Sarahs Blog

I will be graduating from high school soon, and because of the economic times of uncertainty,  it feels that I am being forced to make decisions immediately regarding my future as far as my career is concerned.  You might say that I am one of those students who doesn’t particularly care for sitting in a classroom all the time, and I can hardly wait until I graduate.  However, I do know that my education is not yet finished and I have to decide whether I want to continue on and go to a college or university or would I rather attend a technical  school such as The Art Institute or Devry University where I could just focus on the  training that I would need for my particular job interest which is that of a technician, either a Lab Tech or an Ekg Tech.

Because of the changing times, many people think that going to a university is the best decision because they feel that a university degree has more value than one from a technical college.   In fact, according to one statistic university graduates will earn $1 million more than those lesser educated graduates.  But in fact, through my research I have learned that students are going deeper and deeper into debt while trying to obtain their degrees and many find job prospects scarce, under paid or completely nonexistent upon graduation.

I also found out that many university majors are very unclear as to what the job outcome  for a particular degree will be.  For instance even though a Bachelor of Arts degrees are very common today  they no longer mean what they used to.  In addition to that degree,  you also need a Masters or even a PhD, which means extra years and extra cost associated with education.

On the other hand, technician schools or vocational schools will teach you the skills that you need for your chosen career which can last anywhere from six months to 2 years, depending on your career choice while large universities and colleges can take anywhere from 4 to 8 years!  That’s quite a big difference in more ways then one, especially financially speaking.   There is no need to take additional optional classes to fill out your curriculum.  Also there is a big chance that you can attend a technical college without having to get a student loan, because their prices are so much less than that of a college or university.

Also keep in mind that graduation from a technical college does not prohibit you from career advancements.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, those who graduate from technical colleges often advance because of the strength of their job performance  rather than because of their educational background.  In fact, it is very common for an employee who has graduated from a technical college to advance into the same position  as someone with a bachelor’s degree in a technical field.

So while working in a technical field, keep in mind that you always need to keep abreast of technical advances,  and so therefore continuing education is a requirement.  This could mean obtaining a technical certification program or the pursuit of a more advanced degree.  In fact, some employers will  offer to pay your tuition for you to go on to complete a bachelor’s or master’s degree at a university.

So my advise would be to take into consideration the cost, the end results  and what you will achieve for the time and effort you put into which ever school you decide upon and most of all be sure and choose wisely.  As for me, I choose a technical school!

I had a few people ask me several questions about my job and if there were any other jobs I would recommend. Well here is a quick summary of a career I looked into and almost chose to go into instead of an x ray technician…

When trying to choose a career in the medical field some key aspects to keep in mind are that of salary, schooling, job description and demand.  Due to the high demand of qualified medical technicians, along with excellent pay, benefits and exciting work environment choosing a technical career in the medical field has proven over the years to provide great job security.  An excellent choice would be that of pursuing a career as an EKG Technician.

First of all what does EKG stand for?  EKG technician is short for electrocardiographic  technician.  And EKG technician administers cardiovascular tests on a patient by using electrical impulses that are transmitted by a patient’s heart.   And EKG test involves the technician putting electrodes on different parts of a patient’s body such as the chest, arms and legs to obtain a print out for a physician to read in order to analyze and diagnose issues such as irregular heartbeat.  As a rule these tests are very common and are often done before many kinds of surgery as a routine checkup with any patient who is advanced in age or has a history of cardiovascular problems.
Another part of an EKG technicians career involves you in administering a treadmill test in which a patient is connected to an EKG monitor and the results recorded as a walk on the treadmill.  Some EKG technicians have advanced training and are able to perform Holter monitor and stress testing.  Holter monitoring involves attaching electrodes to a patient’s chest and attaching a portable EKG monitor to the patient’s belt.  After 24 hours the tape from the monitor is removed and placed in a scanner.  The technician then checks the quality of the tape and prints out the information for a physician who uses these results to determine heart rhythm abnormalities, pacemaker problems, and other heart problems.
EKG technicians spent a lot of time walking and standing.   Also, heavy lifting may be involved to move equipment or transfer patients.  Some cardiovascular technologist and technicians may have the potential for radiation exposure.  Because of strict adherence to radiation safety guidelines such as wearing heavy protective aprons while conducting certain procedures, exposure is kept to a minimum.  EKG technicians generally work a five day, 40 hour week that may include weekends.  They also may be on call during the night and  on weekends. About 18% worked part-time in 2008.

