Would attempting to become an radiographer/MRI technologist at this point in life be worth it?
I’m almost 32 and I’ve found myself thinking about becoming a radiographer and then from there an MRI technologist. It’s a solid three years of school.
Am I being realistic? If it was possible in every other way and all you had to do was attempt it… what would you do?
It’s highly competitive, about 35 applicants are accepted per year out of the 100–150 who apply, and people who are accepted have an average of a 3.73 GPA (with about 3.95 in the physiology and anatomy classes).
Honestly, it would bring in more money, and that’s a huge motivator for me. In my state and city, it’d be $70,000+ if I got the additional MRI training, if I got accepted and successfully obtained a job.
And, if anyone happens to know, if I wasn’t accepted into the program… what would my options then be in terms of a job? Would it even get me anything else?
Am I completely delusional to want to try?
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They say many adults will take on 3 careers in their work lives. 32 years old is a perfect age to go for that next career. I say go for it…but if you do…make it crystal clear in your mind you will achieve this goal DO NOT leave room for “what if I don’t get accepted”. Tape a piece of paper on your bathroom mirror that says “I will get accepted”! And I am sure you will!
Somebody asked Dear Abby once, “should I go to law school? I am 36 , by the time I get out of law school, I will be 40.” Dear Abby replied, “don’t go to law school, by the time those going to law school now graduate, you’ll be 40, But you won’t have a law degree.”
In other words, don’t think it is too late to get a new skill for a new career. Good on you for thinking about it, go for it! What is the worst that can happen? You’ll be doing what you are doing now.
I’m onto my fourth career! Go for it. One thing we’re always going to need is health care and with an aging population, this sounds like a growth industry.
Three years sounds like such a long time. It’s not. My experience has been that mature-aged students are very determined too. They don’t have time to mess about. Start now and get that new career underway.
Do it!
A woman who used to spray perfume for a vendor when I was a cosmetic buyer/manager went to college when her daughter’s finally finished college, and she got her degree in architecture. A life long dream of hers. She was around the age of 50 when she graduated.
I have so many stories like this.
We are raised to figure out what we want to be when we grow up, like it’s locked in for life. The last stat I saw was people on average have a major career change three times in life.
We have a jelly here who does that work I think. Or, maybe he is CT scan?
If for some reason it doesn’t work out, maybe a different type of diagnostic work? Ultrasound, X-ray, or some other. I don’t know what those salaries are like.
Do it. You’re young. Good choice. Hands-on medical jobs can’t be exported overseas.
Plumber & electrician & HVAC are good for the same reason.
Wow, I wonder if I could convince my currently unemployed son to do that. It sounds like a wonderful career. Go for it.
I just recently had to go for a doppler ultrasound and I remember lying there watching the technician and thinking what a nice job it must be.
You’re performing a potentially life-saving procedure without all the tension and stress that most ER personnel must endure.
You’re working in a smoke free peaceful air conditioned situation, interacting with patients and performing a pretty technical skill that likely pays quite well.
What’s not to like?
Go for it. Three years will go by in a flash and you’ll have a career in a low stress environment where there will likely always be a demand for, especially as our population ages. I would assume that the benefits packages for jobs like this are also favorable.
I really don’t see a downside for you here. Go for it.
Go for it!! It’s never too late. You’ll be 35 when done with training, and yet still have 20 to 30 years of earning power left!
You can do it.
Someone near and dear decided at 50 to change careers to become an ultrasound tech. She took math and biology pre-requisite courses then two years of training including internship. She’s been working as a tech now for several years and is glad she did it.
I became an RN at 40 after ten years as a merchant marine. You’re just a spring chicken. Go for it.
A doctor I work with started med school at age 40. He is now 65. He wouldn’t change his life at all.
Just do it!
Do it!! You’ll be wonderful and it’s never too late to go back to school and start a new career.
My wife went to law school at 32 after 10 years as a probation officer.
I got my MFA in Graphic Design just last year at 44.
