Radiologic Technology Specialties

Modalities in Radiology

In the latest episode of A Couple of Rad Techs Podcast, our host Chaundria talks about the advantages of specializing in certain areas of radiology to increase your earning potential. Here are the top three key takeaways from the discussion:

1. Hone your skills: Becoming great at a particular specialty in radiology can lead to increased job opportunities in fields like sales or application development. It also provides flexibility and independence in the job market.

2. Financial prosperity: Chaundria emphasizes that gaining specific skills can lead to increased earning potential as a radiologic technologist, but it's important to have multiple options as the market demand changes over time.

3. Importance of having a community: The speaker recommends finding a group of professionals in your field to support and connect with, which can help with passing the registry, taking courses, job interviews, salary negotiations, and more.

Listen to the latest episode for more insights and stay tuned for the next episode, where we will be discussing transparency in pay and ways to improve finances in radiology without going back to school.

Questions Answered in this podcast.
1. How has the speaker's experience as a cardiovascular technologist shaped their views on professional development and financial prosperity in the radiology field?
2. What specific skills and certifications can radiologic technologists pursue to increase their earning potential? 
3. The speaker emphasizes the importance of building a network of professionals in your field to support and connect with. Have you found this to be an effective way to grow your career? 
4. The speaker mentions the challenge of dealing with codes in the hospital. How do radiologic technologists handle emergency situations when the patient is undergoing a medical imaging procedure? 
5. The speaker recommends honing your skills in a particular modality to increase earning potential, but cautions that demand can shift over time. How can radiologic technologists prepare for this unpredictability? 
6. The speaker mentions the role of coding in their job. How important is coding proficiency for radiologic technologists? 
7. The speaker talks about turning down a management position to avoid limiting their expertise to a single area. Do you agree with this perspective on professional growth? 
8. The speaker emphasizes the importance of getting paid fairly for your job. How can radiologic technologists ensure they are being compensated appropriately? 
9. Have you had experience working alone in a medical imaging room? How did you handle concerns around isolation and emergencies? 
10. The speaker invites comments on the topic of financial prosperity in the radiology field. What other strategies or advice would you offer to your fellow radiologic technologists?

