Is xray tech a good career choice?

Answer 1

I am an RT and I have to tell you this career no longer a good choice. The work is decent but the job market is now very bad. When I went to school there was a shortage and we needed more techs, now the schools have went overboard and trained far too many, and they won't stop because they make money training people! We train students at the hospital I am at and they are shocked when they find out there are no jobs in the area. The picture is much the same all over the country (except maybe CA), too many schools are pumping out too many students promising them high paying jobs in a booming field that is no longer booming. Instead of needing more techs hospitals and clinics are now needing less! This is due to the adoption of CR/DR technology which has decreased x-ray turn over time, and also due to the fact that everyone has students as free labor. In some areas this has even hurt wages! Our wages are no longer increasing they are freezing. This is a very bad time for becoming an X-ray tech, and I don't see it changing any time soon. So don't believe the hype a school recruiter or an old government report on job growth might tell you. If you want a health care job become a nurse, to verify it is a better job just check out how many nursing jobs their are in your community vs. tech jobs, you will be surprised. As a nurse your wage is about 1/3 more to twice as much as an x-ray tech. Hope this helps with your question, remember to always research the field you go into by actually checking job numbers vs. people training in the field. If the number of trainees is much, much higher than the number of jobs then stay away from the field so you aren't left with student loans and no job.