Video Transcript

Host:
Question: Which X Ray Technician Degree is better, Associates or Bachelors? And what are the advantages or disadvantages from your point of view of getting to certain levels before moving into actual on the job training?

Jennifer:
Answer: So you don’t actually do on the job training. I mean, all your training is done through the actual program. So when you from your X-ray program, like you’re ready to rock and roll, you’re going into your job. You know exactly how to do your job. The only training that you’re technically doing on the job is just learning ability specifics like, say, for a chest X-ray. They require these three views as opposed to another facility that might just want to use. But for the program itself, like I said, I mean, at the time when I went 10 years ago, you could do a certificate or an associates. I mean, I would have still been paid the same regardless because you’re coming out and I mean, no one takes into consideration that I have a bachelor’s in associates, I’m a registered technologist and the person who’s sitting next to me who might have only went to a certificate program like 20 years ago, is also two registered technologists. We both know how to do it, and I think the only time a degree might come into play is say, if you are looking to move up, say into like management sometimes maybe depending on what hospital system that you work for might actually require you to have maybe something in health management, like a health management degree, basically.

Farrel:
Answer: I think it’s just really your personal preference of choosing what higher education form that you are going for at the or getting paid the same. The only difference that’s bearing and getting paid is your experience. According to my professors, everyone is starting to gravitate more towards the bachelors needing bachelors for things. You can have an associate if you’re going to continue on with schoolwork and get other modalities. CT technologist is actually a pretty easy step after you have a bachelor’s degree in radiologic technology. There’s not a whole lot more clinicals MRIs kind of the same. If you were to go into nuclear medicine or add ultrasound or radiation therapy, it requires more and lots of those programs. Post education or whatever they call it, most of them want you to have the bachelors.

Jenna:
Answer: So you have to actually, if you only have an associate’s, you have to go get your bachelor’s at the same time, too, because there’s a lot more learning in those. It doesn’t really matter whether you do the certificate associate or bachelors. As long as it’s from an accredited program, you can sit for that same AARP radiologic technology registry, which is what you need in order to work. So if your end goal is just, I want to be a radiologic technologist, I just want to work. Then it doesn’t matter if you want your pay to be slightly higher. Usually there’s a small pay incentive to having one of the degrees either associate or bachelors. And if you want to advance in the field, I would say definitely be going for that bachelor’s degree.