Annette Said:

X - Ray Technician/Medical Radiography licensing and school requirements for California and Arizona?

We Answered:

not every state requires licensing..but most places (hospitals, clinics etc) wont hire you unless you are certified by the ARRT. You should be able to do a simple Google search to find out if there are licensing requirements in california. usually they just make you pay a fee, and show you are a registered tech through the ARRT.

its a very intensive program, it is two full years and includes summer. There are NO whole semester breaks. You will be doing course work and clinical work at least 8hr each weekday. its a FULL time program.

Elsie Said:

Have any of you gotten your Associates of Applied Science Degree in Medical Radiography?

We Answered:

Well, I attended a hospital based radiological technology program, in the early 1990s, so I hold no degree. But, once you finish your schooling, and become licensed, there really is no difference between a hospital vs. college based program. We all do the same job. I hold multiple licenses, in both my state (CA) and the national registry. I started with radiography, then added fluoroscopy, mammography, CT and MRI and ultrasound.

RTs do more than just x-rays of bones. We do fluoroscopy studies (involving the intestinal tract and barium), arthrograms (assisting the radiologist with injecting contrast or dye into joints for evaluation) and myelograms (assisting the radiologist with injecting contrast into the spinal canal). If you work in a hospital setting, you will do portable exams in ICU, CCU, the ER and even surgery. Some RTs take x-rays in the morgue.

Most RTs will also become proficient and licensed in other modalities, such as mammography, CT and/or MRI. This training does not require any additional formal training, and is usually learned on the job. The more licenses you have, the more money you can make, as you will be in higher demand. With additional schooling, you can also do ultrasound.

There are some things I hate. A messy barium enema will ruin anyone's day. Self important doctors who think you are just a peon. Nursing staff or the general public who think you are no more than a button pusher.

I like the fact that I don't get too close to my patients. Sounds weird, I know, but I was sure I could not be a nurse. A nurse develops a relationship to their patients, as they are spending more time with that patient, over an extended period of time. They get to know the patient's family, who come to visit them. And, some of these patients will die. I am not strong enough for that. As a RT, I might see a patient, in a hospital setting, for daily x-rays (for example, morning chest x-rays), but I only see them for a few minutes, and I am not putting myself in a position to get close to them. I am not sure if you understand what I am trying to say, and I cannot think of how else to describe it. I get to help a sick person (the images I take can decide a course of treatment), but I don't hurt myself mentally in the process.

There are many schools in many states where you can get trained to be a radiologic technologist (the proper term for a x-ray tech). Before you can attend a RT program, you will need to attend and complete certain college level prerequisite courses. I spent 1.5 years at my local community college, then went to a RT program. You can attend a hospital based program (and earn a certificate), a 2 year college program (AS degree), and even a 4 year college program (BS degree). The hospital based programs are the least expensive, and honestly, I think the education received there is superior. Once you graduate and take your registry exam, no future employer is going to care what type of educational program you went through. All they care about is your license. Make sure you attend an accredited program, or you will find yourself a limited permit tech. A limited tech will make less money, have trouble finding a job and not have ANY opportunities for advancement. You can find an accredited RT program at this site. Just search "radiography" and your state...links are provided which will give you additional information on each program (cost, duration of program, contact person):

http://www.jrcert.org/cert/Search.jsp

The American Society of Radiologic Technologists just did a large salary survey, in 2007. The salary varies, depending on your experience, specialties and geographical area. To view, the survey, and see the average salary in your state, you can go to this link:

https://www.asrt.org/media/pdf/research/…

You can divide the yearly income by 2080 (40 hours per week X 52 weeks) for an average hourly salary.

Terry Said:

Radiography Career Advancement?

We Answered:

Once you have your RT degree you really don't need to go back to school unless you want to get your Masters and teach Radiography. You can advance via on the job training in CT, MRI, Mammography etc.

Donna Said:

Which has a better job outlook, radiography technologist or diagnostic medical sonographer?

We Answered:

I am a radiological technologist. The better job outlook as of right now is actually sonography. Both modalities are saturated though but sonography is slightly demanding. Considering sonography has fewer sonography programs in the country and let alone there are a very few accredited CAAHEP sonography programs in each state so beware of applying to unaccredited ultrasound schools especially to programs the promise you to become one in less than a year while it requires you to pay 30k! Which one is more interesting? Honestly, I like doing x ray especially trauma cases but it all depends on you. I don't like ultrasound that much just because most of the procedures deal with reproductive procedures that women might feel uncomfortable if a man does it especially when it deals with the vaginal area or the breasts, but of course ultrasound is far more than that. To the men who does want to become sonographers also, don't give up hospitals still will hire you regardless of your gender just not women's centers. Two huge benefits of ultrasound is that it's not ionizing radiation and it does pay a lot more than most modalities out there in the radiology field. Either way both modalities have a lot of opportunities, little bit more to the x ray side because radiological technologists can cross train definitely to MRI, cardiac cath or specials, CT scan, Mammography, and DEXA a lot easier than most modalities in the radiology field honestly while sonographers rarely can cross train really to MRI but they can't be cross trained to CT, mammo, and DEXA. Yes, the more modalities you know and get registered, the more marketable you become and the more income you can get. Of course, both occupations require formal education in radiation therapy and nuclear medicine. FYI, it is very rare and it is quite marketable to see a radiological technologists who is also a sonographer and still knows how to do both! Either way, both fields are good.