Nursing or X ray Tech?

Pretty huge disparity. Where to even start.

not a nurse sorry, but still have info. Clients that I've worked on who are xray techs usually complain of soreness from standing in lead vests for long periods of time and higher risk of radiation. something to consider.

Way way way more variety in nursing. Can you shadow someone in each field to see which one you prefer?

I graduated with ADN two years ago. Can only get job in nursing homes. Would rather work at Starbucks.

Nursing Possibilities:

-Critical care nurse

-Labor & delivery nurse

-Travel nurse

-Pediatric nurse

-Trauma nurse

-School nurse

-Psych nurse

-Public Health nurse

-Nurse researcher

-Family nurse practitioner

-Women's Health practitioner

-Adult Health practitioner

(Possibilities are endless)

X-ray tech Possibilities:

-X-ray technician

Hope that helped!

My cousin and I are about the same age. She became an X-ray tech a couple years after I graduated from nursing school. She's currently a CT/MRI tech and I'm an ICU nurse.

I think the pay is fairly comparable between the two jobs, depending on where you live. I know that when she had trouble working with someone at a big university hospital, in order to get away from them, she had to quit that job and get a new one elsewhere because there's only one radiology department at a hospital. When I got sick of dealing with a jerk I worked with, all I had to do was put in a lateral transfer and I was happier a few weeks later working on a different unit. That was really sweet considering I'm vested with my retirement, like the company as a whole, and love everyone I'm working with now.

Going to grad school for an advanced nursing degree will be easier for me than it will be for my cousin to go to a master's of radiologic science program if that's what I choose to do. I think the biggest reason is that there's a lot less schools offering a masters in radiologic science degree than schools that offer a masters in nursing. And there's many different types of masters programs for nurses, but I think you're pretty limited as an x-ray tech.

I think it's worth thinking about what kind of job you'll be able to get when you get closer to retirement. When you're nearing 60, will you be able to pull patients from a stretcher into a CT or MRI? Will you be able to shove a board behind a patient to get a chest x-ray? One of these days, I know I'm going to be too old and tired and out of shape to work as a bedside nurse. I'll have an easier time getting a case management or low-key clinic job than my cousin will getting a job that's doesn't require lugging a patient around to get a film done.

Hi there, I am not a nurse yet but I'll give my 2 cents anyway :)

My best friend's Mom graduated from an X-ray tech program over one year ago and still has not been able to find a job, there just aren't any listings for them...yet daily there are tons of nursing jobs posted (both LPN and RN.) We live in the Raleigh area of NC, if that makes any difference.

I would agree with most who have posted in that you will have more options as a nurse. Although some have said they are having a hard time getting that first nursing job, it will come eventually!

Nurses have a much bigger role to play in the patient's care than x ray. In fact, if you read some of these threads, everything is our job. I think nursing is more interesting and exciting, but the stress and responsibility takes its toll in the long term.

X-ray techs have the ability to say "not my job". The job has better prospects for long-term professional survival. Getting into a program is more competitive since there are fewer spots.

Hmm... Okay, thanks for the insite everyone! Some good things for me to think about, I'm leaning towards nursing and have been all aloing but I'm sort of scared to go into nursing after hearing all of the stories and how many nurses don't like their job! Thanks to everyone!

Nursing Possibilities:

-Critical care nurse

-Labor & delivery nurse

-Travel nurse

-Pediatric nurse

-Trauma nurse

-School nurse

-Psych nurse

-Public Health nurse

-Nurse researcher

-Family nurse practitioner

-Women's Health practitioner

-Adult Health practitioner

(Possibilities are endless)

X-ray tech Possibilities:

-X-ray technician

Hope that helped!

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Ok, as a registered x-ray TECHNOLOGIST (not technician), nuclear medicine, and cat scan TECHNOLOGIST, I will definitely say that in my 11 years of doing this, im VERY glad i did not do nursing. I enjoy taking my photos, sending the patient along their merry way. The "risk of radiation" is MINIMAL if you do very basic protection practices. I do not deal with poop / puke / pee / blood on a regular basis. We do see it and it does not bother me, but i enjoy the fact that its not in my room as often as nurses.

I could make a similar list of pros and cons but i will refain. I think with nursing AND radiology, there is a tighter job market than what i experienced 11 years ago so good luck finding a job. In 11 years, ive never felt the burnout, i do not eat my young, i feel fulfilled and appreciated, and i do not dread coming to work. I would love to know the percentage of a 10+ year nurse with the same outlook. Please consider this: LOOK at something you can do not now, but 20+ years from now. All young grad nurses / EMTs / xray students all want to save the world but once the reality of mortgages, kids, family, bills, college loans, taking care of elderly parents, etc sets in, the saving the world superhero mentality takes a back seat.

If i could do it all over again, i would do almost EXACTLY what i did. I would go into Xray, specialize in CT scan, MRI, or Nuclear Medicine, and live a pretty good life. You will make the same amount (at my hospital slightly more) as a nurse and i personally believe you will have a better overall well being.

