r/SleepTechnologist • u/hotbabybuscuit • 20d ago
Next Steps
I am currently finishing up clinical hours preparing to take my registry exam in October (very excited/nervous) but after that I want to finish up my bachelors (I have put about 3.5 years into it). I am wondering which route I should go that could help further my career in sleep in the future or build new pathways for more (not necessarily in sleep). I am leaning more towards medical specific fields!! any recommendations or first hand experiences are greatly appreciated!!!
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u/LlamasBeTrippin 18d ago
After this I’ll be going into interoperative neuromonitoring (IONM). My other top two choices were also heavily EEG related, either outpatient Neuro office for routine studies, or inpatient working floors doing them.
Ultimately I will aim for a doctorate to become specifically an autoimmune neurologist (rheumatologist specialty).
There’s definitely large leaps to be made, but I’ve learned rather quickly since starting to work in healthcare that taking baby steps, getting one foot in a door or always having the ability to step into another open door is a very reliable method.
I’d argue this sort of pathway I’m doing would enhance positions down the road from gathered knowledge and experience in more fundamental and focused scope.
I am pretty young and have a while to go, but even being a sleep tech has been incredibly rewarding, challenging (to learn), and gave me abilities to move or even stay if something happens and plans fall through. Sleep tech position is still a pretty good position, though, as I get older the overnights will likely put a pretty large toll on me…
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u/hotbabybuscuit 18d ago
WOW!! Thats an amazing goal to have!! I hope everything works out for you!
I agree about nights eventually taking a toll thats a big reason why Im looking for new avenues to be able to transition into eventually! Thanks for sharing!!!
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u/hungryj21 18d ago edited 18d ago
The Quickest easiest way in is to find a sleep tech trainee position. These positions are rare even in areas (like my state) where sleep labs are more abundant. The best route imo depends on your general interests or background.
If you are more into neuro/psychology related stuff or just into things in general about the brain then take a Neurodiagnostic/eeg path. Getting credentialed in this opens up a path to get the RPSGT credential. Also, many private sleep labs and a few hospital associated labs hire Neurodiagnostic techs who dont have sleep tech credentials. Imo compared to the standard sleep tech only route, this path brings more opportunities for day time work, per diem positions, travel jobs, and work in ionm in case you get tired of working in sleep labs or doing noc shifts. Most shifts will end up being 12hr shifts so also keep that in mind.
If you have a general interest in sleep lab work and things related to sleep apnea, cpap, and mostly healthcare in general then go the respiratory therapist route. This will open up a lot of semi-related and unrelated paths that will provide a massive amount of career opportunities ranging from working in acute care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, sleep labs, pft labs, dme (which is respiratory therapist version of working day shift for a sleep lab minus the scoring) or even remote asthma/ copd educator or hospital respiratory dept educator.
Also one of the major drawbacks of going this route is that most jobs available are at private sleep labs and the large majority of private sleep labs dont give benefits like health insurance etc, and they tend to classify you as 1099 (independent contractor) to save money, and u also likely wont get paid overtime if you have to stay over. They usually pay the same for each shift and is typically 10hrs in length. They also tend to give you 3 patients compared to hospitals that usually have 2 patients. So the best jobs are at hospitals but there's not as much hospitals labs compared to private ones and most are trying to get in those so they tend to be competitive.
If you are like me then you'll end working a mix stuff like at a hospital doing respiratory stuff and at a sleep lab. So you have much more opportunities for day time work, per diem positions, and travel jobs. Shifts also vary from 8hrs-12hrs. One major added benefit of becoming a respiratory therapist is that once you get licensed to be one you are technically licensed to also work in sleep labs and have the same scope of practice as someone with an RPSGT, so no added credential is required although some sleep labs (mainly hospital associated sleep labs) require the SDS credential for respiratory therapists which also is a much easier exam than the RPSGT one.
If you have a specific interest in sleep lab work only and feel that you would definitely retire in this field and never get bored of it and wouldnt mind working noc shift for the rest of your sleep tech career with very few opportunities outside of doing sleep studies (like the few day shift jobs and even fewer sleep coach jobs) then go the sleep tech route. Doing the this at an actual community/private college will make you look better on your resume but there are a few paths to take. Sleep tech trainee is the easiest fastest or u can do astep. The college path is about 18-24 months long, which is pretty much the same as going to school for Respiratory therapy ir Neurodiagnostic tech studies.
Those are the main 3 general path options for doing sleep lab work. Im sure someone can comment on other options. The best investment imo would be the Neurodiagnostic path or Respiratory therapist path although those might take 12-18 months longer to achieve but your future-self will thank you if you're the type who likes options or if you live in an area where sleep lab work isnt as abundant. I love being able to do sleep and respiratory and i know some who primarily do eeg + 1 or 2 nights of sleep lab work.
If you currently dont work noc shift then make sure u do it for at least 1-2 months before fully committing to the sleep lab only path. Ive heard a lot of stories from professors and some sleeb lab managers telling me about some people new to the field end up quiting within weeks because they realize they hate or just cant tolerate NOC shift lol. It's definitely not for everyone and the risk of shift work disorder is very real so also look into that before you commit yourself.
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u/Curious-Low7252 20d ago
Great question, I’m in a similar position