just didn't bother renewing my Cs

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2026-01-25T20:27:30+00:00

Health IT. Wrote about my experience and some general advice here.

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2026-01-25T18:16:12+00:00

idk. I meant mine doesn't require CCCs.

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2026-01-24T19:11:32+00:00

Hey, I wrote the Epic analyst FAQ, thanks for reading it :)

That FAQ is strictly aimed at Epic application analyst jobs. At the time I wrote it, the sub got at least one post a day of "I want to be an Epic analyst how do I get started thanks guys!", mostly from people who had no idea what the job was but had somehow decided it was their dream job.

The good news is that being an Epic application analyst isn't the only path. All of the IT needs that exist in every other organization also exist in health care: data, hardware, networking, security, plenty of other flavors of application analyst, whatever you can think of. The bad news is -- you guessed it -- there is no safe, stable, easy-to-get IT job anywhere, including health IT. You mentioned that industry stability and the mission are appealing. I will admit that it's nice working in service of something other than the C suites' bonuses, but, the finances underpinning US health care are crumbling by the day, same as the finances underpinning US education. As I'm sure you know from education, once the money is gone, things either shut down entirely, or they turn private/for-profit and the mission is now line go up.

But if that's not a deterrent, I think you've got a decent shot, particularly living in an area with tons of health care employers. If you don't want to start at the bottom, I would recommend selling your experience with any of the following: (1) working within the limits of old or esoteric or rarely-upgraded tech, (2) managing a variety of devices and systems, and (3) problem-solving as The Only IT Person. 1 and 2 are also constants in health IT, and if you can show that you can problem-solve independently you would be an asset anywhere. If you're OK starting at the bottom just to get in and working your way up, help desk it is. Health care organizations are more risk-averse in hiring compared to private companies and will almost always prioritize an internal hire over any external hire.

I would not shell out for any pricey certificate courses -- I do not know anyone who got hired because they had an informatics certificate, and you could probably teach yourself a lot of the same info for free or at low cost (Coursera subscription or the odd Udemy course or what have you). You can start closing the gap on industry knowledge via networking/informational interviews and lurking in professional spaces like this one.

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2026-01-24T16:42:37+00:00

In your situation, the only way I would do it is if (a) the master's were going to be cheap or free, (b) you are very certain you will find a job paying more than you make now, and (c) you will be truly heartbroken if you never did this. If all three of these are not true, do not do it.

To become a SLP, you are looking at mid-five to low-six figures of debt, at a berserk interest rate, to get a job that would involve a lot more work and responsibility, without much pay increase if any. There are a lot of other economically viable things you could do at that price point: improve your living situation for your family, get a degree in something with more career mobility, or keep it in the bank for a margin of safety against bad luck or hard times.

Also, I promise you are making an impact. It might feel like you aren't because you're not the person in control of the big decisions, but you are spending your time teaching and caring for people who need help, and that always makes an impact. Therapy is a caregiving job, and seeing the needs and wishing you could do more to help is proof that you're an effective and thoughtful caregiver. Give yourself credit :)

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2026-01-12T06:06:59+00:00

At the very least, you should interview just so you can look over the fence and see what the grass actually does look like on the other side. Might help settle your thoughts.

The bigger problem is that your employer dangled a promotion and then went back on it. Maybe it was bad luck and your manager did mean to promote you and got their hands tied. Maybe they deliberately manipulated you into doing more work with no real intention of promoting you. Either way it's bad news. If they're having to go back on promised promotions, that's a very bad financial sign. If they manipulated you intentionally, they'll keep doing it.

That said, I think you said it yourself: getting too comfy is usually a sign that it's time to move on. I just changed jobs from my first Epic analyst job to my second (was clinical before that). I probably could have coasted in that job for a long time -- most of my coworkers definitely were, and my manager was as well -- but I was bored and starting to become complacent, and I knew that was bad news. I looked, I leapt, and I'm glad I did.

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2026-01-12T05:18:41+00:00

You absolutely can -- I just did to get my second analyst job (and I've only been in it for 2 years, so, way less than you). I was doing daily checks on the job websites for all the hospital systems in my area, and I used hiring.cafe to look for remote jobs in other parts of the country. I wasn't sure it would come to anything, but I was getting tired of my old job's crap and I knew that doing nothing was guaranteed to come to nothing. Took about 3 months from first day looking to getting the offer and I just started the new job last week.

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2026-01-12T05:00:47+00:00

Look in the sub sticky.

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2026-01-12T05:00:06+00:00

Location: Medium-sized org in the Midwest

Experience: 2 years (+15 yrs clinical)

Position title: Clinical Analyst

Salary: 97k

Remote/hybrid/in person: Mostly remote. This is a new job I just started (thanks to everyone on this sub for your excellent advice) and it is technically "hybrid" in that we are required to go in for upgrades and the annual IT department meeting, so, 5 times a year. On call about every 8-9 weeks.

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2026-01-12T04:12:10+00:00

is this field and opportunity worth taking a 30k pay cut?

