I’m so stoked! After working my butt off on pre reqs for the last 2 years and telling everyone i know that i’m working on ‘getting into’ a radiology tech program, I have finally did it! Just feeling really proud of myself and relieved that my efforts paid off. I can’t wait to get started. I don’t even mind that I have to move back home to afford it 🙃
Hi. I’m about to start rad tech school and I’m more interested in CTs than X-rays. Would I need to complete some kind of certification to work CT or is the ARRT enough?
I just started my radiography program so i'm still finding my balance of being back in school full time/ work/ personal life etc. I figure I should probably spend about an hour a day looking over notes etc and then put more hours in before a test? Im just curious what others would do so I don't feel like I'm slacking for only doing an hour lol.
Currently I’m community college and fairly frequently I get worried about if I’ll get accepted anywhere and not sure how I’ll handle rejection. It honestly worries me that no matter my grades and what I do to prepare that I’ll be rejected.
Does anyone have any tips or words of advice to handling the stress/anxiety of application?
Currently I have a
- 4.0 gpa
- Roughly 120 hours of medical based internship (shadowing) from highschool which was back in 2025
- preparing to take a BLS CPR course in the summer
I know I’ve posted something similar before but I can’t help it. My family has told me they will still love me and take care of me if I get rejected from everything but the worries still deeply haunt me.
As the title says, I got waitlisted and I’m beyond upset. I did EVERYTHING right- I got a healthcare job, I shadowed, I got straight A’s in every pre-requisite, got 3 Doctors as references, showed up early to the interview, dressed professionally, literally saved up all my money to pay for it completely out of pocket, MOVED BACK HOME so I could save money, literally giving up everything I owned and living under my mother’s roof at 30 again.
I’m at a complete, and utter loss at how I could’ve done anything different. I even practiced my interview skills to ensure I was up to snuff.
I know the comments are gonna be “just apply again next year” but WHY? I literally cannot change a damn thing to make it better-I’m so upset. I’m not even sure if I can get those doctors to write me another recommendation and now I’m just too embarrassed to ask.
Hi everyone!
I recently found out that the program near me is on probation with JRCERT and didn't bother to let students who are going to start this year know. Pretty terrifying to not let future and waitlisted students know that your program is facing significant struggles and may close. I'm posting the full list here so others don't end up enrolling in programs on probation:
The full list:
You can also find the "award letter" aka the "reason the program is on probation letter" in the link below.
https://www.jrcert.org/accreditation-decisions/programs-on-probation/
Hope this helps anyone who's trying to figure out where to attend.
Hey y’all!
I’m from DFW, Tx and I’m about to graduate with my bachelors degree in Business Management next fall. Even though I’m happy that I’m almost done, I’ve been having second thoughts about my career path. I’ve been eyeing rad tech for a few months now and it seems like an interesting career path. I’m thinking about either going back to school after I graduate or go through the certificate path. Which one is the best option for me?
I'm looking to pursue a career in radiology, I'm looking for someone who is working in that field to ask have a few questions.
Has anyone here done more schooling but not gone doctorate? Curious to your experience, pay raise, job outlook, new roles and/or responsibilities etc.
Thanks!
I didn’t get accepted into any jrcert accredited programs I applied for this year although I got into one that isn’t jrcert. But they are arrt certified so I can still sit for my boards. The school is in california but after I graduate I would want to move somewhere south east so I want to make sure everything will be okay with my licensing and all that. I’m not to sure if I should take it or not. Any advice is appreciated!!
This will be my second year applying to radiology and sonography programs. After being rejected last year, I spent the entire year working hard to improve my application like retaking classes to raise my grades and increasing my TEAS score. I finally feel confident that I’m a much stronger applicant this cycle, which makes my current situation even more frustrating.
Recently, I had the opportunity to shadow in both radiology and sonography. While I originally thought radiology was my top choice, shadowing changed my perspective a bit. I realized that general X-ray was not quite what I expected, it seemed more physically demanding and less engaging to me than I had imagined, even though I know there are many different specialties within the field. On the other hand, sonography has always fascinated me, especially cardiac imaging, and after shadowing, I felt even more drawn toward that path.
Here’s where my dilemma comes in: the sonography programs I most want to apply to are at one specific school, but the application deadline is approaching quickly, and my transcripts still have not been finalized in their system. I submitted them as soon as my final prerequisite course was completed on May 10th, but I was told transcript processing can take over a month, which would put me past the deadline. I’ve already called and emailed multiple offices trying to see if there’s any way to have my transcripts reviewed sooner, but I’ve been told they process them strictly in the order they are received and cannot expedite individual requests.
At this point, I’m feeling really discouraged because I worked so hard all year, and now I may not even get the chance to apply because of a processing delay outside of my control.
