nov 5, 2004

I just started a new job at a hospital here in Southwest Virginia. I started out at 17.00 and have been a nurse since 1997! The pay here is really bad, believe it or not the first job I had out of LPN school in 1997 paid me a whopping 7.50 and my first RN job was 12.50 in 2000!!! So it REALLY depends in what part of the country you are in, rural or urban area. As for x-ray techs, I think their pay is very similar to RN pay, but all the hospitals around here they get to work 8 hour shifts whereas we HAVE to work 12's which unfortunately turn into at least 13, but usually 14!! I can't say you are not wasting your time, that is only your decision on which direction of healthcare you want to pursue. Both professions have wonderful advantages and disadvantages, as everything does. You just have to pick which way to go!!! But either way, ANY education is NEVER a bad thing!!!:)

tmiller027 · Nov 5, 2004

I checked http://www.salary.com for both staff nurses and x-ray techs in my area. X-ray techs here start at around $38,000 while Staff RNs start around $42,000 a year, so at least here, RN is better paying.

papasan · Nov 5, 2004

:rolleyes:

Sabradie, I got into a heated argument with a woman on a non-nursing board about how much nurses make. She had mentioned she knew a nurse who made $35 an hour and no wonder health care costs were so outrageous when NURSES made such unreasonable salaries! When I confronted her she shot back that she did "elder care" on the weekends so she knew what she was talking about.
It still infuriates me to think of her...:angryfire :angryfire :angryfire

:rolleyes: :chuckle :coollook: not for nothing but xray techs in hawaii i here ge 100,000 a year

txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN · Nov 5, 2004

Sounds like we are in the wrong profession. :angryfire

:rolleyes:
:chuckle not for nothing but xray techs in hawaii i here ge 100,000 a year

payday · Nov 5, 2004

Ultrasound techs about 40 miles north of here make as much as RNs up there. My last job as an RN I was offered 16 an hour to start. Said no. They came up some.

kenni · Nov 7, 2004

you have to remember when some people say "nurses" they mean nurse techs, nurse aides, and medical assts. many can't tell the difference between what they do. as an x-ray tech, more than likely she's working @ a drs. office or clinic, which (where I'm from), usually have aides and techs, maybe 1 LVN. if xray techs really made more than RNs, there would be a shift in people swarming to apply to those programs rather than nursing schools.

angelac1978 · Nov 7, 2004

why would you assume that she would be working at a doctor's office? some RT's work for imaging centers and ortho clinics but most rad techs work in hospitals. some docs employ limited scope techs but their pay is horrible. admission to rad tech school is just as competitive as nursing school. For the 2 programs I applied to this year, there were 300 applicants for 30 spots at each school. there is a shortage of RT's as well as nurses. everyone sees a job in healthcare as a safe, stable career so there are tons of people applying to all of the allied health programs.

A

ECMOismygame · Nov 8, 2004

i work both around RN's and XRT and they both greatly impact pt care. Although I am going to XRay school and plan to work in cath lab or echos, after what I've seen I know that nurses deserve more money. They put up with a lot of crap. On call doesnt compare to what nurses deal with. Although its not hectic all the time on the floors it can get really ugly. But remember even when someone says I'm a MRI tech remember that all a nurse has to do is get OJT and they can work in MRI and make more than the tech. As a tech I would have specialized training in "X", but as a nurse you learn alittle bit of everything, then you can specialize and make big bucks. For example...I live in San Antonio,TX (starting RN~$16-17, XRT ~$14-15)....In a cath lab the techs, which are usually XRAT with OJT make about $60K-$70K per year with on call. Sounds like a lot for 2 yr ed and OJT. But RN's make about $90-$120K with on call. so it all depends on what you do. of course if your a med surg RN you're going to make less than a CT, Nuc Med tech....you have to get the skills and then you will come out on top.