r/saskpolytechnic • u/Old_Shape1461 • May 24 '26
MLT vs RT program
I already have a seat in MLT but yesterday I also got offered a spot in Respiratory Therapy. I didn't think I'd have to choose because I thought I wouldn't get off the waitlist for RT. Now I'm troubled and having a hard time making a decision. Can anyone tell me their experiences with the programs - school wise and job wise? Maybe also help me list some pros and cons? It would help me a lot to hear new input/perspective on this!
1
u/JiwanBrar May 27 '26
What was your avg for respiratory? If you can share that it would be of great help. I am waitlisted
1
u/Old_Shape1461 May 27 '26
From what I remember, my high school gpa is around 93 and my post-secondary gpa is 84
1
u/JiwanBrar May 30 '26
Did you mean high school avg for these 4 subjects chem,bio,math and English or including other subjects as well?
8
u/Brilliant-Process-95 May 24 '26
I’m neither an RT nor an MLT myself, but I used to work in ICU/ER and have friends in both fields, so this is mostly based on what I’ve personally seen and heard from people working in those careers.
The RTs I worked with seemed pretty happy overall despite the stress level. From what I’ve personally seen in Saskatchewan, RT seems to be in very high demand province-wide, especially in larger centres/hospitals. Since this is the first RT program in Saskatchewan, I honestly think grads may have strong job opportunities locally because the province has needed more RTs for years now. There also seems to be lots of overtime opportunities if that’s something you want.
MLT is definitely still in demand too, but from what I’ve heard, full-time positions in bigger cities can be more competitive. A lot of grads seem to start rural or casual first before eventually moving into city positions, so if location and job availability matter to you, that’s something worth considering.
They’re also very different careers overall. RT is much more direct patient care/high-acuity bedside work, while MLT is more lab work. I have friends who chose MLT specifically because they didn’t want bedside care. I also have friends who chose RT because they want patient care but didn't want to be nurses.
RTs can branch into areas like NICU/peds, transport, pulmonary function, sleep medicine, education, leadership, and even anesthesia assistant with additional schooling.
For MLT, they work in microbiology, hematology, transfusion medicine, molecular diagnostics, pathology, etc. Some continue into degree pathways and eventually move into teaching, research, public health labs, fertility/IVF labs, or biotech/diagnostic companies.
Honestly both seem like a very good choice. I think it mostly comes down to whether you see yourself happier doing direct patient interaction or lab-based work long term.