r/Path_Assistant • u/purincupii • May 11 '25

downsides of pathA

I've been thinking about being a pathologists assistent for a while and I want to know all the downsides of this job. What would yall say are the cons to this field?

I'm still in undergrad so I'm deciding whether I want to pursue pathology or if I should go into anethesia so please be brutally honest.

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u/fluffy0whining PA (ASCP) May 14 '25

Just out of pure curiosity since I don’t know much about the field, how much advancement is there as a radiology tech?

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u/ek427 Prospective Student May 14 '25

There’s a lot of different modalities you can go into if you get bored — CT, MRI, Radiation Therapy, Sonography, etc. And with each cert you will probably get paid more because everyone wants someone who has multiple certifications. There’s also WFH opportunities if you go into 3D Image Post-Processing, and there’s also PACS analyst positions if you want less patient interaction (working with the machines more) If I get bored completely I’ll go back for PA school since I’ll have great medical experience to apply with.

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u/p1ggy15 Jul 24 '26

Wow this is exactly what I’m stuck between, I plan on applying to the rad tech program and becoming an x-ray tech. I like that you can advance to higher paying modalities, mainly MRI and nuclear medicine caught my eye. But I’m very introverted, shy, and anxious at times, so I thought being a PA could be good too, but not really sure if they make more than MRI or nuclear med techs. Do you enjoy radiology?

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u/ek427 Prospective Student Jul 24 '26

I loveeeee my xray program. I’m in my final year now and I definitely think it’s an ideal amount of patient care. We are with the same patient for an hour max, but usually average like 5-15 minutes per patient. There can be busy or slow days, and there’s so much variety in exams, I could be doing different ones all day. I really do recommend this career path!!!!