If you pursue an EKG technician career you would typically need an Associates degree for entry level employment from one of the many ekg technician schools.  Keep in mind that most employers also require a professional credential. Technicians can also receive on-the-job training by an EKG supervisor or a cardiologist.  On the job ekg technician training for EKG Techs usually takes about 4 to 6 weeks.  Most employers prefer to train people already in the healthcare field such as nursing aides. For technicians who perform Holter monitoring on-the-job training may last around 18 to 24 months. A one-year certification program also exists for basic EKGs, Holter monitoring, and stress testing and can be an alternative to on-the-job training.  As a rule, the majority of EKG technicians complete a two-year junior or community college program resulting in an associate degree even though a four year program is available.  The first year is dedicated to core courses and is followed by a year of specialized instruction in either invasive cardiovascular, non-invasive cardiovascular, or noninvasive vascular technology.
EKG technicians must be reliable, have mechanical aptitude, and be able to follow detailed instructions. An asset is a pleasant, relaxed manner for putting patients at ease.  They must be articulate as they must communicate technically with physicians and also explain procedures simply to patients.

For technologists and technicians with multiple professional credentials, trained to perform a wide range of procedures, employment is expected to grow much faster than the average.  Also those willing to relocate or work irregular hours also will have better job opportunities.
In May of 2008 the median annual ekg technigian salary for technologist and technicians were $47,010.  The middle 50% earned between $32,800 and $61,580.  The lowest 10% earned less than $25,510 and the highest 10% earned more than $74,760.

After I graduated from MIT with a degree in computer science, I lived out a short career doing web design and graphic art. I decided I wanted to go back to school to pursue another career, but it did not want to spend another four or five years in a college or university. So I decided that I would look into technical careers also known as fast-track careers.

There were a few different career choices that I could easily chosen, because many of them are actually quite closely related to each other. Some of these include ultrasound technician, MRI technician, x-ray technician and sonography technician to name a few. The one that I decided to go with was the x-ray technician training. I figured the career as an x-ray technician seemed a little more well rounded and I could probably easily switch careers from working at one hospital or doctor’s office to another if I decided to maybe specialize as MRI Tech or ultrasound Tech.

So as I mentioned before I did not want to go to school for another four years if I didn’t have to, and since I already had a degree some of my basic courses I had already gained credit for. However, I started looking for x ray technician schools and I quickly found that there was a lot of hands-on training and very specific job training. This was great because a typical degree consists of mostly book work and a lot of basic courses. I noticed that technical courses are extremely to the point that there is no time wasted.

They taught me how to use complex radiographic equipment and on top of that they taught me the most up-to-date methods of using the equipment so that whenever I did land a job in the field of x-ray technology I would already be caught up to speed on the newest equipment and how to use them. Some of the other simple things I learned as an x-ray technician is simple things to like patient positioning, examination techniques and medical ethics and terminology as well. I did not realize that so much of your job training insists on being a people person were utilizing your natural people skills. As an x-ray technician you are constantly at close quarters with different patients throughout the day, and it is vital that you know how to interact correctly with people of all walks of life and ages.

As far as my job schedule, it was tough to use to but now that I know what I’m doing it’s actually quite simple as I’m on at work where I work four days and have three night off and I work four nights and have three days off then I have a week off and then I work a week on. The salary is great, starting off I’m a $34,000 my first year, which paid a lot better than my computer sciences degree and allowed me to buy a new home very quickly after I graduated. Well that’s my life as an x-ray technician and I hope you found some of the useful, I did a lot of research on other technical degrees and I’m sure that I will be posting up a lot of information that I read on those as well.