The "possibilities are endless" comment really threw me for a loop..... like xray has no possibilities..... Thats far from the truth. VERY far.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLLLO LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Ok, as a registered x-ray TECHNOLOGIST (not technician), nuclear medicine, and cat scan TECHNOLOGIST, I will definitely say that in my 11 years of doing this, im VERY glad i did not do nursing. I enjoy taking my photos, sending the patient along their merry way. The "risk of radiation" is MINIMAL if you do very basic protection practices. I do not deal with poop / puke / pee / blood on a regular basis. We do see it and it does not bother me, but i enjoy the fact that its not in my room as often as nurses.

I could make a similar list of pros and cons but i will refain. I think with nursing AND radiology, there is a tighter job market than what i experienced 11 years ago so good luck finding a job. In 11 years, ive never felt the burnout, i do not eat my young, i feel fulfilled and appreciated, and i do not dread coming to work. I would love to know the percentage of a 10+ year nurse with the same outlook. Please consider this: LOOK at something you can do not now, but 20+ years from now. All young grad nurses / EMTs / xray students all want to save the world but once the reality of mortgages, kids, family, bills, college loans, taking care of elderly parents, etc sets in, the saving the world superhero mentality takes a back seat.

If i could do it all over again, i would do almost EXACTLY what i did. I would go into Xray, specialize in CT scan, MRI, or Nuclear Medicine, and live a pretty good life. You will make the same amount (at my hospital slightly more) as a nurse and i personally believe you will have a better overall well being.

The "possibilities are endless" comment really threw me for a loop..... like xray has no possibilities..... Thats far from the truth. VERY far.

Thanks very much! I would love to hear your pros and cons list if you have a minute , please and thanks!

Thanks very much! I would love to hear your pros and cons list if you have a minute , please and thanks!

My PROS of being a Radiology Tech ( CT / Nuclear Medicine included) :

The first go neck and neck with nursing..... I have a decent salary (i worked OT and per diem at another facility and made 100k+ the past 5 years), good work hours (3x12s a week for full time then i pick up per diem elsewhere), good benefits, 401k, etc. The reason i posted these pros are because i did not have to be a nurse to have these pros....

My Pros of doing what i do INSTEAD of nursing : My number ONE reason is IF i have a difficult patient, I do my exam and theres a pretty good chance i will NEVER see them again for a prolonged period of time. A CT scan can take 5 minutes or less many times. Thats a pretty good feeling to know i will not have to put up with someone, their family, their hangups, etc for an entire 12 hour shift. I know there are many many types of nurses that dont have to floor nurse a difficult patient for 12 hours at a time but this is huge in my book. Im good at what i do and treat all patients to the best of my ability but its a luxury knowing that if things get hairy, its almost over with them. Its not that im an insensitive prick, i just think i found my niche. I openly admit i cannot be a nurse.

Another PRO of xray/ct/ radiology in general is there is a broad scale of "thats not my job" as mentioned previously in this thread. I have the ability, the certification, and am actually pretty damn good at IVs but if i think the pt is a difficult stick, i will GLADLY send the patient back to their room for a more qualified IV nurse to do this for me..... i mean hey, wouldnt you want the best person possible poking you? In this same range of thats not my job is of course the pee/poop/puke/blood/etc. I work my shift in a busy ER so i see PLENTY of body secretions and they do not bother me BUT when an 80 year old tells me he cant go to the radiology department because he has to poop, i gladly hand them their nurse call button and re-check on them in 20 minutes.

I really enjoy my work environment. I work with a very small select few people that i feel is very different than some nursing environments that ive seen myself and heard about from nursing collegues at various facilities. These include the politics, backstabbing, drama, bickering, childish junior high behavior that gravitates. Im sure there are tons of radiology departments that have employees like these but i feel very fortunate that my shift is a tight knit hard working bunch that gets along very well.

Job satisfaction. I feel very accomplished in what i do. I havent felt like this is a monotonous thankless job. I feel respected by my superiors and collegues. I hear horror stories of nurse managers throwing their employees under the bus at the drop of a hat. I welcome the chance to teach those less experienced while learning from those more experienced.

Physical demands of the job. Ok so im gonna sound lazy here but this is just the truth. When i was in xray school, i shadowed a nuc med tech. I thought to myself dear god this must be the most boring job alive. He literally scanned 8 patients a day. Some exams took an hour or longer. He would inject the radioactive nucleotide and record the images on a screen over the course of an hour or longer. This seemed incredibly boring and i thought theres no way in hell this was for me. That was when i was 19 years old. Now that im 32, have a mortgage, family, golden retriever, car payments, etc i WELCOME this job. My point is it can pay VERY well (some nuc med techs make up to $45 an hour with about 8-12 years experience) while not sucking the life out of you. I will never forget this guy i shadowed. He was in this early 40s, kids in college, taking care of his elderly parents, etc. You could tell he was laid back at work, minimal stress, chill kinda guy. Think about a 45 year old woman with kids goin to college, mortgage, family etc AND a stressfull work environment / job. You gotta find a job that will last until you are ready to retire on YOUR terms.....not one that will send you to an early grave.

I hope what ive posted doesnt sound harsh or degrading to nurses. I have the utmost respect for them..... so much that i quickly acknowledge i cannot be one of them. I once pondered going to nursing school and i did not. Nurses were VERY quick to say harsh things like "i couldnt cut it" or something of this nature. To them i say i couldnt nor do i want to. If anything, go be an accountant LOL