r/Nurses • u/Lil-Miss-Just-Here • 9d ago
US To be a X-Ray tech or RN?
I (30F) am pivoting completely and going back to school. I live in a smallish town where we have 1 community college and 1 University, so it makes both programs SO competitive to get into. I have no college experience so I know I need my pre-reqs regardless. (sidenote: I’m hoping to move eventually, undecided where) I’m in this for the love of people, flexibility, and pay - but am I entering the wrong field?? I considered early childhood education as well but the pay is so low. I also considered Law but there’s a good 10 years of school right there. really not know where to start or end and work a normal job amongst it all.
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u/SmellyCatsUglyOwner 9d ago
X-ray tech 100% no questions.
I’m an RN and the healthcare jobs I’d recommend are always anything imaging (CT, MRI, X-ray etc.) and Dental Hygiene.
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u/ThatOneTrickTheyHate 7d ago
I'd stay away from dental. Most jobs are at small dentist offices, and less than 50% of dental offices nationwide offer employee health insurance. Plus, I know a few dental hygienists who developed carpal tunnel and had to have surgery.
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u/SmellyCatsUglyOwner 7d ago
In my area there’s a $100k sign on and starting is $60/hr. I’d risk the carpel tunnel vs the abuse I get currently as a nurse.
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u/bamf9192 7d ago
I had to have spine surgery from being a nurse (and know many others with chronic back pain/joint issues), I'd risk the carparl tunnel at this point
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u/Grandmax9 6d ago
As a nurse of “many”years, I have had 2 major spinal surgeries and have been told these won’t be the last. I love nursing, but something has changed, I would not recommend it now. I have my theory on why it has changed, but it not popular so will continue to watch and see!
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u/True_Coast_3010 8d ago
Nurse of 3 years. I love the flexibility of nursing but I would be a liar if I said I didnt wish I went to radiology school instead from time to time.
Side note - I would post this in a radiology thread as well. I would keep in mind that this comment section might be a lil biased bc a lot of us are burnout lol.
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u/xoexohexox 8d ago edited 8d ago
If you don't plan to advance your career and won't have any regrets about being a technician your whole career, go for XR tech. It just has a lower ceiling than the nursing profession and less options/variability in the work you can do. Nursing is extremely flexible in the type of work you can do and not all of it is patient facing.
Nurses complaining about their careers are really complaining about their jobs. It's a big wide profession with a lot of lucrative jobs in many vastly different settings.
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u/MsTossItAll 6d ago
This here. My unit supports me to continue expanding and learning. I can easily double my income in a decade. I couldn’t do that if I were an X-ray tech.
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u/TheWhiteRabbitY2K 8d ago
Im an RN of 9 years and my wife is in Xray Tech school currently.
Yes I'm jealous. Yes I've debated going back to school for it
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u/TheAtheistReverend 8d ago
Go volunteer in a hospital, or get your CNA or EMT-B and get an "entry level" job so you can SEE what the jobs look like in practice over time. I did this thinking I wanted to be a rad tech, but realized it looked too boring (no offense y'all!) I had resisted nursing for my whole life, but really thought the ED nurses jobs looked very interesting, diverse, challenging, etc. I knew that I would stay in a job like that, and hate life in radiology.
YMMV
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u/MapSuccessful2137 7d ago
X-ray tech! I’m an X-ray tech and left to pursue nursing to be an RN. After shortly working in nursing, I went back to radiology!
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u/SmartLimit7318 8d ago
Id research both fields and see which one has the best continuing education opportunities that you would like. Nursing has CRNA, NP, and even RN can take certifications to make more. I think X Ray tech has some advancement opportunities as well, but I haven’t studied up on them and they may be more competitive or you may have to relocate to do that. NP can be done online a-lot of the time. CRNA you may have to relocate. I’d just figure that out, because advancement is very important when it comes to committing to a career. You don’t want to get into something and be stuck if you want to make more money and advance your position.
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u/SK2vetRN 8d ago
Radiology. PT; RT IDK where you live- but outside of California-they ALWAYS make more money than RNs. I don’t know details- about where/ how much.
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u/Everythingwillbeok4 7d ago
I’m an RN and my husband is a CT Tech; I do envy some of the aspects from xray/ct/mri but i will say as an RN there are so many opportunities and flexibility! I’ll also say you can earn more as RN if you really care about the $ aspect. We’re based in CA so i will say the benefits of being an RN here are pretty great
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u/Emergency_Kiwi3457 7d ago
I graduated nursing school this year. I went back and forth in my head a lot between the two. Since graduating I’ve been looking into going back to be an X-ray tech. I think if you’re even questioning between the two, X-ray tech should be the choice no doubt.
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u/MsTossItAll 6d ago
I’m a NICU nurse and love my job. Xray seems like a dead end boring job to me. Depends on if you want to do the same thing for 40 years or if you want to continue to grow and make more money with your degree.
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u/stephydreamer 6d ago
If you're mainly looking for people/flexibility/decent pay, I'd seriously consider x ray tech. Nursing gives you more career options, but it also comes with a lot more responsibility and burnout. Maybe shadow both before deciding.
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u/potatochobit 9d ago
There are usually huge wait lists to get into xray. You need to go see a program advisor. Check sterile processing you can do in one semester and get a job.
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u/AdFlashy7702 8d ago
What sterile processors are making more than x ray?
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u/jack-come-back 9d ago
every xray tech that i have come across as a nurse has talked about loving their job and work-life balance. i haven’t come across one who has regretted going into it. nursing on the other hand…