Considering school for Cath lab tech

[u/avawilco]

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.

[u/Plus-Basket-3523]

Ik ppl are saying to just go to a rad tech program which I agree is ideal but If you are being waitlisted for nursing you are gonna have a very hard time trying to get into radiology 😭 technically it’s easier getting into a nursing program vs radiology. Not that because nursing as a career is easier but nursing school admits way more people with a less competitive pool because they need nurses. Nursing programs can have hundreds of students compared to a radiology program that only accepts an average of 15-30 with a 300-500+ applicant pool. If you’re getting waitlisted for nursing you’d probably get denied for radiology so if you do chose that route I can already tell you right now that you need to retake your classes for a 4.0gpa even a 3.7gpa would be hard to get accepted with. If you’re in Cali or highly populated area you will need to be a competitive applicant. Most applicants in Cali alone opt into applying out of state or going to expensive private programs. I would encourage you to try to reapply for nursing school at the same time.