Transcript

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Hey, you guys, welcome to a couple of Rad Techs podcast. I am Chandra Singleton, your host. And today's episode is going to be one you do not want to miss at all because we're talking about the money. We're talking about the money, you guys. Yeah. We're going to do a deep dive into today's topic. Going to help you boost your income when it comes to radiology and take your radiology career to new heights. So if you do this one thing thing, it can make a world of difference in your income. So let me ask you this question. Which radiology career or pathway do you think makes the most money? So first you got to know what opportunities and modalities are out there for radiologic technologists. Well, there are over ten pathways you can choose in your radiology career. So picture this. You're a skilled radiology tech utilizing your expertise to capture accurate images. You're assisting doctors and diagnosing Ailments. You're giving the best patient care. But what if we told you there's one thing you could do to increase that earning potential in this rapidly evolving field? That has been a secret. Let me just say it. Radiology has been a secret for years. I'm fortunate enough to have been in it for 21, but it was a secret to me, too. And get this, you guys, I used to get radiology exams all the time because I have IBS. So I was always getting these studies that were fluoro studies, all kind of things. I mean, I was always drinking that barium, but nobody told me they were a radiologic technologist and what it was. Well, that's right. So we're going to reveal today the secret that can make you more money. So if you're a radiology student, if you're a radiologic technologist and you're looking to advance your career, and you're looking to advance your career, please hold on. I'm going to get right to it. So you guys let me know. Are you ready? Are you ready for this? I think I'm ready. I think you're ready. I heard that. Drum roll. So without further ado more drum roll. Without further ado, you guys, the modality that they're saying makes the most money when you Google it is MRI text. Yeah. Now I disagree with that. I'll tell you why I disagree. Now, I'm no expert in this. I am an MRI technologist, but I know tons of technologists in these other careers that I'm going to tell you that I think make more money than MRI techs. But if you are a radiologic technologist and you want to take your career to the next highest level, MRI, they're saying is top. But that depends on who you Google. So national average, but those things change. Now, that's one of the seven highest. The other is cardiovascular tech. That was one that I would say makes the most I don't know. You don't know how true these numbers are. But I'm going to say cardiovascular tech and also interventional technologist. That's just what I'm telling me in the comments. If you guys agree and if you are a cardiovascular tech, please drop a comment in there. You don't have to say how much you make. Just let us know if we're on the right path because I think you guys make the most money. Let, you know, interventionalists, I think they make a lot of money, too, because they take a lot of call. I was offered that job straight out of school as well. I loved interventional. Don't get me wrong. It was one of the coolest jobs, and I just loved it. And the pay was amazing. But the call, I couldn't take that call. I would have no life, but I have some money, but I wouldn't have any life. So what does a cardiovascular technologist do? A cardiovascular technologist works in a cardiac cath lab. They perform very complex procedures. You guys, we are not button pushers, and none of us, but especially cardiovascular technologists, they do work very, very closely. They're exposed to radiation, just like X ray. Diagnostic techs are in the or. And in fluoro. They place stents, cardiac pacemakers, defibrillators, and other things in the vessels, the heart, the vascular system. Hence cardiovascular technologist. So when you think about that, they're dealing with the lifeline to the body, the blood is body is life. So a lot of things happen. I did a TikTok not long ago on coding, how people think that radiologic technologist don't have to deal with codes. Yeah, we do. Not just in cardiovascular. I've been an MRI for a long time, and I need at least two hands for the amount of codes that I have had on patients that weren't critical who come over, and they code, literally code. Getting a brain MRI, like, shocking, yes. Who code in Cat scan when we're doing biopsies, people code during certain things that you would consider not really serious. So we do a lot of complex procedures that deal with. And we got to jump in there, too. We have to give compressions. We got to get in there and handle it like everybody else, especially like MRI. We're usually down there by ourselves. We're in the basement. You have to be bashed in, buzzed in. People just aren't down there, just at your disposal. And depending on how big your hospital is, you might call the med team or the code team, and it might take a minute to get there. You got to get the patient out of the MRI room. You've got to start those compressions. Don't work by yourself. I used to always work second and third shifts or weekends and just pray nothing happens, especially when you're by yourself in the basement behind a padded door that's got to be badged in. You're in there trying to keep the person alive, trying to call the code run, get the person out, because nobody could come in there. There's a lot. So cardiovascular, technologist, we hear codes a lot going to that department depending on the hospital course. But I've always worked in bigger hospitals, so yeah, that's just what I think. Now you guys tell me in the comments, what do you think? But here are some things that you should do if you're trying to grow in your skills, your specialization, so you can increase your financial outlook. Number one, you want to hone your skills, whatever skills those are. Maybe those skills, maybe you're already in that profession and maybe you really aren't as skillful in