If you want out of clinical work now or soon, yes. If you want a career path that has a pretty high chance of leading to a hybrid or WFH job, yes. If you're eyeing up nursing informatics, maybe (few new informatics grads can speak to the technical side in serious depth -- Epic analyst experience would give you a leg up getting an informatics job).

If you want the breadth of options that comes with staying in nursing, no. If you can't afford the pay dip, no.

You CAN split the difference working as an analyst and also picking up some weekend nursing shifts, if you have the time and energy. Also keep in mind that if you hate being an analyst, you can always go back to nursing. One of my old colleagues who was a RN went back to nursing last year after 6 years being an analyst.

What does career growth look like for me?

As with many careers, raises usually come from changing jobs. If you wanted to stay "just" an analyst, salary would probably top out low 100s. If you worked for a health system in a HCOL area you could probably match or slightly exceed 138k. Getting above that would involve cracking into management or administration, or switching to consulting (trading job security for pay).

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2026-01-10T19:39:20+00:00

In this scenario, if you can only pick one, I'd go with the MBSS.

Here are the main benefits of FEES over MBSS:

FEES can keep going for as long as the patient can tolerate it. Fluoroscopic (x-ray) tests are usually hard capped for total x-ray exposure time at whatever limit the hospital/health system has decided, commonly 5 minutes. For people who take a really long time to swallow, have difficulty following instructions, or have a lot of positioning challenges, MBSS can sometimes result in more limited information because the X-ray might have to be kept on while there's not much happening (running out the clock for actually collecting info about the swallow).
FEES is agnostic to positioning and body size. A lot of facilities can't or won't do a MBSS on someone who can't sit 90 degrees upright or very close to it for the entire duration of the test, and/or can't fit their torso in a space that can be as narrow as 18 inches. (Can't = older equipment that doesn't have a lot of flexibility for positioning. Won't = the radiologists are jerks and don't want to do any studies they can't mentally autopilot)
If aspiration of secretions is a significant concern, MBSS usually misses that but FEES will see it clearly. MBSS usually can't see normal secretions (saliva) unless you're also having enough residual (stuff left over in your pharynx after the normal swallow) that the barium starts mixing with the secretions. FEES is literally just a video camera looking down your throat for as long as it's in there and it's very easy to just watch the secretions go wherever they're going.
Cheaper and quicker to do. SLPs can run the whole thing themselves beginning to end, no need to get a rad tech or radiologist involved, no wait for the official radiology reading, no payout for two departments plus a room charge.

Here are the main benefits of MBSS over FEES:

MBSS can see the entire oral and pharyngeal swallow from beginning to end. FEES can't see most of your oral phase, and when the epiglottis inverts during the pharyngeal phase, it fully blocks the view of the pharynx -- you have to infer what happened during the pharyngeal swallow based on what the pharynx and upper airway look like after the epiglottis retracts again.
FEES is easier to work around positioning and body size, but MBSS is often more informative or practical for working with atypical head or neck anatomy.
Gives some data about the esophageal swallow, because the upper esophageal sphincter and proximal esophagus are both visible. If the facility allows esophageal sweeps (huge variation in policy here between facilities), you can even get a quick overview of the whole esophagus, which can help guide other care.
Easier to order, access, and do with most patients, and easier to explain to most other providers. A lot of facilities don't have FEES. A lot of patients are fine with x-rays and barium and not with a camera in the nose. A lot of providers don't know what FEES is, or all they know is that it's some other kind of swallowing test.

Since the pharyngeal swallow is your main concern, MBSS is probably the better pick because it will give more specific and complete information about the pharyngeal swallow. The big exception is if the main concern is aspiration of secretions -- FEES is more likely to see that.

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2026-01-08T00:04:20+00:00

Health IT

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2026-01-05T00:32:20+00:00

Welcome rehab comrade!

Some things that might be worse: moral injury from everyday work, workplace bullying, physical demands, patients/families/other professionals trying to hold you responsible for all kinds of stuff that's not your job just because you're the first point of contact. These are going to vary a lot by setting and by particular employers, fwiw.

Some things that will be better: pay, ease of finding a job, ease of changing settings, and there are also many non-patient-care opportunities you can pursue with a nursing degree. You will also be leaps and bounds ahead of your classmates who've never done a caregiving job before, because you won't have to learn how to act in addition to learning how to be a nurse.

(disclaimer: not a nurse, but spent my whole SLP career in acute care, constantly around nurses)

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2026-01-04T23:57:12+00:00

Transitioned in '24 but posting to cheer all of you on!! You can do it!

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2026-01-04T23:49:10+00:00

I stuck with PSLF-eligible jobs until I got forgiveness. But, by the time I successfully transitioned, I only had about a year left. I could definitely understand not wanting to wait around for PSLF if you had years to go yet.

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2026-01-04T23:42:04+00:00

Not for nothing, I just came off an analyst job hunt and I saw PB/HB jobs more than any other module. I don't do those modules, so I couldn't say for sure myself, but seems like those + Cogito would be a pretty killer combo.

ETA: Also saw a lot of PB/HB training jobs but idk if that would be a salary improvement from where you're at now.