My first question is: does anyone have any advice on what I can do about my transcript situation? Is there someone specific I should try speaking with like the registrar’s office, admissions, program directors, or someone else to possibly help move things along or at least allow me to apply while they’re still processing? I don’t know if going down to the school would help, but do you think that could be worth a shot?
My second question is about the bigger picture: if I’m accepted into a radiology program this year, should I go ahead and take that opportunity so I can start my healthcare career? Or, because my heart feels more aligned with sonography, should I risk waiting another year and reapplying to sonography programs instead?
I just feel very lost right now. My heart is leaning toward sonography, and it’s hard not to feel upset that something as simple as transcript processing could potentially keep me from even applying. Any advice would really mean a lot.
X-ray tech for 4 years, not really getting much of a decent raise yearly and starting to wonder if this career is even worth it long term with how low the pay ceiling is. Is there any way to break $100k without overtime and working holidays/overnight? Or should I look for another career?
I’m the only guy in every medical class and every other woman but one is going for nursing. The other prereq’s I’m taking are the same and the same women are taking them. I’m wondering if I’m shooting myself in the foot by not going the nursing route over rad tech. The classes are very difficult (it’s my second year) but I’ve maintained nothing but A’s thus far. If I switched now I think it would be smooth sailing as I got a lot of these harder classes out of the way.
I know becoming a nurse is a lot more involved and difficult but I know I’m capable. Any input from anyone who made the switch?
I’m preparing for my rad tech program starting in July and am wanting to get a head start on ordering all the necessities to make studying easier. I’ve heard iPads are great to take notes with but not sure if it’s any better than plain old pen and paper, what are your thoughts? Are there any note taking apps you can use on iPads that make studying a lot easier?
i’m in the second semester of first year of rad tech program. i’ve struggled with mental health my whole life, but had finally gotten it under control with medication and was stable. the stress and constant pressure has made my depression come back. i see a therapist every week and am trying to adjust meds with psychiatrist, but i haven’t felt relief yet. it’s getting worse. i am starting to skip class and call out of clinic. i have no motivation to study. i feel like i need a higher level of care at this point, but i am scared that would mean i will have to withdraw. i can’t afford to drop out with the amount of time, money, and effort i’ve put into this.
I’m currently looking into the Radiologic Technology program at American Career College (specifically the LA campus). I’m feeling a bit of "analysis paralysis" and would love to hear from some actual grads or current students.
The two things weighing on me most are the tuition cost and the 3-attempt limit for the ARRT exam. Given how expensive the program is, I’m terrified of getting through the whole thing and then struggling with the boards.
For those who went through ACC:
ARRT Prep: Do you feel the curriculum actually prepared you for the registry?Did you feel confident by graduation?
Workload & Prerequisites: I’ve heard the program is super fast-paced. Is the workload manageable if you’re also finishing up prerequisites during the program?
Drop-out Rate: How many students in your cohort withdrew from the program either due to not managing the workload or finding out this career path wasn’t for them?
Clinical Experience: How was the clinical placement? Did you feel supported, or were you mostly left to figure it out on your own?
Overall ROI: Looking back, do you feel the high cost was worth "skipping the waitlist" of a community college?
Any insight (good or bad) would be massively appreciated!
21M here and been struggling to find a path to go down, for a while I was considering anesthesia tech but I know that it isn’t really a job for longterm/to retire from.
I was wondering if radiology tech is better for this? Also looked into becoming an RN but honestly can’t tell if I would be entirely cut out for that. I’m aware that an RN salary is more, but if I can live comfortably off rad tech as an endgame career option aswell I think that I would much prefer it.. aha
Honestly quite lost overall, as I am just in general helpless when it comes to knowing required courses to go down certain paths etc. but I would really appreciate some feedback
Hello!
Has anyone else in tech (think FAANG and adjacent) previously that has made the switch? I've got almost a decade of experience but just cannot take it anymore. I don't even want to be in this industry AT ALL since having a baby (2 years ago).
People think I'm crazy for leaving a remote, flexible and generously paid role but I feel so cynical everyday. Scoffing at stupid KPIs and forecasts calling for 50% YoY growth when the economy is shit. I want to do something tangible!!
Im just looking for people in a similar situation that did make the switch, how it's going, any regrets? If I take the time for school and decide to go back to tech, my experience will be obsolete. But like I said, I can't do this soul sucking career anymore regardless of money...
I’m on a shift schedule of 24h on and 48h off. Also with 5 days off in a row one week out of each month. I would love to know if the schooling would even be possible in y’all’s experience. Dropping to part time is not an option.
Hi guys,
Just looking for some advice here.
I can’t start this coming radiology program in 2027 fall, so I’m looking into possibly the next year. I’m also very interested in respiratory therapist. In the meantime I stay home with my kids and found a CCMA program that is only 18 weeks long and $3k.
I thought getting my CCMA cert and then working for a couple years as a CCMA in a doctors office or urgent care might look good on an application in the future for a program and also give me some good hands on patient experience.
What do you guys think?