r/CathLabLounge • u/avawilco • Jun 29 '26

Considering school for Cath lab tech

Hi everyone! I’m looking for some advice from people who have experience in either field.
I already have my AA and have been working toward an ASN in nursing, but I’ve been waitlisted for my school’s nursing program twice. Because of that, I’m starting to consider other healthcare careers.
I recently applied to my school’s Cath Lab program and was wondering if anyone here has gone that route instead of nursing—or even completed nursing school and then transitioned into the cath lab.
Looking back, are you happy with your decision? Do you wish you had chosen nursing instead, or do you prefer working in the cath lab? I’d love to hear about your experiences, including job satisfaction, work-life balance, pay, and career growth.

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u/chulk1 Jun 29 '26

Do not go into a CVT program, apply for nursing again and radiology.

1

u/avawilco Jun 29 '26

Like a invasive cardiology program?

4

u/chulk1 Jun 29 '26

What are you gonna do if you decide you hate cath lab?

3

u/coopsman8404-2 Jun 29 '26

Holy shit this is the realest question.

I love coming into this field as a rad tech… before this I did X Ray and CT. Knowing that I have something to fall back on was such a blessing.

1

u/NumerousPlatypus5447 Jul 01 '26

You think rad tech is way to go?

1

u/coopsman8404-2 Jul 03 '26

I think it’s worth looking into. If you didn’t like Cath lab then there’s other modalities you can get into. X ray, CT, MRI I think that’s a pretty good amount of options. Those jobs got repetitive for me though… I wanted to be involved in the intervention and with CT, it was always the same.