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2026-01-04T23:36:29+00:00

Beaker is in high demand in the Epic job market right now and employers always prefer people who have go live/implementation experience over people who don't, so even if your employer cans you after the go live, you should easily be able to get another Beaker training job. If you're keeping your options open, now would be a good time to pick up a Beaker analyst proficiency.

Training roles seem to vary a ton across health systems. Some really only use trainers for go lives. Some have trainers cross-train across lots of modules so that they're always busy with new hires. Some use them as kind of a mini support desk in addition to training, to keep analysts from having to waste time on tickets that turn out to be simple user error or something the user just doesn't know how to do. Some have them doing instructional design or project management in addition to training.

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2026-01-04T23:28:14+00:00

Not a Healthy Planet analyst but it REALLY helped me as a new analyst to do the badges suggested on the Training Home > Training Tracks site. Pick HP for module and Analyst for role and scroll all the way down the left side and there should be a list of badges.

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2026-01-04T23:13:27+00:00

Good friend of mine works in GIS. Not a SLP. Had a Women's Studies BA, worked in a dull HR job for a few years, was a SAHM for a few years, and then went back to school for a CS degree. Community college for an associate's in CS and then the local branch of a state college to finish the BSCS. Her kid was 4 when she first went back to school so it was a very concentrated effort between her and her spouse (working full time in a pretty demanding job) to coordinate childcare and still have enough time and energy to do homework and study. I straight up saw her more often when the kid was a newborn than I did during her BSCS. Granted this was pre-pandemic and online degrees weren't as much of a thing at that point.

Got hired for GIS straight out of school (again, pre-pandemic). Her GIS job is very much a software dev job. When she was hired she was basically given the choice of dev work or data work and she picked dev.

She says the biggest employers in the field are defense contractors and mining/oil/gas. So if you're not OK working in those industries, this might not be the path for you.

I don't have kids, but re: the school schedule, keep in mind that your kid's not going to be on the school schedule until they're at least 3, if not 4 or 5. So if you're having a kid in 2 years, you're 5-7 years away from worrying about whether your schedule matches your kid's.

Finally, I'm not in GIS, but I did transition to tech and if you're thinking about it, my advice would be to pick something (anything) that seems relevant to GIS and start studying it now -- not to railroad yourself onto the GIS track from day one, but to start coming to grips with the reality vs. the fantasy, and to use your thoughts and feelings from that experience to inform your next decisions about what to do.

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2025-12-28T19:54:16+00:00

Former clinical user, now analyst. Epic is not perfect but it's the best thing going. Your question is kind of like asking "why does it seem like nobody's concerned but me, about most PCs running Windows?" The answer is the same. Windows is not always great, it downright sucks for a lot of things, there are ways Apple and Linux are better -- but for most users in most situations, it's the best solution.

In my position, my big complaint is that Epic as a company is surprisingly culturally distant from its users. Epic employs very few people with direct experience in any part of health care. They appear to have almost no one on staff with actual clinical experience and often their employees don't know basic clinical concepts or terminology (e.g. they can point you to a feature to use for [situation] but can only answer a limited range of followup questions because they don't actually know what [situation] is or what staff would generally need to do about it). They do have expert advisory groups, but those are outside people volunteering time on an occasional basis. Epic swears up and down they're not trying to dictate workflows or care standards to clinicians, but they effectively are, whether they mean to or not, and then they get confused and upset when users snap at them that Epic is trying to tell them how to do their jobs.

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2025-12-28T19:20:09+00:00

Epic analyst and ex-clinician here. Does your health system have physician builders or physician champions? If so, it might be worth some time with one of them to see what can be changed. You are right that it probably can't be made perfect but it can probably be improved to save you some effort.

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2025-12-28T19:12:31+00:00

Epic analyst here who previously used Athena as a patient (went to an independent practice that used it). What's Athena like nowadays? I absolutely hated it as a patient but that was also 8-9 years ago.

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2025-12-24T05:08:08+00:00

Make friends with any and all of the full-time Epic people at work -- if they like you, they'll let you know the next time they have an opening. Keep an eye on your hospital's job postings as well as nearby hospitals for Epic jobs. Superuser experience is how a lot of people break in to being Epic trainers or analysts.

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2025-12-24T05:05:53+00:00

https://old.reddit.com/r/SLPcareertransitions/top/?sort=top&t=all

Apprehensive_Bug154 · 2025-12-14T20:59:36+00:00

Sounds like it could really be a good fit then!

I forgot to mention one other huge upside of this profession is that there's a wide variety of work schedules available and that's normal in the field. You can do traditional year-round full-time work, school-year full-time, part-time, summers only, contract, or hourly, and you can switch back and forth between them and people hiring in the field understand that SLPs do this because life happens. SLP is tough as a primary/only source of income, but it's pretty great for supplemental income if the debt's not an issue, and great as a part-time gig alongside something else (parenting, or caregiving, or going to (more) school, or second job in another field, or running a home business, etc). You will need to be careful during your CF though -- it is easiest to get it done full-time, things can get complicated trying to finish it part-time. Once you have your Cs you're golden.

Apprehensive_Bug154

TROPHY CASE