I had a student getting his degree in Web Design at 72 after a long career as a surgeon.
Do it!!
NO, Try not! DO or DO NOT, there is no try.
Well, there’s something that has given me pause that I need to ask the university about. In doing more homework, I found out that the required physiology and anatomy courses make you dissect a corpse. I have OCD that’s directly related to gory things, and a visual memory so good I pretty much never forget things I see. So unless there are alternatives, I don’t think if this will be possible for me.
I started doing my research about other potential jobs and learned that dental hygienists in my state also earn a crazy amount of money for a small amount of schooling. However, the same physiology and anatomy classes are required. So, completely ridiculously, you have to dissect a corpse to clean people’s teeth. Which never used to be the case, by the way. It doesn’t make any sense at all. :-/
@DrasticDreamer: Another idiosyncratic medical professional. What else is new?
Well, I emailed the co-chair of the biology department and she told me that as long as I can identify things come test time, that’s all that matters. You’re allowed to opt out of dissection, thankfully. So it looks like it’s still a go. I’m going to the dental hygiene and radiographer information seminars on the 9th to see which I think is a better fit for me! :)
@DrasticDreamer Me and my OCD? Or are you referring to the fact that dental hygienists are expected to dissect a corpse?
Good for you @DD. Keep plugging.
@DrasticDreamer No. It wasn’t derogatory toward you. It’s toward the whole profession, and not exactly derogatory, but I did find it true that it seems to be thick with eccentrics. Maybe it has something to do with it being attractive to intelligent people. I’d had a couple of careers before being a nurse to compare it to.
For example, concerning OCD, I worked with this one VA pharmacist with a severe case of OCD. She was excellent—and this is not intended to be funny—and her preps were famous throughout our hospital which employed 18,000 people. Extremely reliable in a profession that requires impeccable concentration and rife with mistakes that can cost innocent lives. She was the best chemist ever. Her OCD worked for her in a profession best done by a perfectionist.
We both worked the night shift. Sometimes, I would have to call down and get a special prep made up for one of my patients. No problem. But she would always insist on following me back to my floor for administration and initial post admin. observation of the patient. Unusual, but no problem at 3am. I’d get a call back in record time to go down and get it and escort her to the patient where I would administer the drug.
But after we left the lab, I would wait at the elevator while she would spend the next 15 minutes or so walking back and forth to the elevator, checking and re-checking whether or not she had properly locked the lab door. It was our routine. I loved her as did Everyone else who ever worked with her and her strange eccentricity. She was the best.
And the doctors I could tell you about…
@Espiritus_Corvus I figured that’s what you meant. :) But yes, even though I’ve never actually worked in the field (as of yet, anyway), I think it’s even observable from the outside. Thankfully, my compulsions aren’t severe. I “only” count syllables I hear in sentences on my fingers, but I start and stop with every finger to make it even. It doesn’t actually interfere with my life in any negative way like a lot of other people with OCD experience. My obsessions, on the other hand, are pretty extreme – probably because I do have such a visual memory. I also associate, so that can negatively impact a lot if all of the negative things I’ve ever seen decide to cascade down on me at any given point. If it happens while I’m doing something I really enjoy, I have to stop immediately, otherwise, it will become a trigger. However, I do still consider myself lucky because my compulsions are very mild compared to a lot of other things I hear about. However, I do have anxiety and have experienced panic attacks as well, and I know they go hand in hand with OCD. It’s all a tangled mess.
My god, what a challenge. I sincerely hope that you pursue something in medicine, good lady. There is no other profession like it, and none more rewarding. And feeling this reward every night you come home from work, that today you took part in something great, is the best feeling of all. I wish a lifetime of those nights for you.
@Espiritus_Corvus Thank you. Really. That honestly just uplifted my mood and made my night. I’ve experienced a lot of struggle in my life and I just want something to go right for once. I’m all set to go to two information seminars tomorrow, bright and early. Thanks for the encouragement! :)
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