# Question about becoming a nurse vs radiologist



## ronmac13 (Sep 5, 2008)

im getting ready to start college in october, but i dont know which i really want to become yet. 


Can anyone give me some pros and cons?

also which makes more?


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## FishingAddict (Sep 5, 2008)

RN salary: $40K 
Radiologist: $200,000

It just hit me...did you mean Radiology Tech?

The average around $58k

Radiolgist tech would be cool, as well as an RN.  The differnce is that an RN will have the ability to do all sorts of medicine, so if you get tired of the kind of medicine that you are doing, you can branch out and do another.

In other words, if you started being an RN in sugery cases, but got tired of it in 10 years, you could go start working, lets say. in pediatics at the drop of a hat.  Or anything else for that matter.

Not so for being a Radiology tech.  So before you do it, make sure you like it!


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## firstwatch (Sep 5, 2008)

I would suggest that anyone wanting to become a nurse work partime as a CNA to get a feel for what the job is like.  You won't be doing the same things as a nurse of course but would be in the same environment.


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## tv_racin_fan (Sep 5, 2008)

"also which makes more?"

You want to become a Radiologist. IF you get into nursing because of money you are making a huge mistake.

My wife is a nurse, she is an LPN working at a nursing home. MY family all think she is an angel. Her immediate family is mostly in the medical field. She made just over $50k last year, it isn't easy work and the pay sucks.


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## uga_fan (Sep 5, 2008)

My wife is a nurse practitioner.  She contracts herself out to a ER physicians group.  She makes her own schedule, only works 10 days a month, and is well compensated for her time.


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## ronmac13 (Sep 5, 2008)

well i decided to go the radiology way,

im going to be going to augusta tech for a rad tech and associates degree, and after that work my way up to a radiologist.


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## FishingAddict (Sep 5, 2008)

Good Luck!  Hope ya love it!


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## FishingAddict (Sep 5, 2008)

uga_fan said:


> My wife is a nurse practitioner.  She contracts herself out to a ER physicians group.  She makes her own schedule, only works 10 days a month, and is well compensated for her time.



NP is a great route to go if you are already a nurse.  Otherwise, PA may be an easier route and you can still have the same benifits.

Nurse Anethatist is a lucritve job as well...over 6 figures.  A great job if you don't like talking to patients, since you just knock em out.


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## daisy102998 (Sep 23, 2008)

My friend started as raio tech, then bacam a radiologist after med school.


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## shaggybill (Sep 24, 2008)

ronmac13 said:


> well i decided to go the radiology way,
> 
> im going to be going to augusta tech for a rad tech and associates degree, and after that work my way up to a radiologist.



Hey man, glad to see you know what you want in life. I wish I had known right out of HS, too.

If you don't mind, I'd like to say something about the above quote. If you decide to become a rad tech first, you will most likely be "wasting" two years if you want to go on to medical school directly after getting the associates. The reason I say this is because rad tech's have a certain course load they take for their degree, and none of these courses will apply to your med school prerequisites. Also, because they are degree specific courses for rad techs, they most likely won't count towards any bachelors, which you will need to get into med school. So once you finish getting your rad tech degree, you will have to start all over and go another 4 years or so to get that bachelors prior to entering med school. 

If that's well and good with you, go for it. If not, you may want to go ahead and decide now which one you want to do. 

Also keep in mind that radiology (MD/DO) is a highly competitive field. There's lots of money and no patient contact. People scramble for radiology residency slots every year, and only a certain number get in. You've got to have stellar grades throughout med school to even be looked at. With that said, you can definitely do it if you keep your nose to the ground. 

Good luck with it all. I'm in the process of working towards medical school myself, and have been at it for a couple of years now, so I've accumulated a little bit of knowledge about how it all works. If you have any questions, just ask. I might know the answer to it.


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## ronmac13 (Sep 25, 2008)

ive already paid this quarters tuiton, i figured id go rad tech first and have a batter career then where im at now and just go from there plus i might have a shot on getting on augutsa fd in january


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## teethdoc (Sep 25, 2008)

Dentistry.  That's where it's at


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## Jranger (Sep 25, 2008)

teethdoc said:


> Dentistry.  That's where it's at



X2... plus the assistants are almost always better looking!


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