it. Really hone those skills. Become a specialist. When you do something, become the best at what you do, it's going to draw the attention. It's going to make you have that confidence to be able to say, hey, I can do these studies without assistance. I can do these studies with my eyes closed. I don't always need to have someone there to hold my hand through it. Become skilled, hone those skills. If you're doing cardiac studies and you're not needing much help because you've really honed those skills in, that is great. That's going to carry you. I mean, beyond the ability to scan a cardiac study, that's also going to take you to where you can maybe do applications, you can do cardiac sales. That is like a six figure job and it's no patient care. That's what I'm talking about. Think beyond that. I mean, just honing those skills in and that's going to increase your financial growth. So when you talk about specialization in radiology, you can specialize in a modality and then take that modality once you've honed those skills, got that experience in a plethora of different situations. Now you can go and look at education, which, I'm not going to say education really, it just depends. You don't make as much money education, but it depends. I'm not going to say you can't, it just depends. But that's not really where the money is. But it's a great field to be in. The money can be in applications, it can be in sales. And once you've garnered those skills in your modality and gotten the proper credentials, now you increase your financial growth, you guys. I mean, there are so many lucrative opportunities besides just the patient care aspect of it. I will give you an experience. I was able to have a job that had nothing to do with radiology, all because I honed the skill of placing IVs. Who would have thought that would have helped me to increase my financial growth. And it did. I'm telling you, I was able to work for two major universities on a contract level. So no middleman. I was not their employee. I was a contractor. The money went from them to me. So right there, that tells you the financial growth opportunity. Cut out the middleman. You always do better. Now I'm going to tell you I was networking. And that's how I got this opportunity. Never ever thought of it. Never came across that's. Another way to grow financially in the radiology field is to network. You've got to network, and I'm going to speak to students on this. If you are a student, don't burn your bridges while you're in school, not with instructors. I got my first job because of my instructor. She was my biggest Cheerleader, what was two of them, my biggest Cheerleaders, and they recognized my hard work. I finished out of two years of clinicals. I did them in one year, and I was done before the first year. I still had some months left in the first year. I just kind of faked it because I knew I needed at least look good and finished the first year with what they gave me for two years to do. I did it in less than a year. So only thing I needed was that cross table lateral C spot. I cannot get that dog on thing, but I got it, and I finished that within a year and a half. She saw my work ethic. I mean, she was just my biggest Cheerleader. I love her to death. And she actually recommended me for several jobs. One job was straight out of school management. Straight out of school. Being a manager of a radiology department, I turned it down. And this is why I turned it down. The money they were willing to pay me, yeah, it was crazy. I'm still friends with the HR director who's no longer at that place, but we connected so well, I kept in contact with her to this day. 20 plus years later, I'm telling you, your network. Keep a good network and be loyal to that network. Be consistent. Show personal interest. It pays off. Everything is not always an immediate financial benefit. But my teacher got me an offer from that job. I turned it down. I explained to them why, because I knew if I got that management job, then I knew I really didn't want to be in management. That was not my thing. I've owned several companies before, and I like to work for myself, and I did not want to pigeonhole myself into just management, because once you get on that track, it's hard to get off. And I did not want to not be able to garner the expertise and the skills in the other modalities like I have been able to do right now. I'm certified in xray, CT, MRI and nationally certified in mammography. So that's four certifications. I know how to scan on every machine when it comes to CTA MRI, I've had the experience of years of experience. I know how to place IVs. I can work very independently. I only got those skills because I turned down I was not afraid to turn down a very good opportunity that was referred to me. I had the job, and they were not haggling on the salary. Let me just tell you that. That's when, you know, like, man, but you have to look at and see, what do you really want to do? And if you don't know, really kind of talk to people. And that's what I did. I talked to some directors I knew. Again, that network, your network, means a lot. And they told me some things that really helped me out to make a decision. Didn't make a decision for me, but they helped me kind of, like, critically think about it. Would this right here be beneficial to me in the long run? Now, I've had other management positions, and they were great. They paid really well. And I walked away from those, too, because it was very limiting in what I needed to do. Now, I've had the opportunity to do education. I've had the opportunity to do applications. Love applications. Love, love applications. But the period that I've done it, it served as purpose. It's great money, you guys. I'm telling it's great money, flexibility, especially if you can do it with yourself versus be an employee of another company. So I really preach that. But that's not for everybody. So don't think you're not winning if you are working for someone else, because that's just not the case. Some of my best jobs, I've had three full time jobs in the radiology field where I've worked for other people, and I loved it. The three, four times