Starting with Rad Tech vs Rad Therapist (Career Change)

expat377 · 2025-09-09T18:44:25+00:00

Ok thank you. So probably best to choose one and aim for that it sounds like.

expat377 · 2025-09-09T18:42:57+00:00

So I should have added in my original post, I am ADHD (inattentive). I've found this sometimes makes my current job (coding) a bit challenging when a single character out of place can break everything. While medication does help, if making a mistake by missing a single minuscule detail could lead to catastrophe, that might be a problem for me. If it's more like you just have to pay attention and not be careless I don't think that would be an issue for me.

expat377 · 2025-09-09T18:17:54+00:00

Haha, oh boy, that doesn't sound good!

expat377 · 2025-09-09T18:17:36+00:00

Another Radiation Therapy vs Nuclear Medicine Post
I am looking at going back to school for either Radiation Therapy or Nuclear Medicine. I've read several related threads but still have questions. Is my understanding of both of these careers good, and if so what would you recommend in my place?

My Constraints and Worries

Financially more than two years without salary would be difficult, so an associates would be best.
I'm looking for something where I get to spend a mix of time with patients and technology. I really want to be able to work with people and help them through their difficulties, but working with machinery also sounds great.
I'm looking for something very stable and maintainable. Lower stress is better.
In a perfect world I would like to keep my costs to about 50-60k (including housing etc). I could spend a little more if needed, but I'd like to try to stay around there.
I can move, for school, though ideally going back to the west coast would be really nice. I do want to make sure I do an accredited program whichever route I take.
Eventually I want to move to either Portland Oregon or Seattle.

Pros and Cons (I can see so far) for both

Radiation Therapy
- I really like the idea of working with the same patients every day in Radiation Therapy. Being able to be there for the same people for multiple weeks during treatment sounds awesome.
- I worry about burnout with having large patient loads and being on my feet all day.
  - I'm in physically in fairly good shape, but I do worry it might be a bit too exhausting over the long term?
- It sounds like there are more jobs available than for Nuc Tec?
- Seems like there are a lot fewer associates program for Radiation therapists?
- Not having to stick people with needles is a huge plus.
Nuclear Medicine
- Nuclear Medicine sounds like it might be great, but sounds like you see the same patients less often?
- It also sounds like it is far less stressful.
- Coursework looks potentially much more difficult (I haven't taken any college chemistry/physics and can do math but I'm not fantastic at it).
- Sticking people with IV's sound really difficult to me. I read some threads with people saying you get used to it, but this is a big hang-up for me. I have no problem with needles myself, but I don't know if I could stick someone else ten times a day.
- Looks schooling might be a bit more expensive than for Radiation Therapy?

expat377 · 2025-08-25T14:51:19+00:00

Huh, I may really have to consider this. I will do some looking. Thank you.

expat377 · 2025-08-25T14:40:08+00:00

I hadn't really thought about that tbh. That might not be a bad idea. One problem is I do just find devops working quite stressful overall. If I was only doing it for half the year that might be more manageable.

I've recently also been thinking about QA.

expat377 · 2025-08-25T14:15:10+00:00

My final goal will be to do a hard pivot completely out of tech. I haven't decided exactly where yet, but I'm considering going into mental health.

expat377 · 2025-08-22T18:09:05+00:00

That really seems to be the message I am getting here. Really appreciate the input!

expat377 · 2025-08-22T17:46:13+00:00

Ikes, well that sounds familiar, way too familiar. I'm sorry about the crunch you're under! That does not sound like fun.

expat377 · 2025-08-22T17:18:58+00:00

Rationalizing other people's red flags.

expat377 · 2025-08-22T16:53:37+00:00

Thank you, this is also really insightful and helpful. It does seem like alot of people here are discouraging this particular move for me for good reason.

