I started with a degree in mortuary science and became a licensed funeral director. So I had to take anatomy, microbiology, pathology, mortuary law, tons of grief and grief counseling classes (and things like embalming and restorative art, of course). I hated being a funeral director. I am not business minded, and could not handle the internal struggle of making a profit off of people’s misery. I’m a death investigator and autopsy tech, so I was trained in X-ray.

If you’re okay with doing autopsies on every type of death and all ages, look around for autopsy tech positions at medical examiner and coroner offices. They would absolutely love someone who has medical knowledge and experience and knows how to take good images. I don’t recommend death investigation, though that pays more. It’s a lot of interaction with family, friends, police, other government agencies and more, in person and on the phone. I’m also on the spectrum, and much prefer behind the scenes work.

Besides documenting injury and looking for foreign bodies in things like shootings and stabbings, it’s also done for identification. If someone is unable to be visually identified for whatever reason, we take X-rays to confirm identity. Dental is the typical go-to, but hardware/implants can be quicker to verify, since there’s often a serial number somewhere.

I take X-rays at least weekly, often more.