that I had, I loved them when it was my time to end that part of my journey with them, it was time. But I'm telling you guys, the way to grow financially is to look at the modalities that make the most money and then figure out, is this for me? So some of the things you want to do is look at what's in demand right now. In radiology, when I got out of school, I thought I wanted to be a radiation therapy tech. Did not get into school. I was heartbroken because radiation therapy techs, they make six figures easily, but it's a dog on heart job to get into because people never quit. They never leave that job. And you know why? Because it's a dog on good job. And your patients there make it a good job. It's just a really good feel. I think radiation therapy is just amazing. But you have to look at what's going on in the radiology world and always be prepared to pivot. At one time, it was great. Radiation therapists could not find jobs. They could not find jobs. So the outlook for that right then was like, whoo, glad I didn't get in. I'll be right back in X ray. Wouldn't be making the money that I thought I would be making. Well, now, radiation therapy the plethora of jobs, and they're killing it. So things go up and down. Nuke med can be high that I wanted in. Nuke med got in, started my first day of school, my father had a massive heart attack. So I was not able to continue in that. But all things work out when you give yourself the flexibility. You guys, that's the beautiful thing about radiology. We do not have to just settle, oh, I went to school for X ray. That's all I can do. No, we have options in this field. Let's really look at what radiology offers. It offers options. Some of your options are MRI, we've talked about that. CT or Cat scans. Mammography, they are begging for Mammography text and don't sleep on mammography. It makes really good money in comparison to what you have to do and the schedules that you get, the longevity of your health. Some modalities, they really wear and tear in your body. Mammography, not so much on certain parts of your body. Your neck, kind of your shoulders that can kind of because of the positioning that you have to do. That's one thing that I struggle with because I have an issue. It was just bothering my neck. Too bad. Interventional radiology, we already talked about that. And there are so many other specializations. Ultrasound, nuclear. There are so many other and now AI is coming out. There are a lot of other things on the horizon, you guys. So really look at a particular niche when it comes to the radiology field. There are so many jobs in CT out here now. I remember when everybody ran from X ray and was going to get specialized certifications in CT and MRI and everything else. They did not want to be an x ray tech. And do you know, get this. This is where I'm talking about your financial growth. Don't sleep on diagnostic X ray. Because for years when it was nobody in there, nobody wanted to do X ray. Diagnostic X ray. I knew techs that were making like 40,$50 an hour because they couldn't find technologist. They were getting all kind of money. I mean travel text xray you rarely saw Xray travel jobs come around. But when everybody mass exodus to the other specialties and nobody wanted to do diagnostic X ray, they're left a big gap. So the pay had to go up. And hey, I was like, I'll go back to my Merrill's book and shoot some X rays. You all paying that. And now you see that in CT, nobody wants to be a CT scan tech because, oh, they're always running. I did a TikTok on that. How you're sitting back MRI, maybe you've done like six patients, and here CT is doing like 40 to your six. It was a really good one. So if you haven't seen that TikTok or Instagram, hop on over to my a couple Rad techs over on Instagram or on TikTok. And you can see that or you can find it in my short tier as well. But yeah, it's really funny. I like to do radiology humor but I also like to bring awareness to the radiology field. I'm a very upbeat person and I enjoy the field of radiology and I want you to do the same. But I also want you to make that money. So if anything I have said so far you like and you think it is valuable, give me a thumbs up if you're watching me on YouTube and give me a like anywhere else if you don't mind. And if you're listening to this podcast, shoot me over email, leave me a review. Let me know how this information is beneficial to you. I truly appreciate it. I want to continue to bring you guys valuable content. It means a lot to me that you take the time out to listen, to, watch, support, follow, share, tech. I've got many things on the horizon, so be sure to turn on the notifications. I've got a big giveaway coming very soon and I want everybody to be able to benefit from it because it's just for you guys, my listeners. So anyway, we're going to get back to our scheduled content, which is the money, the money, the money. Doing this one thing when it comes to your radiology career, can catapult your financial growth. As a radiologic technologist specialization, specializing in a particular niche or modality is going to be important to you. That modality can be hot today and not hot tomorrow. So give yourself options, definitely give yourself options and increase your earning potential significantly. Hone in those skills. Create a strong network, communicate. I'm going to say this, the way that I know how much I should be making is because I have a solid group of technologies and we connect regularly. We pass jobs to each other. We helped each other pass the registry before there were schools that you all could go to. We learned our specialty on the job and we actually helped each other to take these courses and pass these courses because we were all that we had at that time. So there's a big community and we stick together. And when it comes to hey, this job is paying this. Is this what you think is fair or I'm going for this interview, what do you think I should ask? And we are honest with each other because we know what it's like to be underpaid and overworked and as radiologic technologists imaging professionals, please get you a group of folks. I'm not