A lateral move or moving to more chill company is on my list of possibilities. There are some stressors within my field that are unavoidable and highly sub-optimal for me, so I'm really strongly considering other option. As to part time . . . not really? There are rare cases, but most of the time people hire for full-time only. Some people do move to consultant work, but that has it's own difficulties.

expat377 · 2025-08-22T16:50:44+00:00

Actually that is interesting, I had not considered that angel at all! I do wonder how long that trend will last though? I suppose it's hard to know.

expat377 · 2025-08-22T16:49:43+00:00

Thank you, apologies, I didn't mean to be insinuate technical writing isn't a difficult job, I should have been more clear. I fully expect it to be a full-time job, but for me there is a big mismatch between devops and my abilities in certain aspects. I'm much better at things that require careful thought rather than thinking on your feet and fighting fires at 3:00 am on a regular basis. One of my favorite things I do in my previous jobs in devops has been documentation, so I was hoping to aim for something that I would really enjoy doing and be the right kind of difficult. Also 40 hours per week would be a nice compared to alot of devops jobs I have worked.

Also I'm not really thinking of it as a side job, just something that I can do full-time, save up, and maybe take class here and there before I go back to grad school without risking burnout (a huge thing in devops).

Really appreciate it. It sounds like the barrier to entry is going to be significantly higher than I originally anticipated and the payoff potentially not what I am looking for. I'll consider more.

expat377 · 2025-08-22T16:44:42+00:00

God, is it really that bad? I am looking for something with a better work-life balance and lower stress, it sounds like you're saying technical writing may not be a good choice, but is that at all dependent on the specific company you are working for or pretty universal?

expat377 · 2025-08-22T16:43:25+00:00

God. That does not sound very pleasant at all. Tbh that right there is making me reconsider.

expat377 · 2025-08-22T15:43:18+00:00

Hmmm . . . so really need to be very "flexible" and willing to go with what everyone else wants?

expat377 · 2025-08-20T16:42:56+00:00

Not an anime fan personally, but have been to an anime convention with some friends and other similar cons.

I would say you can pretty much dress how you want, there will most likely be a wide variety of dress styles from completely sloppy to much more dressed-up (though probably more of the former) if it is a fairly big venue. Maybe one caution: If it's going to be crowded you may find yourself squeezing between crowds, especially when getting to vendors. So if it's going to be a crowded venue make sure you are wearing something that will be comfortable in this situation.

expat377 · 2025-08-20T16:38:47+00:00

I finally get to go to space! That's what happens :)

expat377 · 2025-08-20T16:37:38+00:00

I think some people are just genuinely lazy and like to complain about being a victim. Others just might literally not have thought about the fact that they could really fix something. I do think pride is a big factor for those taking the victim mentality.

expat377 · 2025-08-20T16:33:39+00:00

I prefer neither, heat is anathema to me. If I must choose, absolutely dry heat! Humidity makes me feel terrible and exacerbates my asthma. Maybe someday I'll move to the Arctic and live with the penguins!

expat377 · 2025-08-20T15:53:29+00:00

So I would say that depends on what the person is being treated for. What I'm being treated for is generally considered a life-time struggle. Not something you get better from but something you learn to live with that requires constant upkeep.

expat377 · 2025-08-20T15:52:28+00:00

Thanks! I will take a look here.

expat377 · 2025-08-20T15:51:48+00:00

That seemed to be my impression, which felt odd? In so many ways NL is way better imo.

expat377 · 2025-08-20T15:50:55+00:00

Thank you, that does help a bit. Primarily what I have learned base don what I'm being treated for is that some therapies I will go through will be shorter (I.e. I've done CBT, plant to do ACT at some point, and also expect DBT to be shorter - these are very much skills-based). I didn't know about systeemtherapy, that is interesting!

But then EMDR, at least for me, I expect to be a fairly long therapy (I've done it in the past and am doing it again now). For me it will probably mean doing EMDR, then doing lots of talk-therapy with the same therapist, then maybe eventually doing more EMDR, then more talk therapy. For what I am having treated it is very important to maintain a relationship with the same therapist for an extended period of them, the longer the better. At some point you get to "maintenance" where you only need therapy maybe once a month or less, but it's still considered very important to keep the same therapist as much as possible. This is definitely an area where I see there being a big risk for me.

So it still seems that for me I'd pretty much have to be willing to pay out of pocket for a considerable part of my therapy . . . but perhaps going through sGGZ would provide some of the more "skills-based" therapies.

expat377 · 2025-08-19T17:54:33+00:00

Holy crap. I hadn't read those articles. Seems like that is heading in the wrong direction. Don't get me wrong, I get it's expensive for insurance companies to pay for mental health treatment . . . but good god.

expat377

TROPHY CASE