saying get on social media and tell how much you make. I'm not doing that. So if you want to ask me how much you make, I'm not telling you. I'm just being honest. I don't think that is how you do it. Because what I am worth, you may be short changing yourself because you may be worth more to me, more than me. And not that I feel that way, but you should feel that way. So don't go asking for what someone else makes. Know how to gauge it and know your value. And only you know your value. So if you think you're worth $14 an hour, take that $14 an hour. If you think you're worth $40 an hour, you take that $40 an hour. If you think you're worth more than that, take more than that. Know how to network and ask questions. It's a give and take, and everybody's not going to make the same thing. Let's just be honest on that. Again, I didn't just say go in and ask for this amount of money. I told you what profession makes the most. In my opinion, they all make really good money. Yes. Not always about the money, but let's be honest, you guys. People need to feed their families. They need to eat. So money is important. I cringe sometimes when people say, you should be in it because you love people. I love people. That's why I've been here for 21 years. But I also need to love myself. And I like vacations. I like a house to live in. I like a decent car to drive. I like to do things for myself, and I like to eat organic. But either way, I got bills. So just like patients pay to get health care, why do they have to pay if we shouldn't worry about getting paid? No, everybody needs you do a job you need to get paid for, and you need to determine if that job is paying you what you feel you're worth. Now, if it's not, you need to figure out how to hone those skills, where you're at to get what you need so you can make that move that takes you up, increases your earnings, and it may take some time. So don't think you have to just, oh, I need to do this. I need to do this tomorrow, today. I need to do this now. Take your time. Take your time. You may need to kind of put some stuff together and organize some things and talk to some people and get some skills. Maybe you don't know how to put in IVs. I'm going to tell you, that is a huge thing. It's hard for you to go out and work independently at outpatient centers at different hospitals. Back in the day when I started, we had IV nurses. We had nurses in a department and all they did was put in IVs for us. We were that busy, but we're still that busy. But we don't have IV nurses. I have not seen an IV nurse in a long time. I worked at a hospital where we had nurses that their job was to go around the hospital and put IVs in. Even for other nurses, I was actually spending time and that's how I learned how to do it. I actually was a part of that, and that's how I learned how to really get good at IVs. I was with these two little nurses and they taught me everything I need to know. And they were like, you keep practicing this, this is going to be a skill that no one could take from you. And they are right. They are right. I remember not doing IVs for about a year because I got out of the healthcare field. I started flipping houses. So I got out of the health care field. It might have been two years, I don't know. I think it's about a year. Yeah. So I really wasn't working. I might have done a day here, a day there, but I really wasn't doing radiology because I was flipping houses and what. No need for me to be going back in. I mean, I'm just being honest. But when I went back in, I was a little slow putting IVs in. I was a little ashamed. I was like, did I just lose this skill? I was just struggling. But it came back to me. It came back to me once. But you know what I did? I had to hone those skills again. I was like, y'all you know what? I'm going to spend this whole week putting IVs in. They were like, you a little rusty. I was like, I know, but I knew these texts already, so they were letting me know I was a little rusty because they worked with me before and they knew we were all very good place. We didn't need anybody to put our IVs in. We were good. And here I am. I was bad. I was horrible. I was bringing the team down. I was bringing the down. And they were like, yeah, no, we don't need you to put all the IVs in for the next week. I was like, yeah, give me about two weeks. I'm going to put them in for the whole weekend. Another week if I don't get good at it. But I did. It came back to me, take practice. And it's good to have supportive people around you that want to see you advance and do well. So those of you that are in school for radiology get a connection with the Technologist. 20 years later, I'm still cool and close with majority of people that are still in this area. Even the people that have moved on to directors positions, other things, they moved on other states. I'm on LinkedIn with them. I messaged them. I value my connections and my network. If I have a good circle around me, I make sure I keep that good circle because it's going to pay off in the long run. Yeah. So I love to know, what do you guys think? Whether you're a seasoned professional looking to upskill or just starting on this incredible journey of radiology, I hope that I've been a great resource to you and I wish you all the best in your career in radiology and financial prosperity in this field because there are so many things you can do. I'm going to be talking more about travel radiology. That's going to be my next thing. I want to talk about the transparency and pay today and things that you can do that are reachable, things that you can actually do that's not going to require you to go back to school, per se. You can hone your skills where you're at. You can create opportunities to network where you're at in order to build up your ability to create ups, upswing in your finances and what you make. So I hope this was helpful. It's definitely great information, always sharing when it comes to the radiology profession. This podcast is all about that, so be sure to give me a like, let me know, give me a review, let me know. Stay tuned for more upcoming episodes. And again, thank you guys for listening.